Mark 2:1

Healing and Forgiving a Paralytic

2:1 Now ¹  after some days, when he returned to Capernaum, ²  the news spread ³  that he was at home.

Mark 3:21

3:21 When his family ⁴  heard this they went out to restrain him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

Mark 4:3

4:3 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁵ 

Mark 4:33

The Use of Parables

4:33 So ⁶  with many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear.

Mark 6:16

6:16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised!”

Mark 10:41

10:41 Now ⁷  when the other ten ⁸  heard this, ⁹  they became angry with James and John.

Mark 15:35

15:35 When some of the bystanders heard it they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah!” ¹⁰ 

Mark 16:11

16:11 And when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

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

[2:1]  ² sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.

[2:1]  ³ tn Grk “it was heard.”

[3:21]  ⁴ tc Western witnesses D W it, instead of reading οἱ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ (Joi par’ aujtou, here translated “family”), have περὶ αὐτοῦ οἱ γραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ λοιποί (peri autou Joi grammatei" kai Joi loipoi, “[when] the scribes and others [heard] about him”). But this reading is obviously motivated, for it removes the embarrassing statement about Jesus’ family’s opinion of him as “out of his mind” and transfers this view to the Lord’s opponents. The fact that virtually all other witnesses have οἱ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ here, coupled with the strong internal evidence for the shorter reading, shows this Western reading to be secondary.

[4:3]  ⁷ sn A sower went out to sow. The background for this well-known parable, drawn from a typical scene in the Palestinian countryside, is a field through which a well worn path runs. Sowing would occur in late fall or early winter (October to December) in the rainy season, looking for sprouting in April or May and a June harvest. The use of seed as a figure for God’s giving life has OT roots (Isa 55:10-11). The point of the parable of the sower is to illustrate the various responses to the message of the kingdom of God (cf. 4:11).

[4:33]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[10:41]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[10:41]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the ten.”

[10:41]  ¹⁵ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[15:35]  ¹⁶ sn Perhaps the crowd thought Jesus was calling for Elijah because the exclamation “my God, my God” (i.e., in Aramaic, Eloi, Eloi) sounds like the name Elijah.