Mark 10:13

Jesus and Little Children

10:13 Now ¹  people were bringing little children to him for him to touch, ²  but the disciples scolded those who brought them. ³ 

Mark 1:44

1:44 He told him, ⁴  “See that you do not say anything to anyone, ⁵  but go, show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering that Moses commanded ⁶  for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ⁷ 

Mark 2:4

2:4 When they were not able to bring him in because of the crowd, they removed the roof ⁸  above Jesus. ⁹  Then, ¹⁰  after tearing it out, they lowered the stretcher the paralytic was lying on.

[10:13]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[10:13]  ² tn Grk “so that he would touch them.” Here the touch is connected with (or conveys) a blessing (cf. v. 16; also BDAG 126 s.v. ἅπτω 2.c).

[10:13]  ³ tc “Those who brought them” (ἐπετιμῶν τοῖς προσφέρουσιν, epetimwn toi" prosferousin) is the reading of most mss (A D W [Θ Ë^1,13] Ï lat sy), but it is probably a motivated reading. Since the subject is not explicit in the earliest and best witnesses as well as several others (א B C L Δ Ψ 579 892 2427), scribes would be prone to add “those who brought them” here to clarify that the children were not the ones being scolded. It could be argued that the masculine pronoun αὐτοῖς (autois, “them”) only rarely was used with the neuter antecedent παιδία (paidia, “children”), and thus the longer reading was not motivated by scribal clarification. However, such rare usage is found in Mark (cf. 5:41; 9:24-26); further, scribes routinely added clarifications when such were not necessary. Thus, both on external and internal grounds, the shorter reading is strongly preferred. Similar motivations are behind the translation here, namely, “those who brought them” has been supplied to ensure that the parents who brought the children are in view, not the children themselves.

[1:44]  ⁴ tn Grk “And after warning him, he immediately sent him away and told him.”

[1:44]  ⁵ sn The silence ordered by Jesus was probably meant to last only until the cleansing took place with the priests and sought to prevent Jesus’ healings from becoming the central focus of the people’s reaction to him. See also 1:34; 3:12; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26, 30; and 9:9 for other cases where Jesus asks for silence concerning him and his ministry.

[1:44]  ⁶ sn On the phrase bring the offering that Moses commanded see Lev 14:1-32.

[1:44]  ⁷ tn Or “as an indictment against them”; or “as proof to the people.” This phrase could be taken as referring to a positive witness to the priests, a negative testimony against them, or as a testimony to the community that the man had indeed been cured. In any case, the testimony shows that Jesus is healing and ministering to those in need.

[2:4]  ⁷ sn A house in 1st century Palestine would have had a flat roof with stairs or a ladder going up. This access was often from the outside of the house.

[2:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:4]  ⁹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.