Mark 6:14

The Death of John the Baptist

6:14 Now ¹  King Herod ²  heard this, for Jesus’ ³  name had become known. Some ⁴  were saying, “John the baptizer ⁵  has been raised from the dead, and because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.”

Mark 6:17

6:17 For Herod himself had sent men, arrested John, and bound him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod ⁶  had married her.

Mark 6:20

6:20 because Herod stood in awe of ⁷  John and protected him, since he knew that John ⁸  was a righteous and holy man. When Herod ⁹  heard him, he was thoroughly baffled, ¹⁰  and yet ¹¹  he liked to listen to John. ¹² 

Mark 9:2

The Transfiguration

9:2 Six days later ¹³  Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John and led them alone up a high mountain privately. And he was transfigured before them, ¹⁴ 

[6:14]  ¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[6:14]  ² sn Herod was technically not a king, but a tetrarch, a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king. A tetrarch ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. In the NT, Herod, who ruled over Galilee, is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage rather than an official title.

[6:14]  ³ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:14]  ⁴ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:14]  ⁵ tn While Matthew and Luke consistently use the noun βαπτίστης (baptisths, “the Baptist”) to refer to John, as a kind of a title, Mark prefers the substantival participle ὁ βαπτίζων (Jo baptizwn, “the one who baptizes, the baptizer”) to describe him (only twice does he use the noun [Mark 6:25; 8:28]).

[6:17]  ⁶ tn Grk “he”; here it is necessary to specify the referent as “Herod,” since the nearest previous antecedent in the translation is Philip.

[6:20]  ¹¹ tn Grk “was fearing,” “was respecting”; the imperfect tense connotes an ongoing fear or respect for John.

[6:20]  ¹² tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:20]  ¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:20]  ¹⁴ tc In place of ἠπόρει (hporei, “he was baffled”) the majority of mss (A C D ˹ 33 Ï lat sy) have ἐποίει (epoiei, “he did”; cf. KJV’s “he did many things.”) The best mss (א B L [W] Θ 2427 co) support the reading followed in the translation. The variation may be no more than a simple case of confusion of letters, since the two readings look very much alike. The verb ποιέω (poiew, “I do”) certainly occurs more frequently than ἀπορέω (aporew, “I am at a loss”), so a scribe would be more likely to write a more familiar word. Further, even though the reading ἐποίει is the harder reading in terms of the sense, it is virtually nonsensical here, rendering it most likely an unintentional corruption.

[6:20]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “and yet” to indicate the concessive nature of the final clause.

[6:20]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And after six days.”

[9:2]  ¹⁷ sn In 1st century Judaism and in the NT, there was the belief that the righteous get new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven (1 Cor 15:42-49; 2 Cor 5:1-10). This transformation means the righteous will share the glory of God. One recalls the way Moses shared the Lord’s glory after his visit to the mountain in Exod 34. So the disciples saw Jesus transfigured, and they were getting a sneak preview of the great glory that Jesus would have (only his glory is more inherent to him as one who shares in the rule of the kingdom).