Mark 15:33-37

Jesus’ Death

15:33 Now ¹  when it was noon, ²  darkness came over the whole land ³  until three in the afternoon. ⁴  15:34 Around three o’clock ⁵  Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁶  15:35 When some of the bystanders heard it they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah!” ⁷  15:36 Then someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, ⁸  put it on a stick, ⁹  and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to take him down!” 15:37 But Jesus cried out with a loud voice and breathed his last.

[15:33]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[15:33]  ² tn Grk “When the sixth hour had come.”

[15:33]  ³ sn This imagery has parallels to the Day of the Lord: Joel 2:10; Amos 8:9; Zeph 1:15.

[15:33]  ⁴ tn Grk “until the ninth hour.”

[15:34]  ⁵ tn The repetition of the phrase “three o’clock” preserves the author’s rougher, less elegant style (cf. Matt 27:45-46; Luke 23:44). Although such stylistic matters are frequently handled differently in the translation, because the issue of synoptic literary dependence is involved here, it was considered important to reflect some of the stylistic differences among the synoptics in the translation, so that the English reader can be aware of them.

[15:34]  ⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 22:1.

[15:35]  ⁷ sn Perhaps the crowd thought Jesus was calling for Elijah because the exclamation “my God, my God” (i.e., in Aramaic, Eloi, Eloi) sounds like the name Elijah.

[15:36]  ⁸ sn Sour wine refers to cheap wine that was called in Latin posca, a cheap vinegar wine diluted heavily with water. It was the drink of slaves and soldiers, and was probably there for the soldiers who had performed the crucifixion.

[15:36]  ⁹ tn Grk “a reed.”