Mark 1:2

1:2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, ¹ 

“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way, ² 

Mark 2:23

Lord of the Sabbath

2:23 Jesus ³  was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath, and his disciples began to pick some heads of wheat ⁴  as they made their way.

Mark 4:4

4:4 And as he sowed, some seed ⁵  fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

Mark 6:8

6:8 He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff ⁶  – no bread, no bag, ⁷  no money in their belts –

Mark 8:3

8:3 If I send them home hungry, they will faint on the way, and some of them have come from a great distance.”

Mark 10:17

The Rich Man

10:17 Now ⁸  as Jesus ⁹  was starting out on his way, someone ran up to him, fell on his knees, and said, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁰ 

Mark 10:52

10:52 Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has healed you.” Immediately he regained ¹¹  his sight and followed him on the road.

[1:2]  ¹ tc Instead of “in Isaiah the prophet” the majority of mss read “in the prophets” (A W ˹³ Ï Ir^lat). Except for Irenaeus (2nd century), the earliest evidence for this is thus from the 5th (or possibly late 4th) century (W A). The difficulty of Irenaeus is that he wrote in Greek but has been preserved largely in Latin. His Greek remains have “in Isaiah the prophet.” Only the later Latin translation has “in the prophets.” The KJV reading is thus in harmony with the majority of late mss. On the other hand, the witnesses for “in Isaiah the prophet” (either with the article before Isaiah or not) are early and geographically widespread: א B D L Δ Θ Ë¹ 33 565 700 892 1241 2427 al sy^p co Ir. This evidence runs deep into the 2nd century, is widespread, and is found in the most important Alexandrian, Western, and Caesarean witnesses. The “Isaiah” reading has a better external pedigree in every way. It has the support of the earliest and best witnesses from all the texttypes that matter. Moreover it is the harder reading, since the quotation in the first part of the verse appears to be from Exod 23:20 and Mal 3:1, with the quotation from Isa 40:3 coming in the next verse. The reading of the later mss seems motivated by a desire to resolve this difficulty.

[1:2]  ² sn The opening lines of the quotation are from Exod 23:20; Mal 3:1. Here is the forerunner who points the way to the arrival of God’s salvation. His job is to prepare and guide the people, as the cloud did for Israel in the desert.

[2:23]  ³ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:23]  ⁴ tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).

[4:4]  ⁵ tn Mark’s version of the parable, like Luke’s (cf. Luke 8:4-8), uses the collective singular to refer to the seed throughout, so singular pronouns have been used consistently throughout this parable in the English translation. However, the parallel account in Matt 13:1-9 begins with plural pronouns in v. 4 but then switches to the collective singular in v. 5 ff.

[6:8]  ⁷ sn Neither Matt 10:9-10 nor Luke 9:3 allow for a staff. It might be that Matthew and Luke mean not taking an extra staff, or that the expression is merely rhetorical for “traveling light,” which has been rendered in two slightly different ways.

[6:8]  ⁸ tn Or “no traveler’s bag”; or possibly “no beggar’s bag” (L&N 6.145; BDAG 811 s.v. πήρα).

[10:17]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[10:17]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:17]  ¹¹ sn The rich man wanted to know what he must do to inherit eternal life, but Jesus had just finished teaching that eternal life was not earned but simply received (10:15).

[10:52]  ¹¹ tn Or “received” (see the note on the phrase “let me see again” in v. 51).