Mark 14:3-9

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Mark 14:3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
2. Mark 14:3 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3. Mark 14:3 sn See the note on leper in Mark 1:40.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Mark 14:5 tn Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.
9. 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).
10. 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).
11. Mark 14:5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
12. 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.
13. Mark 14:9 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”