Mark 1:23

1:23 Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit, ¹  and he cried out, ² 

Mark 4:2

4:2 He taught them many things in parables, ³  and in his teaching said to them:

Mark 12:39

12:39 and the best seats in the synagogues ⁴  and the places of honor at banquets.

Mark 13:17

13:17 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days!

[1:23]  ¹ sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.

[1:23]  ² tn Grk “he cried out, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[4:2]  ³ sn Though parables can contain a variety of figures of speech (cf. 2:19-22; 3:23-25; 4:3-9, 26-32; 7:15-17; 13:28), many times they are simply stories that attempt to teach spiritual truth (which is unknown to the hearers) by using a comparison with something known to the hearers. In general, parables usually advance a single idea, though there may be many parts and characters in a single parable and subordinate ideas may expand the main idea further. The beauty of using the parable as a teaching device is that it draws the listener into the story, elicits an evaluation, and demands a response.

[12:39]  ⁵ sn See the note on synagogue in 1:21.