1
Καὶ ⸀εἰσελθὼν πάλιν εἰς Καφαρναοὺμ δι’ ⸀ἡμερῶν ἠκούσθη ὅτι ⸂ἐν οἴκῳ⸃ ἐστίν·
And entering Capernaum again after some days, it was heard that he was at home.
2
⸀καὶ συνήχθησαν πολλοὶ ὥστε μηκέτι χωρεῖν μηδὲ τὰ πρὸς τὴν θύραν, καὶ ἐλάλει αὐτοῖς τὸν λόγον.
And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even at the door; and he was speaking the word to them.
3
καὶ ἔρχονται ⸂φέροντες πρὸς αὐτὸν παραλυτικὸν⸃ αἰρόμενον ὑπὸ τεσσάρων.
And they come, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four.
4
καὶ μὴ δυνάμενοι ⸀προσενέγκαι αὐτῷ διὰ τὸν ὄχλον ἀπεστέγασαν τὴν στέγην ὅπου ἦν, καὶ ἐξορύξαντες χαλῶσι τὸν κράβαττον ⸀ὅπου ὁ παραλυτικὸς κατέκειτο.
And not being able to bring him to him because of the crowd, they unroofed the roof where he was, and having dug through they lower the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
5
⸂καὶ ἰδὼν⸃ ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὴν πίστιν αὐτῶν λέγει τῷ παραλυτικῷ· Τέκνον, ⸂ἀφίενταί σου⸃ αἱ ⸀ἁμαρτίαι.
And Jesus, seeing their faith, says to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.”
Why this rendering
Mark.2.5 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἀφίενταί is the **present passive** of ἀφίημι — your sins are being forgiven. Not a perfect. SBLGNT marks the word (⸂). τὴν πίστιν αὐτῶν — their faith, plural: seeing the faith of the four who opened the roof, he speaks to the sick man. λέγει is a historic present. Τέκνον, child, is vocative. ἀφίημι and ἁμαρτία run paired four times through the passage (vv.5, 7, 9, 10) — the whole dispute turns on the two words. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸂καὶ ἰδὼν⸃ ⸂ἀφίενταί σου⸃ ⸀ἁμαρτίαι.).
Rendering options · 2
your sins have been forgiven
Basis Renders as a perfect.
Rejected The original is present. A perfect makes it a declaration already done; the present reads as happening with the very word — which meshes with the scribes' instant reaction, who can forgive sins but God alone. The Vulgate (dimittuntur) and the Synodal (прощаются) keep the present.
Adopted And Jesus, seeing their faith, says to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.”
Basis Keeps the present passive as present, and the historic λέγει.
Lost in translation
the performative present passive Whether the forgiving happens with the word or is the notice of a done thing hangs on the tense. And the passive hides the agent — the sentence does not say who forgives, and the scribes attack exactly that empty slot.
Survives in · NASB / ESV / NET / VULG / SYNOD
6
ἦσαν δέ τινες τῶν γραμματέων ἐκεῖ καθήμενοι καὶ διαλογιζόμενοι ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν·
Now some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts:
7
Τί οὗτος οὕτως λαλεῖ; ⸀βλασφημεῖ· τίς δύναται ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ θεός;
“Why does this man speak like this? He blasphemes. Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8
καὶ ⸀εὐθὺς ἐπιγνοὺς ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῷ πνεύματι αὐτοῦ ὅτι ⸀οὕτως διαλογίζονται ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ⸀λέγει αὐτοῖς· Τί ταῦτα διαλογίζεσθε ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν;
And at once Jesus, knowing in his spirit that they were reasoning so within themselves, says to them, “Why do you reason these things in your hearts?
9
τί ἐστιν εὐκοπώτερον, εἰπεῖν τῷ παραλυτικῷ· ⸀Ἀφίενταί σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι, ἢ εἰπεῖν· ⸀Ἔγειρε καὶ ἆρον ⸂τὸν κράβαττόν σου⸃ καὶ περιπάτει;
Which is easier — to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your mat and walk’?
10
ἵνα δὲ εἰδῆτε ὅτι ἐξουσίαν ἔχει ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ⸂ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας⸃— λέγει τῷ παραλυτικῷ·
But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on the earth” — he says to the paralytic —
11
Σοὶ λέγω, ⸀ἔγειρε ἆρον τὸν κράβαττόν σου καὶ ὕπαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου.
“I say to you, rise, take up your mat and go to your house.”
Why this rendering
Mark.2.11 Observation
Syntactic observation
κράβαττος stands four times in the passage (vv.4, 9, 11, 12). **It is the word used of the Bethesda invalid at John 5:8–11** — rise, take up your mat and walk (John 5:8) and rise, take up your mat and go home (Mark 2:11) share the three verbs and the noun. κράβαττος is a loanword of the Latin grabatus family, nearer a poor man's pallet — Matthew (κλίνη) and Luke (κλινίδιον) use other words. ἔγειρε is a present imperative, ἆρον an aorist. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀ἔγειρε).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted I say to you, rise, take up your mat and go to your house.
Basis Renders κράβαττος as at John 5, keeping the corpus link.
rise, take up your bed
Basis Renders as bed.
Rejected John 5:8 was rendered 자리, and one word stays one inside the corpus. And bed sits nearer κλίνη — the plebeian grain of Mark's word is lost.
Lost in translation
the parallel of Mark 2:11 and John 5:8 The healings in the two Gospels share one command — three verbs and one rare noun. Only a corpus rendered consistently lets the two places look like one sentence; versions are mostly self-consistent, but nothing marks the parallel.
Survives in · 개역한글 / NASB / ESV / VULG / ELB / SYNOD
12
καὶ ἠγέρθη ⸂καὶ εὐθὺς⸃ ἄρας τὸν κράβαττον ἐξῆλθεν ⸀ἔμπροσθεν πάντων, ὥστε ἐξίστασθαι πάντας καὶ δοξάζειν τὸν θεὸν λέγοντας ὅτι ⸂Οὕτως οὐδέποτε⸃ εἴδομεν.
And he rose, and at once, taking up the mat, he went out before them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”
13
Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν πάλιν παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν· καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος ἤρχετο πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτούς.
And he went out again beside the sea; and the whole crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them.
14
καὶ παράγων εἶδεν Λευὶν τὸν τοῦ Ἁλφαίου καθήμενον ἐπὶ τὸ τελώνιον, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἀκολούθει μοι. καὶ ἀναστὰς ἠκολούθησεν αὐτῷ.
And passing along he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he says to him, “Follow me.” And rising, he followed him.
15
Καὶ ⸀γίνεται κατακεῖσθαι αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ πολλοὶ τελῶναι καὶ ἁμαρτωλοὶ συνανέκειντο τῷ Ἰησοῦ καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ, ἦσαν γὰρ πολλοὶ καὶ ⸀ἠκολούθουν αὐτῷ.
And it comes to be that he reclines at table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many, and they were following him.
16
καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς ⸂τῶν Φαρισαίων⸃ ⸀ἰδόντες ⸂ὅτι ἐσθίει⸃ μετὰ τῶν ⸂ἁμαρτωλῶν καὶ τελωνῶν⸃ ἔλεγον τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ· ⸀Ὅτι μετὰ τῶν ⸂τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν⸃ ⸀ἐσθίει;
And the scribes of the Pharisees, seeing that he eats with the sinners and tax collectors, were saying to his disciples, “Why does he eat with the tax collectors and sinners?”
17
καὶ ἀκούσας ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγει αὐτοῖς ⸀ὅτι Οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ ἀλλ’ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες· οὐκ ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους ἀλλὰ ⸀ἁμαρτωλούς.
And hearing it, Jesus says to them, “The strong have no need of a physician, but those who are ill. I did not come to call righteous people but sinners.”
18
Καὶ ἦσαν οἱ μαθηταὶ Ἰωάννου καὶ οἱ ⸀Φαρισαῖοι νηστεύοντες. καὶ ἔρχονται καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Διὰ τί οἱ μαθηταὶ Ἰωάννου καὶ οἱ ⸀μαθηταὶ τῶν Φαρισαίων νηστεύουσιν, οἱ δὲ σοὶ μαθηταὶ οὐ νηστεύουσιν;
And the disciples of John and the Pharisees were fasting. And they come and say to him, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
19
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Μὴ δύνανται οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ νυμφῶνος ἐν ᾧ ὁ νυμφίος μετ’ αὐτῶν ἐστιν νηστεύειν; ὅσον χρόνον ⸂ἔχουσιν τὸν νυμφίον μετ’ αὐτῶν⸃ οὐ δύνανται νηστεύειν·
And Jesus said to them, “Can the sons of the bridal chamber fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
20
ἐλεύσονται δὲ ἡμέραι ὅταν ἀπαρθῇ ἀπ’ αὐτῶν ὁ νυμφίος, καὶ τότε νηστεύσουσιν ἐν ⸂ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ⸃.
But days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast, in that day.
21
⸀Οὐδεὶς ἐπίβλημα ῥάκους ἀγνάφου ἐπιράπτει ἐπὶ ⸂ἱμάτιον παλαιόν⸃· εἰ δὲ μή, αἴρει τὸ πλήρωμα ⸀ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ τὸ καινὸν τοῦ παλαιοῦ, καὶ χεῖρον σχίσμα γίνεται.
No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise the new filling pulls away from the old, and a worse tear comes to be.
Why this rendering
Mark.2.21 Observation
Syntactic observation
The sentence ends χεῖρον **σχίσμα** γίνεται — a worse tear comes to be. **σχίσμα is the noun of σχίζω** — the heavens torn at 1:10, the curtain torn at 15:38. In Mark the noun occurs only here. So Mark's tearing root stands in three places: heavens (1:10), garment (2:21), curtain (15:38). τὸ καινόν — the new pulls away from the old; καινός stands twice across this verse and the next. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀Οὐδεὶς ⸂ἱμάτιον παλαιόν⸃· ⸀ἀπ’).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise the new filling pulls away from the old, and a worse tear comes to be.
Basis Keeps σχίσμα as tearing so the root joins 1:10 and 15:38.
a worse hole is made
Basis Unpacks as a hole.
Rejected A hole severs the σχίζω root. In a book where heavens and curtain are torn, the garment too must tear for the root to stand.
Lost in translation
the three places of the tearing root 1:10 (verb), 2:21 (noun) and 15:38 (verb) are one root. Joining noun to verb does not fully carry in translation, and no version marks the three together.
22
καὶ οὐδεὶς βάλλει οἶνον νέον εἰς ἀσκοὺς παλαιούς· εἰ δὲ μή, ⸂ῥήξει ὁ οἶνος⸃ τοὺς ἀσκούς, καὶ ὁ οἶνος ⸂ἀπόλλυται καὶ οἱ ἀσκοί⸃. ἀλλὰ οἶνον νέον εἰς ἀσκοὺς ⸀καινούς.
And no one puts young wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and the skins. But young wine into fresh wineskins.”
Why this rendering
Mark.2.22 Observation
Syntactic observation
**νέος and καινός face each other in one sentence** — the wine is οἶνον νέον, young, and the skins ἀσκοὺς καινούς, newly made. The distinction that could only be observed across John (καινός at 13:34, 19:41; νέος at 21:18) is here drawn by the author inside a single sentence: νέος only of the wine, καινός only of the skins — youngness of time and newness of kind each in its place. The closing ἀλλὰ οἶνον νέον εἰς ἀσκοὺς καινούς has no verb — it cuts like a proverb. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸂ῥήξει οἶνος⸃ ⸂ἀπόλλυται ἀσκοί⸃. ⸀καινούς.).
Rendering options · 2
new wine into new wineskins
Basis Renders both as new.
Rejected Two words the author split inside one sentence become one. In our columns only NASB and ESV (new against fresh) and the Synodal (молодое against новые) keep them apart. 개역한글, KJV, NIV, the Vulgate and the Japanese all have new twice.
Adopted And no one puts young wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and the skins. But young wine into fresh wineskins.
Basis Splits νέος as young and καινός as fresh, and leaves the verbless close verbless.
Lost in translation
the νέος / καινός split Korean 새 and English new are single, a loss only recorded through John; here the two stand in one sentence and can be split — the first place in the corpus where the distinction survives translation.
Survives in · NASB / ESV / SYNOD
23
Καὶ ἐγένετο ⸂αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς σάββασιν παραπορεύεσθαι⸃ διὰ τῶν σπορίμων, καὶ ⸂οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἤρξαντο⸃ ὁδὸν ποιεῖν τίλλοντες τοὺς στάχυας.
And it came to be that he was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and his disciples began to make a way, plucking the heads of grain.
24
καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι ἔλεγον αὐτῷ· Ἴδε τί ⸀ποιοῦσιν τοῖς σάββασιν ὃ οὐκ ἔξεστιν;
And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing on the Sabbath what is not lawful?”
25
καὶ ⸀λέγει αὐτοῖς· Οὐδέποτε ἀνέγνωτε τί ἐποίησεν Δαυὶδ ὅτε χρείαν ἔσχεν καὶ ἐπείνασεν αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ μετ’ αὐτοῦ;
And he says to them, “Have you never read what David did when he had need and was hungry, he and those with him —
26
⸀πῶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπὶ Ἀβιαθὰρ ἀρχιερέως καὶ τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς προθέσεως ἔφαγεν, οὓς οὐκ ἔξεστιν φαγεῖν εἰ μὴ ⸂τοὺς ἱερεῖς⸃, καὶ ἔδωκεν καὶ τοῖς σὺν αὐτῷ οὖσιν;
how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and gave it also to those who were with him?”
27
καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· Τὸ σάββατον διὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐγένετο ⸀καὶ οὐχ ὁ ἄνθρωπος διὰ τὸ σάββατον·
And he was saying to them, “The Sabbath came to be for the man, and not the man for the Sabbath;
Why this rendering
Mark.2.27 Observation
Syntactic observation
διά with the accusative crosses twice — the Sabbath came to be for the man, not the man for the Sabbath. ἐγένετο is γίνομαι, the came to be fixed at John 1:3: that the Sabbath was made is the hinge of the argument. ὥστε binds v.28 to it — so the Son of Man is κύριος also of the Sabbath. **The second κύριος**: at 1:3 it stood in the divine name's place, here as an anarthrous predicate. And the sentence has no parallel in Matthew or Luke — v.27 is Mark's alone. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀καὶ).
Rendering options · 2
The Sabbath was made for man
Basis Renders as was made / is.
Rejected ἐγένετο is not is but came to be — the verb by which all things came to be at John 1:3, and the creation argument rides on it. The fixed term in GLOSSARY applies.
Adopted And he was saying to them, “The Sabbath came to be for the man, and not the man for the Sabbath;
Basis Keeps ἐγένετο as came to be, matched to John 1:3, and leaves the chiasm as it stands.
Lost in translation
the creation word γίνομαι All things came to be through him (John 1:3) and the Sabbath came to be for the man (Mark 2:27) share one verb. Rendered is or was made, the link leaves the words.
Survives in · YLT
28
ὥστε κύριός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ τοῦ σαββάτου.
so the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath.”