Mark 4:16-17

4:16 These are the ones sown on rocky ground: As soon as they hear the word, they receive it with joy. 4:17 But ¹  they have no root in themselves and do not endure. ²  Then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away.

Mark 6:20

6:20 because Herod stood in awe of ³  John and protected him, since he knew that John ⁴  was a righteous and holy man. When Herod ⁵  heard him, he was thoroughly baffled, ⁶  and yet ⁷  he liked to listen to John. ⁸ 

John 5:35

5:35 He was a lamp that was burning and shining, ⁹  and you wanted to rejoice greatly for a short time ¹⁰  in his light.

¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

² tn Grk “are temporary.”

³ tn Grk “was fearing,” “was respecting”; the imperfect tense connotes an ongoing fear or respect for John.

⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tc In place of ἠπόρει (hporei, “he was baffled”) the majority of mss (A C D ˹ 33 Ï lat sy) have ἐποίει (epoiei, “he did”; cf. KJV’s “he did many things.”) The best mss (א B L [W] Θ 2427 co) support the reading followed in the translation. The variation may be no more than a simple case of confusion of letters, since the two readings look very much alike. The verb ποιέω (poiew, “I do”) certainly occurs more frequently than ἀπορέω (aporew, “I am at a loss”), so a scribe would be more likely to write a more familiar word. Further, even though the reading ἐποίει is the harder reading in terms of the sense, it is virtually nonsensical here, rendering it most likely an unintentional corruption.

⁷ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “and yet” to indicate the concessive nature of the final clause.

⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ sn He was a lamp that was burning and shining. Sir 48:1 states that the word of Elijah was “a flame like a torch.” Because of the connection of John the Baptist with Elijah (see John 1:21 and the note on John’s reply, “I am not”), it was natural for Jesus to apply this description to John.

¹⁰ tn Grk “for an hour.”