Mark 8:11-13

The Demand for a Sign

8:11 Then the Pharisees ¹  came and began to argue with Jesus, asking for ²  a sign from heaven ³  to test him. 8:12 Sighing deeply in his spirit he said, “Why does this generation look for a sign? I tell you the truth, ⁴  no sign will be given to this generation.” 8:13 Then ⁵  he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.

[8:11]  ¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.

[8:11]  ² tn Grk “seeking from him.” The participle ζητοῦντες (zhtountes) shows the means by which the Pharisees argued with Jesus.

[8:11]  ³ sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.

[8:12]  ⁴ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[8:13]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.