Mark 1:6

1:6 John wore a garment made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ¹ 

Mark 1:9

The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus

1:9 Now ²  in those days Jesus came from Nazareth ³  in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. ⁴ 

Mark 1:14

Preaching in Galilee and the Call of the Disciples

1:14 Now after John was imprisoned, ⁵  Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel ⁶  of God. ⁷ 

Mark 1:19

1:19 Going on a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother in their ⁸  boat mending nets.

Mark 3:17

3:17 to James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee, ⁹  he gave the name Boanerges (that is, “sons of thunder”);

Mark 5:37

5:37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James, ¹⁰  and John, the brother of James.

Mark 6:24-25

6:24 So ¹¹  she went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” Her mother ¹²  said, “The head of John the baptizer.” ¹³  6:25 Immediately she hurried back to the king and made her request: ¹⁴  “I want the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately.”

Mark 8:28

8:28 They said, ¹⁵  “John the Baptist, others say Elijah, ¹⁶  and still others, one of the prophets.”

Mark 9:38

On Jesus’ Side

9:38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not following us.”

Mark 10:35

The Request of James and John

10:35 Then ¹⁷  James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

Mark 13:3

Signs of the End of the Age

13:3 So ¹⁸  while he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, ¹⁹  and Andrew asked him privately,

[1:6]  ¹ sn John’s lifestyle was in stark contrast to many of the religious leaders of Jerusalem who lived in relative ease and luxury. While his clothing and diet were indicative of someone who lived in the desert, they also depicted him in his role as God’s prophet (cf. Zech 13:4); his appearance is similar to the Prophet Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8). Locusts and wild honey were a common diet in desert regions and locusts (dried insects) are listed in Lev 11:22 among the “clean” foods.

[1:9]  ² tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[1:9]  ³ map For location see Map1 D3; Map2 C2; Map3 D5; Map4 C1; Map5 G3.

[1:9]  ⁴ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[1:14]  ³ tn Or “arrested,” “taken into custody” (see L&N 37.12).

[1:14]  ⁴ tc Most witnesses, especially later ones (A D W Ï lat), have τῆς βασιλείας (ths basileias) between τὸ εὐαγγέλιον (to euangelion) and τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou): “the gospel of the kingdom of God.” On the one hand, it is perhaps possible that τῆς βασιλείας was omitted to conform the expression to that which is found in the epistles (cf. Rom 1:1; 15:16; 2 Cor 11:7; 1 Thess 2:2, 8, 9; 1 Pet 4:17). On the other hand, this expression, “the gospel of God,” occurs nowhere else in the Gospels, while “the gospel of the kingdom” is a Matthean expression (Matt 4:23; 9:35; 24:14), and “kingdom of God” is pervasive in the synoptic Gospels (occurring over 50 times). Scribes would thus be more prone to add τῆς βασιλείας than to omit it. Further, the external support for the shorter reading (א B L Θ Ë^1,13 28* 33 565 579 892 2427 sa) is significantly stronger than that for the longer reading. There is little doubt, therefore, that the shorter reading is authentic.

[1:14]  ⁵ tn The genitive in the phrase τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ (to euangelion tou qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself.

[1:19]  ⁴ tn Or “a boat.” The phrase ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ (en tw ploiw) can either refer to a generic boat, some boat (as it seems to do in Matt 4:21); or it can refer to “their” boat, implying possession. Mark assumes a certain preunderstanding on the part of his readers about the first four disciples and hence the translation “their boat” is justified (cf. also v. 20 in which the “hired men” indicates that Zebedee’s family owned the boats).

[3:17]  ⁵ tn Grk “to James, the son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James.”

[5:37]  ⁶ tn Grk “and James,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[6:24]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[6:24]  ⁸ tn Grk “She said”; the referent (the girl’s mother) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:24]  ⁹ tn While Matthew and Luke consistently use the noun βαπτίστης (baptisths, “the Baptist”) to refer to John, as a kind of a title, Mark employs the substantival participle ὁ βαπτίζων (Jo baptizwn, “the one who baptizes, the baptizer”) to describe him (though twice he does use the noun [Mark 6:25; 8:28]).

[6:25]  ⁸ tn Grk “she asked, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant and has not been translated.

[8:28]  ⁹ tn Grk “And they said to him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[8:28]  ¹⁰ sn The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.

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

[13:3]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[13:3]  ¹² tn Grk “and James and John,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.