1
Καὶ εἰσῆλθεν πάλιν ⸀εἰς συναγωγήν, καὶ ἦν ἐκεῖ ἄνθρωπος ἐξηραμμένην ἔχων τὴν χεῖρα.
And he entered again into a synagogue, and a man was there having a withered hand.
Withered (ξηραίνω, xērainō) is the verb used of the fig tree at 11:20.
pronoun he = Jesus
2
καὶ παρετήρουν αὐτὸν εἰ τοῖς σάββασιν θεραπεύσει αὐτόν, ἵνα ⸀κατηγορήσωσιν αὐτοῦ.
And they were watching him closely, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.
Watching closely (παρατηρέω, paratēreō) is watching from the side, to catch someone out.
pronoun they = those in the synagogue
pronoun him = Jesus — “whether he would heal him” is the man
pronoun he = Jesus
3
καὶ λέγει τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ ⸂τὴν χεῖρα ἔχοντι ξηράν⸃· ⸀Ἔγειρε εἰς τὸ μέσον.
And he says to the man with the withered hand, “Rise into the middle.”
Into the middle — the healing is not done quietly.
pronoun he = Jesus
4
καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ἔξεστιν τοῖς σάββασιν ⸀ἀγαθοποιῆσαι ἢ κακοποιῆσαι, ψυχὴν σῶσαι ἢ ἀποκτεῖναι; οἱ δὲ ἐσιώπων.
And he says to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?” But they were silent.
To save a life or to kill — the question is put at its widest, and no one answers.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun them = those in the synagogue
pronoun it = doing good on the Sabbath
pronoun they = those in the synagogue
5
καὶ περιβλεψάμενος αὐτοὺς μετ’ ὀργῆς, συλλυπούμενος ἐπὶ τῇ πωρώσει τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν, λέγει τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ· Ἔκτεινον τὴν ⸀χεῖρα· καὶ ἐξέτεινεν, καὶ ἀπεκατεστάθη ἡ χεὶρ ⸀αὐτοῦ.
And looking around at them with wrath, grieving at the hardening of their heart, he says to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
With anger — only this book records it. Hardening (πώρωσις, pōrōsis) is a word for callus, thickened skin.
pronoun them = those in the synagogue
pronoun their = those in the synagogue
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun your = the man
pronoun it = his hand
pronoun his = the man
Why this rendering
Mark.3.5 Observation
Syntactic observation
μετ’ ὀργῆς — he looks around at them with anger. After ὀργισθείς at 1:41 this is the second place where Mark names Jesus' anger. Yet in the same verse stands συλλυπούμενος, grieving with — anger and grief overlap in one sentence. συλλυπέω occurs only here in the New Testament. πώρωσις, hardening, is the medical word for petrifying. The parallels in Matthew (12:13) and Luke (6:10) have neither ὀργή nor συλλυπούμενος — only Mark writes the emotions. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀χεῖρα· ⸀αὐτοῦ.).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted looking around at them with anger, grieving at the hardening of their heart
Basis Keeps both anger and grief as they stand.
looking around at them in sorrow
Basis Softens the anger.
Rejected ὀργή joins the two places where Mark writes the emotion (1:41, 3:5). Softening also cuts against the variant judgement at 1:41 — an angry Jesus is the grain of Mark's text.
Lost in translation
anger and grief side by side One look carries two feelings. Versions mostly render both, but that Matthew and Luke erased both — that the pairing is Mark's alone — shows only in synoptic comparison.
Survives in · 개역한글† / King James 1769 / New American Standard (1995)† / English Standard Version† / Vulgata Clementina / Elberfelder 1871 / Синодальный перевод / this edition — 9 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
6
καὶ ἐξελθόντες οἱ Φαρισαῖοι ⸀εὐθὺς μετὰ τῶν Ἡρῳδιανῶν συμβούλιον ⸀ἐδίδουν κατ’ αὐτοῦ ὅπως αὐτὸν ἀπολέσωσιν.
And going out, the Pharisees at once with the Herodians were taking counsel against him, how they might destroy him.
Herodians are named in this book at 3:6 and 12:13 and nowhere in Luke or John.
first here Pharisee Φαρισαῖος Pharisaios
first here Herodians Ἡρῳδιανοί Hērōdianoi
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun they = the Pharisees and Herodians
7
Καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ⸂μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ ἀνεχώρησεν⸃ πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν· καὶ πολὺ πλῆθος ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ⸀ἠκολούθησεν, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰουδαίας
And Jesus with his disciples withdrew toward the sea; and a great multitude from Galilee followed, and from Judea
Withdrew (ἀναχωρέω, anachōreō) — he moves away from the plot, not toward it.
first here Jesus Ἰησοῦς Iēsous
first here Galileans Γαλιλαία Galilaia
first here Judea Ἰουδαία Ioudaia
pronoun his = Jesus
8
καὶ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰδουμαίας ⸀καὶ πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου ⸁καὶ περὶ Τύρον καὶ Σιδῶνα, πλῆθος πολύ, ⸀ἀκούοντες ὅσα ⸀ἐποίει ἦλθον πρὸς αὐτόν.
and from Jerusalem and from Idumea and beyond the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon — a great multitude, hearing all he was doing, came to him.
The places named reach far past Galilee; the list is the point.
first here Idumea Ἰδουμαία Idoumaia
first here Jordan Ἰορδάνης Iordanēs
first here Tyre Τύρος Tyros
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun him = Jesus
9
καὶ εἶπεν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ἵνα πλοιάριον προσκαρτερῇ αὐτῷ διὰ τὸν ὄχλον ἵνα μὴ θλίβωσιν αὐτόν·
And he told his disciples that a small boat should stand ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not press upon him;
Press upon (θλίβω, thlibō) is the verb behind the noun for affliction at 4:17.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun his = Jesus
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun they = the crowd
10
πολλοὺς γὰρ ἐθεράπευσεν, ὥστε ἐπιπίπτειν αὐτῷ ἵνα αὐτοῦ ἅψωνται ὅσοι εἶχον μάστιγας.
for he healed many, so that all who had scourges were falling upon him in order to touch him.
Afflictions renders μάστιγες (mastiges), which is also the word for a whip — a blow of illness.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun him = Jesus
11
καὶ τὰ πνεύματα τὰ ἀκάθαρτα, ὅταν αὐτὸν ⸂ἐθεώρουν, προσέπιπτον⸃ αὐτῷ καὶ ⸀ἔκραζον ⸀λέγοντα ὅτι Σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ.
And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, were falling down before him and crying out, saying, “You are the Son of God.”
The unclean spirits say what the crowd does not — as at 1:24.
pronoun they = the unclean spirits
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun You = Jesus
12
καὶ πολλὰ ἐπετίμα αὐτοῖς ἵνα μὴ ⸂αὐτὸν φανερὸν⸃ ⸀ποιήσωσιν.
And he sternly warned them many times not to make him known.
Not to make him known — this book's silencing runs from 1:25 to 9:9.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun them = the unclean spirits
pronoun him = Jesus
13
Καὶ ἀναβαίνει εἰς τὸ ὄρος καὶ προσκαλεῖται οὓς ἤθελεν αὐτός, καὶ ἀπῆλθον πρὸς αὐτόν.
And he goes up on the mountain and calls to himself those he himself wanted, and they went to him.
Those he himself wanted — the choosing is put plainly on him.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun himself = Jesus
pronoun they = those he called
pronoun him = Jesus
14
καὶ ἐποίησεν ⸀δώδεκα, ἵνα ὦσιν μετ’ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἵνα ἀποστέλλῃ αὐτοὺς κηρύσσειν
And he made twelve, that they might be with him and that he might send them out to proclaim
Whom he also named apostles stands here in many manuscripts but not in the base text this edition follows.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun they = the twelve
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun them = the twelve
Why this rendering
Mark.3.14 Hypothesis
Syntactic observation
ἐποίησεν δώδεκα — literally, he made twelve. ποιέω is the verb of making, the ἐποίησεν of Genesis 1:1 LXX, God made. With appointing verbs available (καθίστημι and others), Mark chose the making one; v.16 repeats the form. Two purpose clauses follow — ἵνα ὦσιν μετ’ αὐτοῦ, that they might be with him, and ἵνα ἀποστέλλῃ, that he might send them. Being-with stands before being-sent. SBLGNT marks a variant (⸀) at δώδεκα — the presence or absence of whom he also named apostles divides here. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀δώδεκα,).
Rendering options · 2
he appointed twelve
Basis Uses the language of office.
Rejected Appoint is the sense of a verb Mark did not use. The strangeness of the making verb applied to people — a new thing called the Twelve being made out of the crowd — is smoothed away by office language.
Adopted And he made twelve, that they might be with him and that he might send them out to proclaim,
Basis Keeps ποιέω as made, leaving the strangeness of the creation word. The Vulgate has fecit.
Lost in translation
the creation grain of ποιέω With the verb by which God made the world, Jesus makes the Twelve. Office language removes the grain. In our columns three keep it — the Vulgate (fecit), YLT (made) and the Church Slavonic 1900 (сотворѝ).
Survives in · Vulgata Clementina / Young's Literal 1898 / this edition — 9 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
15
καὶ ἔχειν ⸀ἐξουσίαν ἐκβάλλειν τὰ δαιμόνια·
and to have authority to drive out the demons.
The one thing named beside proclaiming is driving out demons.
16
καὶ ⸂ἐποίησεν τοὺς δώδεκα, καὶ⸃ ἐπέθηκεν ⸂ὄνομα τῷ Σίμωνι⸃ Πέτρον,
And he made the twelve, and he put on Simon the name Peter;
Put on Simon the name Peter — the Greek says he laid a name upon him, and this book never explains it.
first here Simon Σίμων Simōn
first here Peter Πέτρος Petros
pronoun he = Jesus
17
καὶ Ἰάκωβον τὸν τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου καὶ Ἰωάννην τὸν ἀδελφὸν τοῦ Ἰακώβου (καὶ ἐπέθηκεν αὐτοῖς ⸀ὀνόματα Βοανηργές, ὅ ἐστιν Υἱοὶ Βροντῆς),
and James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James — and he put on them the name Boanerges, which is, Sons of Thunder —
Boanerges is kept as sound and translated in the same line — the writer will not let the sound go. The word behind it is not certain.
first here James Ἰάκωβος Iakōbos
first here Zebedee Ζεβεδαῖος Zebedaios
first here John Ἰωάννης Iōannēs
first here Boanerges Βοανηργές Boanērges
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun them = James and John
pronoun which = the name Boanerges
18
καὶ Ἀνδρέαν καὶ Φίλιππον καὶ Βαρθολομαῖον καὶ Μαθθαῖον καὶ Θωμᾶν καὶ Ἰάκωβον τὸν τοῦ Ἁλφαίου καὶ Θαδδαῖον καὶ Σίμωνα τὸν ⸀Καναναῖον
and Andrew and Philip and Bartholomew and Matthew and Thomas and James the son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus and Simon the Cananaean,
Cananaean is not a place-name; it renders an Aramaic word for zealot, kept as sound.
first here Andrew Ἀνδρέας Andreas
first here Philippi Φίλιππος Philippos
first here Bartholomew Βαρθολομαῖος Bartholomaios
first here Matthew Μαθθαῖος Maththaios
first here Thomas Θωμᾶς Thōmas
first here Alphaeus Ἁλφαῖος Halphaios
first here Thaddaeus Θαδδαῖος Thaddaios
19
καὶ Ἰούδαν ⸀Ἰσκαριώθ, ὃς καὶ παρέδωκεν αὐτόν.
and Judas Iscariot, who also handed him over.
The list ends with the handing over, before it has happened.
first here Judas Ἰούδας Ioudas
first here Iscariot Ἰσκαριώθ Iskariōth
pronoun who = Judas Iscariot
pronoun him = Jesus
20
Καὶ ⸀ἔρχεται εἰς οἶκον· καὶ συνέρχεται πάλιν ⸀ὁ ὄχλος, ὥστε μὴ δύνασθαι αὐτοὺς ⸀μηδὲ ἄρτον φαγεῖν.
And he comes into a house; and the crowd comes together again, so that they could not even eat bread.
Could not even eat bread — this book keeps the pressure of the crowd in view.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun they = Jesus and those with him
21
καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ παρ’ αὐτοῦ ἐξῆλθον κρατῆσαι αὐτόν, ἔλεγον γὰρ ὅτι ἐξέστη.
And hearing of it, his family went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
His family renders “those from beside him”, and out of his mind is one verb (ἐξίστημι, existēmi). Only this book records it.
pronoun it = the news
pronoun his = Jesus
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun they = his family
pronoun He = Jesus
Why this rendering
Mark.3.21 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἐξέστη is ἐξίστημι — he is out of his mind. The subject, οἱ παρ’ αὐτοῦ, is those from his side: his family. κρατῆσαι, to seize, is the verb later used for arresting Jesus (12:12; 14:1, 44, 46, 49). His family comes out to seize him, and the reason given is that he is beside himself — a sentence found only in Mark. Matthew and Luke lack the verse entirely. The scene at vv.31–35, his mother and brothers standing outside asking for him, takes it up.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted hearing it, his family went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
Basis Keeps the force of both ἐξέστη and κρατέω.
his friends went out to lay hold on him, for they said, He is beside himself
Basis Softens the family's judgement.
Rejected Beside himself and restrain shave the force. That the family said he is mad and came to seize him is what Mark wrote, and that Matthew and Luke dropped the verse witnesses to its force — it was a sentence one might wish away.
Lost in translation
that κρατέω is the arrest verb The verb by which the family comes for him is the verb of his arrest in chapter 14. Consistent rendering keeps the word, but nothing marks that the shadow is already here.
Survives in · New American Standard (1995)† / English Standard Version† / New English Translation† / Elberfelder 1871 / this edition — 7 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
22
καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς οἱ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων καταβάντες ἔλεγον ὅτι Βεελζεβοὺλ ἔχει καὶ ὅτι ἐν τῷ ἄρχοντι τῶν δαιμονίων ἐκβάλλει τὰ δαιμόνια.
And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He has Beelzeboul,” and, “By the ruler of the demons he drives out the demons.”
Beelzebul is kept as sound; the name's sense is not certain.
first here Beelzeboul Βεελζεβούλ Beelzeboul
pronoun He = Jesus
pronoun he = Jesus
23
καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος αὐτοὺς ἐν παραβολαῖς ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· Πῶς δύναται Σατανᾶς Σατανᾶν ἐκβάλλειν;
And calling them to himself, he was saying to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan?
Parables here means the sayings that follow, not stories.
first here Satan Σατανᾶς Satanas
pronoun them = the scribes
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun himself = Jesus
Why this rendering
Mark.3.23 Observation
Syntactic observation
παραβολαῖς — the first παραβολή in Mark, where the word occurs thirteen times. It never occurs in all of John (John uses παροιμία — the observation fixed at John 10:6). With the four Gospels now two books, the contrast completes: the Synoptic παραβολή against the Johannine παροιμία. Σατανᾶς Σατανᾶν — the name doubled, nominative then accusative. And ἐκβάλλειν is the verb of 1:12, 34, 39 — whether Satan can drive out Satan is asked in the exorcism verb.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted he was saying to them in parables
Basis Renders παραβολή as parable — kept apart from John's παροιμία (a figure). In the Synoptics parable is παραβολή’s slot, and John's avoidance of it stays visible in our translation.
in figures he was saying to them
Basis Uses the same rendering as in John.
Rejected Unifying makes the two words one, and John's avoidance of παραβολή vanishes from the four Gospels. Different words must be rendered differently for the difference to stand.
Lost in translation
the cross-book παραβολή / παροιμία contrast Thirteen in Mark against none in John — a fact of word lists, surviving in translation only when both books share one rendering system. Which is what the four Gospels is for.
Survives in · this edition — 9 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
24
καὶ ἐὰν βασιλεία ἐφ’ ἑαυτὴν μερισθῇ, οὐ δύναται σταθῆναι ἡ βασιλεία ἐκείνη·
And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand;
Divided (μερίζω, merizō) is built on the word for a part or share.
pronoun itself = the kingdom
pronoun that kingdom = a kingdom divided against itself
25
καὶ ἐὰν οἰκία ἐφ’ ἑαυτὴν μερισθῇ, οὐ ⸀δυνήσεται ⸂ἡ οἰκία ἐκείνη σταθῆναι⸃·
and if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand;
The kingdom and the house are set side by side, and the family of verse 21 is not far off.
pronoun itself = the house
pronoun that house = a house divided against itself
26
καὶ εἰ ὁ Σατανᾶς ἀνέστη ἐφ’ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ⸀ἐμερίσθη, οὐ δύναται ⸀στῆναι ἀλλὰ τέλος ἔχει.
and if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but has an end.
Has an end (τέλος, telos) — the word is a finish, not a ruin.
pronoun himself = Satan
pronoun he = Satan
27
⸂ἀλλ’ οὐδεὶς δύναται⸃ ⸂εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ εἰσελθὼν τὰ σκεύη⸃ αὐτοῦ διαρπάσαι ἐὰν μὴ πρῶτον τὸν ἰσχυρὸν δήσῃ, καὶ τότε τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ ⸀διαρπάσει.
But no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man; and then he will plunder his house.
The strong man takes up stronger at 1:7.
pronoun his = the strong man — both times
pronoun he = the one who enters
28
Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πάντα ἀφεθήσεται ⸂τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, τὰ ἁμαρτήματα⸃ καὶ ⸂αἱ βλασφημίαι ὅσα ἐὰν⸃ βλασφημήσωσιν·
Amen, I say to you, all will be forgiven the sons of men — the sins and the blasphemies, whatever they blaspheme;
Sons of men is a Semitic turn for human beings, kept word for word.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun you = the scribes
pronoun they = the sons of men
29
ὃς δ’ ἂν βλασφημήσῃ εἰς τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, οὐκ ἔχει ἄφεσιν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ἀλλὰ ἔνοχός ἐστιν αἰωνίου ⸀ἁμαρτήματος.
but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness to the age, but is held in an eternal sin” —
Held in an eternal sin — the manuscripts differ, and some read “an eternal judgement”.
Why this rendering
Mark.3.29 Observation
Syntactic observation
αἰωνίου ἁμαρτήματος — an eternal sin. The αἰώνιος met throughout John in ζωὴ αἰώνιος here attaches to sin — the only such place in the New Testament. SBLGNT marks ἁμαρτήματος (⸀): the Textus Receptus line reads κρίσεως, judgement, yielding liable to eternal judgement. The strange pairing eternal sin was changed toward the familiar eternal judgement — a textbook harder reading. ἁμάρτημα, the act of sin, stands only at v.28 (plural) and here, a different word from John's ἁμαρτία. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀ἁμαρτήματος.).
Rendering options · 2
is in danger of eternal damnation
Basis Follows the Textus Receptus.
Rejected Our base text is SBLGNT (DECISIONS C1), and eternal judgement is the smoothing of a strange pairing.
Adopted has no forgiveness to the age, but is held in an eternal sin
Basis Renders the strange pairing as it stands, keeping eternal so that the adjective of ζωὴ αἰώνιος shows.
Lost in translation
both sides of αἰώνιος Eternal life and an eternal sin share one adjective. Consistency keeps the word, but that the pairing is unique in the New Testament shows only in the word lists.
Survives in · New American Standard (1995)† / English Standard Version† / New English Translation† / Elberfelder 1871 / this edition — 8 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
30
ὅτι ἔλεγον· Πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον ἔχει.
because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
The writer gives the ground of the whole saying — what they were saying, not what they thought.
pronoun they = the scribes
pronoun He = Jesus
31
⸂Καὶ ἔρχονται⸃ ⸂ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ⸃ καὶ ἔξω ⸀στήκοντες ἀπέστειλαν πρὸς αὐτὸν ⸀καλοῦντες αὐτόν.
And his mother and his brothers come, and standing outside they sent to him, calling him.
Standing outside — the family of verse 21 arrives, and the word “outside” is the word of 4:11.
pronoun his = Jesus — both times
pronoun they = his mother and brothers
pronoun him = Jesus — both times
32
καὶ ἐκάθητο ⸂περὶ αὐτὸν ὄχλος⸃, ⸂καὶ λέγουσιν⸃ αὐτῷ· Ἰδοὺ ἡ μήτηρ σου καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί ⸀σου ἔξω ζητοῦσίν σε.
And a crowd was sitting around him, and they say to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you.”
Sitting around him — the circle is what the answer turns on.
pronoun him = Jesus — both times
pronoun they = the crowd
pronoun your = Jesus
pronoun you = Jesus
33
καὶ ⸂ἀποκριθεὶς αὐτοῖς λέγει⸃· Τίς ἐστιν ἡ μήτηρ μου ⸀ἢ οἱ ἀδελφοί ⸀μου;
And answering them he says, “Who is my mother and my brothers?”
The question is not refused; it is asked back.
pronoun them = the crowd
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun my = Jesus
34
καὶ περιβλεψάμενος ⸂τοὺς περὶ αὐτὸν κύκλῳ⸃ καθημένους λέγει· Ἴδε ἡ μήτηρ μου καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί μου·
And looking around at those sitting in a circle about him, he says, “See, my mother and my brothers.
Looking around is the verb of verse 5 and 5:32 — this book's own gesture.
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun my = Jesus
35
ὃς ⸀γὰρ ἂν ποιήσῃ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ, οὗτος ἀδελφός μου καὶ ⸀ἀδελφὴ καὶ μήτηρ ἐστίν.
For whoever does the will of God, this one is my brother and sister and mother.”
Brother and sister and mother — a sister is named, though no sister was standing outside.
pronoun this one = whoever does the will of God
pronoun my = Jesus