Mark 5:13

5:13 Jesus ¹  gave them permission. ²  So ³  the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs. Then the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake, and about two thousand were drowned in the lake.

Mark 7:5

7:5 The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat ⁴  with unwashed hands?”

Mark 11:25

11:25 Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will ⁵  also forgive you your sins.”

[5:13]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:13]  ² sn Many have discussed why Jesus gave them permission, since the animals were destroyed. However, this is another example of a miracle that is a visual lesson. The demons are destructive: They were destroying the man. They destroyed the pigs. They destroy whatever they touch. The point was to take demonic influence seriously, as well as Jesus’ power over it as a picture of the larger battle for human souls. There would be no doubt how the man’s transformation had taken place.

[5:13]  ³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion and transition in the narrative.

[7:5]  ⁴ tn Grk “eat bread.”

[11:25]  ⁷ tn Although the Greek subjunctive mood, formally required in a subordinate clause introduced by ἵνα ({ina), is traditionally translated by an English subjunctive (e.g., “may,” so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV), changes in the use of the subjunctive in English now result in most readers understanding such a statement as indicating permission (“may” = “has permission to”) or as indicating uncertainty (“may” = “might” or “may or may not”). Thus a number of more recent translations render such instances by an English future tense (“will,” so TEV, CEV, NLT, NASB 1995 update). That approach has been followed here.