Mark 14:1-26

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Mark 14:1 tn Or “the chief priests and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
2. Mark 14:1 tn Grk “were seeking how.”
3. Mark 14:1 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4. Mark 14:2 sn The suggestion here is that Jesus was too popular to openly arrest him. The verb were trying is imperfect. It suggests, in this context, that they were always considering the opportunities.
5. Mark 14:3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
6. Mark 14:3 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7. Mark 14:3 sn See the note on leper in Mark 1:40.
8. Mark 14:3 sn 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.
9. Mark 14:3 sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.
10. Mark 14:3 tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205). The adjective πιστικῆς (pistikēs) is difficult with regard to its exact meaning; some have taken it to derive from πίστις (pistis) and relate to the purity of the oil of nard. More probably it is something like a brand name, “pistic nard,” the exact significance of which has not been discovered.sn Nard or spikenard is a fragrant oil from the root and spike of the nard plant of northern India. This aromatic oil, if made of something like nard, would have been extremely expensive, costing up to a year’s pay for an average laborer.
11. Mark 14:4 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.
12. Mark 14:5 tn Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.
13. Mark 14:5 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. Mark 14:5 tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (as the proceeds from the sale of the perfumed oil).
15. Mark 14:5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
16. Mark 14:7 tn In the Greek text of this clause, “me” is in emphatic position (the first word in the clause). To convey some impression of the emphasis, an exclamation point is used in the translation.
17. Mark 14:9 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
18. Mark 14:10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
19. Mark 14:10 tn Grk “betray him to them”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20. Mark 14:11 sn The leaders were delighted when Judas contacted them about betraying Jesus, because it gave them the opportunity they had been looking for, and they could later claim that Jesus had been betrayed by one of his own disciples.
21. Mark 14:11 sn Matt 26:15 states the amount of money they gave Judas was thirty pieces of silver (see also Matt 27:3-4; Zech 11:12-13).
22. Mark 14:11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
23. Mark 14:11 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24. Mark 14:12 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
25. Mark 14:12 tn The words “the feast of” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity.
26. Mark 14:12 sn Generally the feast of Unleavened Bread would refer to Nisan 15 (Friday), but the following reference to the sacrifice of the Passover lamb indicates that Nisan 14 (Thursday) was what Mark had in mind (Nisan = March 27 to April 25). The celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread lasted eight days, beginning with the Passover meal. The celebrations were so close together that at times the names of both were used interchangeably.
27. Mark 14:12 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
28. Mark 14:12 sn This required getting a suitable lamb and finding lodging in Jerusalem where the meal could be eaten. The population of the city swelled during the feast, so lodging could be difficult to find. The Passover was celebrated each year in commemoration of the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt; thus it was a feast celebrating redemption (see Exod 12). The Passover lamb was roasted and eaten after sunset in a family group of at least ten people (m. Pesahim 7.13). People ate the meal while reclining (see the note on table in 14:18). It included, besides the lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs as a reminder of Israel’s bitter affliction at the hands of the Egyptians. Four cups of wine mixed with water were also used for the meal. For a further description of the meal and the significance of the wine cups, see E. Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 523-24.
29. Mark 14:13 sn Since women usually carried these jars, it would have been no problem for the two disciples (Luke 22:8 states that they were Peter and John) to recognize the man Jesus was referring to.
30. Mark 14:16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the flow within the narrative.
31. Mark 14:16 tn Grk “and came.”
32. Mark 14:16 sn The author’s note that the disciples found things just as he had told them shows that Jesus’ word could be trusted.
33. Mark 14:17 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
34. Mark 14:17 tn The prepositional phrase “to the house” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied for clarity.
35. Mark 14:18 tn Grk “while they were reclined at the table.”sn 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.
36. Mark 14:18 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
37. Mark 14:18 tn Or “will hand me over”; Grk “one of you will betray me, the one who eats with me.”
38. Mark 14:20 tn Grk “one who dips with me.” The phrase “his hand” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
39. Mark 14:20 sn One who dips with me in the bowl. The point of Jesus’ comment here is not to identify the specific individual per se, but to indicate that it is one who was close to him—somebody whom no one would suspect. His comment serves to heighten the treachery of Judas’ betrayal.
40. Mark 14:24 tn Grk “this is my blood of the covenant that is poured out for many.” In order to avoid confusion about which is poured out, the translation supplies “blood” twice so that the following phrase clearly modifies “blood,” not “covenant.”
41. Mark 14:24 tc Most mss (A ƒ^1,13 M lat sy) have καινῆς (kainēs, “new”) before διαθήκης (diathēkēs, “covenant”), a reading that is almost surely influenced by the parallel passage in Luke 22:20. Further, the construction τὸ τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης (to tēs kainēs diathēkēs), in which the resumptive article τό (referring back to τὸ αἷμα [to |aima, “the blood”]) is immediately followed by the genitive article, is nowhere else used in Mark except for constructions involving a genitive of relationship (cf. Mark 2:14; 3:17, 18; 16:1). Thus, on both transcriptional and intrinsic grounds, this reading looks to be a later addition (which may have derived from τὸ τῆς διαθήκης of D* W). The most reliable mss, along with several others (א B C D^c L Θ Ψ 565), lack καινῆς. This reading is strongly preferred.sn Jesus’ death established the forgiveness promised in the new covenant of Jer 31:31. Jesus is reinterpreting the symbolism of the Passover meal, indicating the presence of a new era.
42. Mark 14:25 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
43. Mark 14:25 tn Grk “the produce” (“the produce of the vine” is a figurative expression for wine).
44. Mark 14:25 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ teaching. The nature of the kingdom of God in the NT and in Jesus’ teaching has long been debated by interpreters and scholars, with discussion primarily centering around the nature of the kingdom (earthly, heavenly, or both) and the kingdom’s arrival (present, future, or both). An additional major issue concerns the relationship between the kingdom of God and the person and work of Jesus himself.
45. Mark 14:26 sn After singing a hymn. The Hallel Psalms (Pss 113-118) were sung during the meal. Psalms 113 and 114 were sung just before the second cup and 115-118 were sung at the end of the meal, after the fourth, or hallel cup.