Mark 5:43

5:43 He strictly ordered that no one should know about this, ¹  and told them to give her something to eat.

Mark 6:23

6:23 He swore to her, ²  “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” ³ 

Mark 7:29

7:29 Then ⁴  he said to her, “Because you said this, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.”

Mark 12:31

12:31 The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁵  There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Mark 13:30

13:30 I tell you the truth, ⁶  this generation ⁷  will not pass away until all these things take place.

Mark 14:4-6

14:4 But some who were present indignantly said to one another, “Why this waste of expensive ⁸  ointment? 14:5 It ⁹  could have been sold for more than three hundred silver coins ¹⁰  and the money ¹¹  given to the poor!” So ¹²  they spoke angrily to her. 14:6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a good service for me.

[5:43]  ¹ sn That no one should know about this. See the note on the phrase who he was in 3:12.

[6:23]  ² tc ‡ The witnesses here support several different readings: αὐτῇ πολλά (auth polla, “to her insistently”) is found in D Θ 565 700 it; πολλά is the reading of Ì^45vid 28; both words are lacking in L pc; and א A B C^2vid ˹³ 33 2427 Ï lat have just αὐτῇ. The best candidates for authenticity, on external grounds, are αὐτῇ πολλά and αὐτῇ. So the issue revolves around whether πολλά is part of the text. On the one hand, πολλά used adverbially is a distinctive Markanism (10 of the 16 NT instances are found in Mark; of the other Gospels, Matthew alone adds a single example [Matt 9:14]). It could be argued that such an unremarkable term would go unnoticed by the scribes, and consequently would not have been inserted in imitation of Mark’s style observed elsewhere. On the other hand, the largest cluster of instances of an adverbial πολλά are in Mark 5-6, with the most recent example coming just three verses earlier (Mark 5:23, 38, 43; 6:20). Scribes may well have imitated the usage so recently and so frequently seen. Further, the best Alexandrian witnesses, as well as good representatives of the Western and Byzantines texts, lack πολλά. On the whole, though a decision is difficult, it is probably best to read the text without πολλά. NA²⁷ places the word in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[6:23]  ³ sn The expression up to half my kingdom is a proverbial comment meaning “great wealth.”

[7:29]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:31]  ⁴ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

[13:30]  ⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[13:30]  ⁶ sn This is one of the hardest verses in the gospels to interpret. Various views exist for what generation means. (1) Some take it as meaning “race” and thus as an assurance that the Jewish race (nation) will not pass away. But it is very questionable that the Greek term γενεά (genea) can have this meaning. Two other options are possible. (2) Generation might mean “this type of generation” and refer to the generation of wicked humanity. Then the point is that humanity will not perish, because God will redeem it. Or (3) generation may refer to “the generation that sees the signs of the end” (v. 26), who will also see the end itself. In other words, once the movement to the return of Christ starts, all the events connected with it happen very quickly, in rapid succession.

[14:4]  ⁶ tn The word “expensive” is not in the Greek text but has been included to suggest a connection to the lengthy phrase “costly aromatic oil from pure nard” occurring earlier in v. 3. The author of Mark shortened this long phrase to just one word in Greek when repeated here, and the phrase “expensive ointment” used in the translation is intended as an abbreviated paraphrase.

[14:5]  ⁷ tn Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[14:5]  ⁸ tn Grk “three hundred denarii.” One denarius was the standard day’s wage, so the value exceeded what a laborer could earn in a year (taking in to account Sabbaths and feast days when no work was done).

[14:5]  ⁹ tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (as the proceeds from the sale of the perfumed oil).

[14:5]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.