Mark 1:12-15

1:12 The Spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness. 1:13 He was in the wilderness forty days, ¹  enduring temptations from Satan. He ²  was with wild animals, and angels were ministering to his needs. ³ 

Preaching in Galilee and the Call of the Disciples

1:14 Now after John was imprisoned, ⁴  Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel ⁵  of God. ⁶  1:15 He ⁷  said, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God ⁸  is near. Repent and believe the gospel!”

[1:13]  ¹ sn The forty days may allude to the experience of Moses (Exod 34:28), Elijah (1 Kgs 19:8, 15), or David and Goliath (1 Sam 17:16).

[1:13]  ² tn Grk “And he.”

[1:13]  ³ tn Grk “were serving him,” “were ministering to him.”

[1:14]  ⁴ tn Or “arrested,” “taken into custody” (see L&N 37.12).

[1:14]  ⁵ tc Most witnesses, especially later ones (A D W Ï lat), have τῆς βασιλείας (ths basileias) between τὸ εὐαγγέλιον (to euangelion) and τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou): “the gospel of the kingdom of God.” On the one hand, it is perhaps possible that τῆς βασιλείας was omitted to conform the expression to that which is found in the epistles (cf. Rom 1:1; 15:16; 2 Cor 11:7; 1 Thess 2:2, 8, 9; 1 Pet 4:17). On the other hand, this expression, “the gospel of God,” occurs nowhere else in the Gospels, while “the gospel of the kingdom” is a Matthean expression (Matt 4:23; 9:35; 24:14), and “kingdom of God” is pervasive in the synoptic Gospels (occurring over 50 times). Scribes would thus be more prone to add τῆς βασιλείας than to omit it. Further, the external support for the shorter reading (א B L Θ Ë^1,13 28* 33 565 579 892 2427 sa) is significantly stronger than that for the longer reading. There is little doubt, therefore, that the shorter reading is authentic.

[1:14]  ⁶ tn The genitive in the phrase τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ (to euangelion tou qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself.

[1:15]  ⁷ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:15]  ⁸ sn The kingdom of God is a reference to the sovereign activity of God as he rules over his creation and brings his plans to realization.