Mark 7:33

7:33 After Jesus ¹  took him aside privately, away from the crowd, he put his fingers in the man’s ²  ears, and after spitting, he touched his tongue. ³ 

Mark 9:28

9:28 Then, ⁴  after he went into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?”

Mark 13:3

Signs of the End of the Age

13:3 So ⁵  while he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, ⁶  and Andrew asked him privately,

¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Grk “his”; the referent (the deaf man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ sn After spitting, he touched his tongue. It was not uncommon in Judaism of the day to associate curative powers with a person’s saliva. The scene as a whole reflects Jesus’ willingness to get close to people and have physical contact with them where appropriate. See W. L. Lane, Mark (NICNT), 267 n. 78.

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

⁸ tn Grk “and James and John,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.