Mark 5:4

5:4 For his hands and feet had often been bound with chains and shackles, ¹  but ²  he had torn the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces. No one was strong enough to subdue him.

Mark 14:3

Jesus’ Anointing

14:3 Now ³  while Jesus ⁴  was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, reclining at the table, ⁵  a woman came with an alabaster jar ⁶  of costly aromatic oil ⁷  from pure nard. After breaking open the jar, she poured it on his head.

[5:4]  ¹ tn Grk “he had often been bound with chains and shackles.” “Shackles” could also be translated “fetters”; they were chains for the feet.

[5:4]  ² tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[14:3]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[14:3]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:3]  ⁵ sn 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[14:3]  ⁶ sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.

[14:3]  ⁷ tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205). The adjective πιστικῆς (pistikh") is difficult with regard to its exact meaning; some have taken it to derive from πίστις (pistis) and relate to the purity of the oil of nard. More probably it is something like a brand name, “pistic nard,” the exact significance of which has not been discovered.