Mark 1:3

1:3 the voice of one shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make ¹  his paths straight.’” ² 

Mark 3:14

3:14 He ³  appointed twelve (whom he named apostles ⁴ ), ⁵  so that they would be with him and he could send them to preach

Mark 6:7

Sending Out the Twelve Apostles

6:7 Jesus ⁶  called the twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁷ 

Mark 11:21

11:21 Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered.”

Mark 15:44

15:44 Pilate was surprised that he was already dead. He ⁸  called the centurion and asked him if he had been dead for some time.

[1:3]  ¹ sn This call to “make his paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

[1:3]  ² sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

[3:14]  ³ tn Grk “And he.”

[3:14]  ⁴ sn The term apostles is rare in the gospels, found only here and Mark 6:30, Matt 10:2, and six more times in Luke (6:13; 9:10; 11:49; 17:5; 22:14; 24:10).

[3:14]  ⁵ tc The phrase “whom he named apostles” is lacking in the majority of mss (A C² [D] L ˹ 33 Ï latt sy). Several primary Alexandrian and Caesarean witnesses (א B [C* W] Θ Ë¹³ 28 pc co) include the phrase, so the external evidence is strongly in favor of this reading, especially since Alexandrian witnesses tend to witness to the shorter reading. It is possible that the Alexandrian witnesses have inserted these words to bring the text in line with Luke 6:13 (TCGNT 69), but against this is the internal evidence of Mark’s style: Mark tends toward gratuitous redundancy. Thus the inclusion of this phrase is supported by both internal and external evidence and should be regarded as more likely original than the omission.

[6:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:7]  ⁶ sn The phrase unclean spirits refers to evil spirits.

[15:44]  ⁷ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.