Mark 4:25

4:25 For whoever has will be given more, but ¹  whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” ² 

Mark 6:5

6:5 He was not able to do a miracle there, except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.

Mark 9:7

9:7 Then ³  a cloud ⁴  overshadowed them, ⁵  and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my one dear Son. ⁶  Listen to him!” ⁷ 

Mark 15:21

The Crucifixion

15:21 The soldiers ⁸  forced ⁹  a passerby to carry his cross, ¹⁰  Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country ¹¹  (he was the father of Alexander and Rufus).

Mark 15:31

15:31 In the same way even the chief priests – together with the experts in the law ¹²  – were mocking him among themselves: ¹³  “He saved others, but he cannot save himself!

[4:25]  ¹ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[4:25]  ² sn What he has will be taken from him. The meaning is that the one who accepts Jesus’ teaching concerning his person and the kingdom will receive a share in the kingdom now and even more in the future, but for the one who rejects Jesus’ words, the opportunity that that person presently possesses with respect to the kingdom will someday be taken away forever.

[9:7]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:7]  ⁴ sn This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.

[9:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “And there came a cloud, surrounding them.”

[9:7]  ⁶ tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agaphtos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).

[9:7]  ⁷ sn The expression listen to him comes from Deut 18:15 and makes two points: 1) Jesus is a prophet like Moses, a leader-prophet, and 2) they have much yet to learn from him.

[15:21]  ⁵ tn Grk “They”; the referent (the soldiers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:21]  ⁶ tn Or “conscripted”; or “pressed into service.”

[15:21]  ⁷ sn Jesus was beaten severely with a whip before this (the prelude to crucifixion, known to the Romans as verberatio, mentioned in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1), so he would have been weak from trauma and loss of blood. Apparently he was unable to bear the cross himself, so Simon was conscripted to help (in all probability this was only the crossbeam, called in Latin the patibulum, since the upright beam usually remained in the ground at the place of execution). Cyrene was located in North Africa where Tripoli is today. Nothing more is known about this Simon.

[15:21]  ⁸ tn Or perhaps, “was coming in from his field” outside the city (BDAG 15-16 s.v. ἀγρός 1).

[15:31]  ⁷ tn Or “with the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22. Only “chief priests” is in the nominative case; this sentence structure attempts to capture this emphasis.

[15:31]  ⁸ tn Grk “Mocking him, the chief priests…said among themselves.”