Mark 1:32

1:32 When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and demon-possessed.

Mark 5:2

5:2 Just as Jesus ¹  was getting out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit ²  came from the tombs and met him. ³ 

Mark 6:23

6:23 He swore to her, ⁴  “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” ⁵ 

Mark 10:15

10:15 I tell you the truth, ⁶  whoever does not receive ⁷  the kingdom of God like a child ⁸  will never ⁹  enter it.”

[5:2]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:2]  ² sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.

[5:2]  ³ tn Grk “met him from the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.” When this is converted to normal English word order (“a man met him from the tombs with an unclean spirit”) it sounds as if “with an unclean spirit” modifies “the tombs.” Likewise, “a man with an unclean spirit from the tombs met him” implies that the unclean spirit came from the tombs, while the Greek text is clear that it is the man who had the unclean spirit who came from the tombs. To make this clear a second verb, “came,” is supplied in English: “came from the tombs and met him.”

[6:23]  ¹ tc ‡ The witnesses here support several different readings: αὐτῇ πολλά (auth polla, “to her insistently”) is found in D Θ 565 700 it; πολλά is the reading of Ì^45vid 28; both words are lacking in L pc; and א A B C^2vid ˹³ 33 2427 Ï lat have just αὐτῇ. The best candidates for authenticity, on external grounds, are αὐτῇ πολλά and αὐτῇ. So the issue revolves around whether πολλά is part of the text. On the one hand, πολλά used adverbially is a distinctive Markanism (10 of the 16 NT instances are found in Mark; of the other Gospels, Matthew alone adds a single example [Matt 9:14]). It could be argued that such an unremarkable term would go unnoticed by the scribes, and consequently would not have been inserted in imitation of Mark’s style observed elsewhere. On the other hand, the largest cluster of instances of an adverbial πολλά are in Mark 5-6, with the most recent example coming just three verses earlier (Mark 5:23, 38, 43; 6:20). Scribes may well have imitated the usage so recently and so frequently seen. Further, the best Alexandrian witnesses, as well as good representatives of the Western and Byzantines texts, lack πολλά. On the whole, though a decision is difficult, it is probably best to read the text without πολλά. NA²⁷ places the word in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[6:23]  ² sn The expression up to half my kingdom is a proverbial comment meaning “great wealth.”

[10:15]  ¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[10:15]  ² sn On receive see John 1:12.

[10:15]  ³ sn The point of the comparison receive the kingdom of God like a child has more to do with a child’s trusting spirit and willingness to be dependent and receive from others than any inherent humility the child might possess.

[10:15]  ⁴ tn The negation in Greek (οὐ μή, ou mh) is very strong here.