Mark 1:40

Cleansing a Leper

1:40 Now ¹  a leper ²  came to him and fell to his knees, asking for help. “If ³  you are willing, you can make me clean,” he said.

Mark 3:28

3:28 I tell you the truth, ⁴  people will be forgiven for all sins, even all the blasphemies they utter. ⁵ 

Mark 7:3-4

7:3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing, ⁶  holding fast to the tradition of the elders. 7:4 And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. They hold fast to many other traditions: the washing of cups, pots, kettles, and dining couches. ⁷ ) ⁸ 

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 9:50

9:50 Salt ⁹  is good, but if it loses its saltiness, ¹⁰  how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Mark 10:35

The Request of James and John

10:35 Then ¹¹  James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

Mark 11:3

11:3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it ¹²  and will send it back here soon.’”

Mark 14:9

14:9 I tell you the truth, ¹³  wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Mark 14:31

14:31 But Peter ¹⁴  insisted emphatically, ¹⁵  “Even if I must die with you, I will never deny you.” And all of them said the same thing.

[1:40]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[1:40]  ² sn The ancient term for leprosy covers a wider array of conditions than what we call leprosy today. A leper was totally ostracized from society until he was declared cured (Lev 13:45-46).

[1:40]  ³ tn This is a third class condition. The report portrays the leper making no presumptions about whether Jesus will heal him or not.

[3:28]  ⁴ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[3:28]  ⁵ tn Grk “all the sins and blasphemies they may speak will be forgiven the sons of men.”

[7:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “except they wash the hands with a fist,” a ceremonial washing (though the actual method is uncertain).

[7:4]  ¹⁰ tc Several important witnesses (Ì^45vid א B L Δ 28* pc) lack “and dining couches” (καὶ κλινῶν, kai klinwn), while the majority of mss (A D W Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt) have the reading. Although normally the shorter reading is to be preferred, especially when it is backed by excellent witnesses as in this case, there are some good reasons to consider καὶ κλινῶν as authentic: (1) Although the addition of κλινῶν could be seen as motivated by a general assimilation to the purity regulations in Lev 15 (as some have argued), there are three problems with such a supposition: (a) the word κλίνη (klinh) does not occur in the LXX of Lev 15; (b) nowhere in Lev 15 is the furniture washed or sprinkled; and (c) the context of Lev 15 is about sexual impurity, while the most recent evidence suggests that κλίνη in Mark 7:4, in keeping with the other terms used here, refers to a dining couch (cf. BDAG 549 s.v. κλίνη 2). Thus, it is difficult to see καὶ κλινῶν as a motivated reading. (2) κλίνη, though a relatively rare term in the NT, is in keeping with Markan usage (cf. Mark 4:21; 7:30). (3) The phrase could have been dropped accidentally, at least in some cases, via homoioteleuton. (4) The phrase may have been deliberately expunged by some scribes who thought the imagery of washing a dining couch quite odd. The longer reading, in this case, can thus be argued as the harder reading. On balance, even though a decision is difficult (especially because of the weighty external evidence for the shorter reading), it is preferable to retain καὶ κλινῶν in the text.

[7:4]  ¹¹ sn Verses 3-4 represent parenthetical remarks by the author, giving background information.

[9:50]  ¹³ sn Salt was used as seasoning or fertilizer (BDAG 41 s.v. ἅλας a), or as a preservative. If salt ceased to be useful, it was thrown away. With this illustration Jesus warned about a disciple who ceased to follow him.

[9:50]  ¹⁴ sn The difficulty of this saying is understanding how salt could lose its saltiness since its chemical properties cannot change. It is thus often assumed that Jesus was referring to chemically impure salt, perhaps a natural salt which, when exposed to the elements, had all the genuine salt leached out, leaving only the sediment or impurities behind. Others have suggested the background of the saying is the use of salt blocks by Arab bakers to line the floor of their ovens: Under the intense heat these blocks would eventually crystallize and undergo a change in chemical composition, finally being thrown out as unserviceable. A saying in the Talmud (b. Bekhorot 8b) attributed to R. Joshua ben Chananja (ca. a.d. 90), when asked the question “When salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again?” is said to have replied, “By salting it with the afterbirth of a mule.” He was then asked, “Then does the mule (being sterile) bear young?” to which he replied: “Can salt lose its flavor?” The point appears to be both are impossible. The saying, while admittedly late, suggests that culturally the loss of flavor by salt was regarded as an impossibility. Genuine salt can never lose its flavor. In this case the saying by Jesus here may be similar to Matt 19:24, where it is likewise impossible for the camel to go through the eye of a sewing needle.

[10:35]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[11:3]  ¹⁹ sn The custom called angaria allowed the impressment of animals for service to a significant figure.

[14:9]  ²² tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[14:31]  ²⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:31]  ²⁶ tn Grk “said emphatically.”