NOTES: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ."
EVIDENCE: S* Theta 28^c syr(pal)
TRANSLATIONS: ASVn RSVn NASVn NIVn NEBn TEVn

OTHER: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus."
EVIDENCE: 28*

OTHER* "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Lord." EVIDENCE: 1241
COMMENTS: The words "the Son of God" are in brackets in the UBS text. Some of the evidence listed above for this reading has "Son of the God." While it is possible that the words were added by copyists, it is more likely that they are original and were accidently omitted when copyists' eyes jumped from the word "Christ" to "God," both of which have the same ending in Greek.

Mark 1:2:

NOTES: "Just as it is written in the prophets"
EVIDENCE: A K P W Pi f13 28 1010 Byz Lect syr(h)
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASVn RSVn

COMMENTS: The quotation in verses 2 and 3 is from two scriptures: the first part is from Malachi 3:1 and the second part is from Isaiah 40:3. Thus it is likely that copyists changed the reference to make it more general. The reading in the text is found in several types of ancient text.

Mark 1:4:

NOTES: "[so] John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching"
EVIDENCE: B 33 892 some cop(north)
TRANSLATIONS: RSV NASV NEB TEVn

NOTES: "[so] John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and preaching"
EVIDENCE: A D K P W Theta Pi f1 f13 28 565 700 1010 1241 Byz Lect lat vg syr cop(south)
TRANSLATIONS: KJV RSVn NIV TEV

COMMENTS: The differences above are actually created by the inclusion and omission of two small words: "the" and "and." The same Greek phrase is translated "who was baptizing" and "the baptizer." The definite article (translated "who was" or "the") is in brackets in the UBS text. It is included here because it is found in several early manuscripts, but it may have been added to make a title following John's name. The evidence supporting the omission of "who was" is found in two different word orders. The word "and" is missing from manuscripts where copyists understood "the baptizer" as a title.

Mark 1:29:

NOTES: "immediately he went out of the synagogue"
EVIDENCE: B D W Theta f1 f13 565 700 lat some cop(north)
TRANSLATIONS: ASVn RSV NASVn

COMMENTS: It appears that the plural verbs have been changed to singular to make the passage read like the parallel passages in Matthew 8:14 and Luke 4:38. There are no independent pronouns in the Greek in this passage, but the pronouns are bound up in the verbs.

Mark 1:34:

NOTES: "because they knew him to be the Christ."
EVIDENCE: S^c B C L W Theta f1 f13 28 33^vid 565 700 892 1241 most Lect one lat syr(h+) cop(north)
TRANSLATIONS: ASVn NASVn

COMMENTS: The addition "to be the Christ" is found in five different word orders, and seems to have been added here by copyists from Luke 4:41.

Mark 1:40:

NOTES: "and said to him"
EVIDENCE: B D W some Lect most lat cop(south)
TRANSLATIONS: ASVn

NOTES: "and kneeling to him said to him"
EVIDENCE: A C K Delta Pi 090 f13 28 33 700 1010 Byz most Lect syr(h,pal)
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV NASV NEB

COMMENTS: Since in the Greek the word for "and" is found both before and after "kneeling," it is possible that the omission of "kneeling" or "kneeling to him" happened accidently when copyists' eyes jumped from "and" to "and."

Mark 1:41:

NOTES: "And being angry, he stretched out [his] hand"
EVIDENCE: D four lat
TRANSLATIONS: NEB TEVn

NOTES: "And he stretched out [his] hand"
EVIDENCE: one lat
TRANSLATIONS: NEBn

COMMENTS: It is easier to see why copyists might have changed "being angry" to "moved with pity" than to see why they would have changed "moved with pity" to "being angry." However, the evidence for "moved with pity" is so much stronger that it is retained in the text.

Mark 2:4:

NOTES: "they could not come near him"
EVIDENCE: A C D K Delta Pi 090 f1 f13 28 565 700 1010 1241 Byz Lect most lat syr(p)
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV RSV

NOTES: "they could not come to him"
EVIDENCE: W
TRANSLATIONS: -

COMMENTS: Perhaps the fact that a direct object ("him" or "the man") is missing caused copyists to change "bring to" to "come near" or "come to."

Mark 2:16:

NOTES: "when the scribes and the Pharisees saw"
EVIDENCE: A C D K Theta Pi f1 f13 565 700 892 1010 1241 Byz Lect most lat vg syr(p,h) cop(south) {cop(north)}
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASVn RSVn

COMMENTS: It seems that many copyists changed the rare phrase "scribes of the Pharisees" to the common one "scribes and the Pharisees." The evidence listed in braces above adds an extra "and" and punctuates differently so as to make verses 15 and 16 read either ". . . there were many. And also the scribes of the Pharisees were following him. And they saw . . ." or ". . . there were many. And the scribes and the Pharisees were following him, and they saw . . . ."

Mark 2:16:

NOTES: "Does he eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"
EVIDENCE: A K Pi f1 28 33 565 700 892 1010 1241 Byz Lect one lat syr(p,h,pal) {C L Delta f13 three lat vg cop}
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV RSVn NASV

COMMENTS: It is more likely that "and drink" was added by copyists from the parallel in Luke 5:30 than that it was omitted because it was missing from the parallel in Matthew 9:11. Some of the evidence supporting the inclusion of "and drink" also changes the subject to "^plyou," as in Luke 5:30. The evidence given above in braces makes the subject "^plyour teacher," which was added by copyists from the parallel in Matthew 9:11.

Mark 2:22:

NOTES: "and [so are] the wineskins." EVIDENCE: D some lat
TRANSLATIONS: RSVn
COMMENTS: Although it is possible that the phrase missing from a few manuscripts was added from the parallel passages in Matthew 9:17 and Luke 5:38, the evidence is very strong that it was originally present. The reason for its omission is not clear, although it might have been accidently omitted because of the repetition of "wine" and "wineskins," but this was not a usual mistake of the eye, for these words have different endings in the two phrases. Most of the evidence listed above adds a verb, either "must be put," as in Luke 5:38, or "they put," as in Matthew 9:17. Only manuscripts S* and B omit the verb here and rely on the verb at the beginning of the verse.

Mark 2:26:

NOTES: "he entered into the house of God, and ate"
EVIDENCE: D W 1009 1546* some lat syr(s) some syr(pal)
TRANSLATIONS: -

NOTES: "he entered into the house of God in [the time of] Abiathar the high priest, and ate"
EVIDENCE: A C Theta Pi 074 f1 f13 28 33 565 700 1241 most Lect cop
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASVn

OTHER: "he entered into the house of God in [the time of] Abiathar the priest, and ate"
EVIDENCE: Delta one lat

COMMENTS: The problem here revolves around the fact that Abiathar was not high priest at the time that David took the bread. His father, Ahimelech, was then high priest, and it was only later that Abiathar became high priest. The Greek idiom most naturally means "during the time that Abiathar was high priest." For this reason some copyists omitted the phrase. However, the phrase may have two other meanings: First, it may be that Jesus just mentions Abiathar with the highest title that he wore, thus meaning "in the time of Abiathar, who became high priest." The addition of "the" before "high priest" which some manuscripts have would make this meaning more possible in Greek. Second, it is also possible to translate the idiom "in [the passage about] Abiathar [the] high priest," as is found in Mark 12:26: "in [the passage about] the bush."

Mark 3:14:

NOTES: "he appointed twelve, so that"
EVIDENCE: A C² D K L P Pi f1 33 565 700 892 1010 1241 Byz Lect lat vg most syr
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV RSV NASV NIVn NEB

COMMENTS: The words "whom he also named apostles" are in brackets in the UBS text. Although they are contained by several early manuscripts and thus retained in the text, they may have been added by copyists from the parallel passage in Luke 6:13.

Mark 3:16:

NOTES: "demons: ·even Simon, [to whom] he"
EVIDENCE: A C² D K L P Theta Pi f1 28 33 700 892 1010 1241 Byz Lect most lat vg syr cop(north)
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV RSV

OTHER: "demons: ·first Simon, and to Simon he"
EVIDENCE: f13 cop(south)

COMMENTS: The words "and he appointed the twelve" are in brackets in the UBS text. The words may have been added from the beginning of verse 14, either accidently when a copyist's eye jumped back to the wrong place, or deliberately, in order to smooth out the verse. On the other hand, since the same Greek word is translated both "and" and "even," it is possible that these words were accidently omitted when copyists' eyes skipped from "and" to "even."

Mark 3:22:

NOTES: "He has [the demon] Beezebul"
EVIDENCE: B
TRANSLATIONS: NASVn NIVn

NOTES: "He has [the demon] Beelzebub"
EVIDENCE: most vg syr(s,p)
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV* NASVn NIV NEB

COMMENTS: "Beelzebul" is the Greek spelling of the Hebrew word "Baal-Zebub," which means "lord of flies." It has passed through Latin into English as Beelzebub. It is used in the New Testament to refer to the devil.

Mark 3:32:

NOTES: "your mother and your brothers are outside"
EVIDENCE: S B C K L W Delta Theta Pi 074 f1 f13 28 33 565 892 1241 Byz Lect some lat vg syr(s,p,h) cop
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV RSV NASV NIV NEB

COMMENTS: The words "and your sisters" are in brackets in the UBS text, because they are omitted in so many manuscripts. While it is possible that they were added by copyists as a natural addition from verse 35, it is also possible that they were omitted accidently, when copyists' eyes jumped from "your" to "your" ("your" follows "brothers" and "sisters" in Greek).

Mark 4:40:

NOTES: "Why are ^plyou cowardly like this? How [is it that] ^plyou do not have faith?"
EVIDENCE: A C K Pi 33 1010 1241 Byz Lect one lat syr(p,h)
TRANSLATIONS: KJV NASV

NOTES: "Why are ^plyou cowardly like this? Do ^plyou not yet have faith?"
EVIDENCE: p^45vid f1 f13 28 (omit "are") 892margin
TRANSLATIONS: NIV NEB ("such cowards")

COMMENTS: The reading in the text is found in early manuscripts of several different kinds of ancient text.

Mark 5:1:

NOTES: "to the country of the Gergesenes."
EVIDENCE: S^c L Delta Theta f1 28 33 565 700 892 1241 Lect syr(s) syr(h)margin cop(north)
TRANSLATIONS: RSVn NIVn

NOTES: "to the country of the Gadarenes."
EVIDENCE: A C K Pi f13 1010 Byz syr(p,h)
TRANSLATIONS: KJV RSVn NIVn

COMMENTS: Gerasa, Gadara, and Gergesa were all cities of the region called Decapolis, so each reading would refer to the same country. It seems most likely that "Gerasenes" was original here and in Luke 8:26, 37, while "Gadarenes" was original in Matthew 8:28. The reading "Gergesenes" seems to have been proposed by Origen, and added to manuscripts under his influence.

Mark 5:36:

NOTES: "But hearing what was being spoken"
EVIDENCE: S^a A C D K Theta Pi f1 f13 28 33 565 700 892^c 1010 1241 Byz Lect most lat vg cop
TRANSLATIONS: KJV RSVn

COMMENTS: The Greek word translated "overhearing" above can also be translated "ignoring." It is possible that this ambiguity caused copyists to replace it with the simple word "hearing" found in the parallel in Luke 8:50.

Mark 6:2:

NOTES: "and the many who heard [him] were astonished"
EVIDENCE: B L f13 28 892
TRANSLATIONS: ASVn NASV NEB TEV?

COMMENTS: All but a few Greek manuscripts leave out the word "the." The translations cannot be used as evidence for the presence or absence of the definite article.

Mark 6:3:

NOTES: "Is not this the son of the carpenter and Mary"
EVIDENCE: p^45vid f13 33^vid 565 700 a few Lect some lat some cop(north)
TRANSLATIONS: NEBn

OTHER: "Is not this the son of Mary"
EVIDENCE: syr(pal)

COMMENTS: Some copyists changed the text to be like the parallel in Matthew 13:55, probably in order to reduce the ridicule from pagans for following a lowly "carpenter."

Mark 6:14:

NOTES: "And he was saying"
EVIDENCE: S A C K L Delta Theta Pi f1 f13 28 33 565 700 892 1010 1241 Byz Lect most lat vg syr cop
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV RSVn NIVn NEBn

COMMENTS: While it is possible that copyists changed the singular to the plural because of the plurals in verse 15, it more likely that the singulars in verses 14 and 16 influenced them to change the plural to the singular.

Mark 6:20:

NOTES: "he was doing many things"
EVIDENCE: A C D K Pi f1 f13 28 33 565 700 892 1010 1241 Byz Lect lat vg syr
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASVn NIVn

COMMENTS: While it has been suggested that the reading "perplexed" was taken from Luke 9:7 where it is said that Herod was very perplexed or puzzled regarding what he heard about Jesus, the fact that Luke 9:7 contains a different form of the same root word in a different context makes this not likely. This more meaningful reading is found in the UBS text because it is found in early manuscripts of both the Alexandrian and Caesarean types of ancient text.

Mark 6:22:

NOTES: "the daughter of Herodias herself came in"
EVIDENCE: A C K W Theta Pi f13 28 33 700 892 1010 1241 Byz Lect most lat vg syr(h)
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV NASV

NOTES: "the daughter of Herodias came in"
EVIDENCE: f1 some lat syr(s,p,pal) cop
TRANSLATIONS: RSV NIV NEB TEV

COMMENTS: The phrase translated "his [step-]daughter by Herodias" (literally, "his daughter of Herodias") can also be translated "his daughter Herodias." It is probably more natural to read it this way. Since Herodias was the wife's name and Josephus gives the daughters' name as Salome, it was natural for copyists to change "his" to "herself" or to omit it altogether in order to avoid what might be taken as a mistake in the Bible. It is probable that the omission of "herself" in the RSV, NIV, NEB, and TEV is more due to making a smooth translation than following a suspect text.

Mark 6:51:

NOTES: "they were very greatly astounded within themselves and marveled, ·for"
EVIDENCE: A D K W X Theta Pi f13 33 565 700 1010 1241 Byz Lect most lat syr(h) {syr(p)-"marveled and were astounded"}
TRANSLATIONS: KJV

OTHER: "they were very greatly astonished within themselves, ·for"
EVIDENCE: f1

COMMENTS: The addition of "and marveled" seems to be a heightening of the story by copyists using the same combination of words found in Acts 2:7

Mark 7:3:

NOTES: "unless they wash [their] hands"
EVIDENCE: Delta syr(s) cop(south)
TRANSLATIONS: RSV* NEB

NOTES: "unless they frequently wash [their] hands"
EVIDENCE: S W three lat vg syr(p,h) cop(north)
TRANSLATIONS: KJV NEBn

COMMENTS: The word translated "ceremonially" literally means "with a fist." Since the exact ceremony referred to is unknown, some copyists omitted the word while others replaced it with a word that makes more sense.

Mark 7:4:

NOTES: "they do not eat unless they sprinkle [themselves]"
EVIDENCE: S B cop(south)
TRANSLATIONS: ASVn RSV NASV

COMMENTS: The word "immerse" seems to have been changed to "sprinkle" by copyists who had difficulty imagining that the Pharisees took a full bath after coming from the market place. The footnote reading can also be translated: "and they do not eat [anything] from the market place unless they sprinkle [it]" (see RSV 2nd edition footnote, which is not in fact a textual footnote, but a translational one).

Mark 7:4:

NOTES: "the immersings of cups and pots and copper vessels."
EVIDENCE: p^45vid S B L Delta 28* one Lect cop(north)
TRANSLATIONS: ASV RSV NASV NIV NEB TEVn

OTHER: "the immersings of cups and pots"
EVIDENCE: syr(s)

COMMENTS: The words "and cots" are in brackets in the UBS text because they are absent from several early manuscripts. It has been suggested that they were added from Leviticus 15, but it is much more likely that they were omitted either accidently by a mistake of the eye (the Greek words for "copper vessels" and "cots" both end in the same letters) or deliberately by copyists who had trouble imagining the immersings of cots by the Pharisees.

Mark 7:9:

NOTES: "so that ^plyou may keep ^plyour tradition!"
EVIDENCE: S A B K L X Delta Pi f13 33 700 892 1010 1241 Byz Lect two lat vg syr(h) cop
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV RSV NASV NIV NEB TEV?

COMMENTS: The UBS committee had a difficult time deciding between these two readings, but finally decided that the phrase "the commandment of God" might have caused copyists to substitute the word "keep" for "establish." The English translators, on the other hand, seem to feel that the reading "keep" has stronger manuscript evidence.

Mark 7:16:

NOTES: include verse 16: "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
EVIDENCE: A D K W X Delta^c Theta Pi f1 f13 33 565 700 892 1010 1241 Byz some Lect lat vg syr most cop
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASVn RSVn NASVn NIVn NEBn TEVn

COMMENTS: Verse 16 is missing from several important manuscripts. It may have been added here from Mark 4:9 or 4:23.

Mark 7:24:

NOTES: "went away into the region of Tyre and Sidon."
EVIDENCE: S A B K X Pi f1 f13 33 700 892 1010 1241 Byz Lect some lat vg syr(p,h) cop
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV RSV NASVn NIVn

COMMENTS: Although the words "and Sidon" might have been deleted here by copyists who saw that verse 31 says Jesus left the region of Tyre and went through Sidon, it is more likely that they were added here from the parallel verse in Matthew 15:21.

Mark 7:28:

NOTES: "she answered by saying to him, 'Yes, Lord'"
EVIDENCE: S A B K L X Delta Pi f1 28 33 892 1010 1241 Byz Lect some lat vg syr(p,h,pal) cop
TRANSLATIONS: KJV ASV RSV NASV NIV

COMMENTS: It is likely that the word "yes" was added here by copyists from the parallel in Matthew 15:27. The word "yes" occurs nowhere else in Mark.