Mark 1:4

1:4 In the wilderness ¹  John the baptizer ²  began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ³ 

Mark 9:3

9:3 and his clothes became radiantly white, more so than any launderer in the world could bleach them.

Mark 10:16

10:16 After he took the children in his arms, he placed his hands on them and blessed them.

Mark 10:22

10:22 But at this statement, the man ⁴  looked sad and went away sorrowful, for he was very rich. ⁵ 

Mark 12:4

12:4 So ⁶  he sent another slave to them again. This one they struck on the head and treated outrageously.

Mark 12:21

12:21 The second married her and died without any children, and likewise the third.

Mark 12:42

12:42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, ⁷  worth less than a penny.

Mark 15:12

15:12 So Pilate spoke to them again, ⁸  “Then what do you want me to do ⁹  with the one you call king of the Jews?”

[1:4]  ¹ tn Or “desert.”

[1:4]  ² tn While Matthew and Luke consistently use the noun βαπτίστης (baptisths, “[the] Baptist”) to refer to John, as a kind of a title, Mark prefers the substantival participle ὁ βαπτίζων (Jo baptizwn, “the one who baptizes, the baptizer”) to describe him (only twice does he use the noun [Mark 6:25; 8:28]).

[1:4]  ³ sn A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins was a call for preparation for the arrival of the Lord’s salvation. To participate in this baptism was a recognition of the need for God’s forgiveness with a sense that one needed to live differently as a response to it.

[10:22]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man who asked the question in v. 17) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:22]  ⁵ tn Grk “he had many possessions.” This term (κτῆμα, kthma) is often used for land as a possession.

[12:4]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first slave.

[12:42]  ¹⁰ sn These two small copper coins were lepta (sing. “lepton”), the smallest and least valuable coins in circulation in Palestine, worth one-half of a quadrans or 1/128 of a denarius, or about six minutes of an average daily wage. This was next to nothing in value.

[15:12]  ¹³ tn Grk “answering, Pilate spoke to them again.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[15:12]  ¹⁴ tc Instead of “what do you want me to do” several witnesses, including the most important ones (א B C W Δ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 892 2427 pc), lack θέλετε (qelete, “you want”), turning the question into the more abrupt “what should I do?” Although the witnesses for the longer reading are not as significant (A D Θ 0250 Ï latt sy), the reading without θέλετε conforms to Matt 27:22 and thus is suspected of being a scribal emendation. The known scribal tendency to assimilate one synoptic passage to another parallel, coupled with the lack of such assimilation in mss that are otherwise known to do this most frequently (the Western and Byzantine texts), suggests that θέλετε is authentic. Further, Mark’s known style of being generally more verbose and redundant than Matthew’s argues that θέλετε is authentic here. That this is the longer reading, however, and that a good variety of witnesses omit the word, gives one pause. Perhaps the wording without θέλετε would have been perceived as having greater homiletical value, motivating scribes to move in this direction. A decision is difficult, but on the whole internal evidence leads toward regarding θέλετε as authentic.