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Shared Word Translation

Mark 1

Jesus Begins to Proclaim

Now after John was handed over, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time has been fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near. Repent, and trust in the good news.”

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Notes

Translation notes for Mark 1.

v01

“good news” is not merely uplifting information; it is a public announcement that God’s reign is arriving in and through Jesus.

v01

“Christ” is a title—“Anointed One” (Messiah)—not Jesus’s last name.

v01

“Son of God” is Mark’s opening claim; the identity that will be disclosed through Jesus’s authority, conflict, and the cross.

v02–03

John is framed as the promised forerunner: a messenger who prepares a people for the Lord’s arrival.

v04

John’s baptism is a public turning (repentance) oriented toward forgiveness—release and restoration into a new future.

v07

“Stronger than I” locates John as witness, not center; he names a difference in authority and power.

v08

“Baptize…with the Holy Spirit” points beyond external washing to God’s own life remaking people from within.

v10

The heavens are “torn open”—barrier-ripping imagery that signals God is not distant or sealed off.

v11

Belovedness comes before achievement; identity precedes vocation.

v12

The Spirit “drove” Jesus into the wilderness—God’s leading includes confrontation, not only comfort.

v13

Wilderness is both threat and provision: wild animals present danger; angels’ service signals holy sustaining.

v15

“The kingdom of God has drawn near” means God’s rule is approaching now in Jesus, not only later or elsewhere.

v15

“Repent, and trust” pairs reorientation with reliance—turning toward God and entrusting oneself to the good news.

v17

“Fishers of people” is a new vocation of gathering and restoration, not manipulation.

v18

Mark’s repeated “immediately” underscores decisive obedience that is concrete and costly.

v22

Jesus’s “authority” is experienced as weight and truth, not credential or institutional status.

v24

“Holy One of God” shows that hostile powers can “know” who Jesus is; knowledge without allegiance is not faithfulness.

v25

“Be silent” signals Jesus’s refusal of distorted publicity; his identity will be revealed on his terms.

v31

“Raised her up” resonates with resurrection language; healing functions as a sign of the coming restoration.

v31

“She began to serve” depicts restored strength and participation in the household, not diminishment.

v35

Solitude and prayer are not escape; they are alignment—ministry flows from communion with God.

v38

Jesus resists being captured by demand; mission governs schedule.

v41

Compassion is gut-level mercy that moves Jesus to act, not a detached sentiment.

v41

Jesus “touched” the man—holiness moves outward to cleanse rather than quarantining the unclean.

v44

Jesus honors Torah’s communal pathway of restoration; healing includes re-entry into shared life.

v45

Mercy spreads, but it also disrupts; the man’s proclamation changes Jesus’s mobility and ministry pattern.

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Vocabulary

Selected source-language vocabulary for Mark 1.

v01

εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion)

“good news,” public announcement of victory/reign.

v01

χριστός (christos)

“Anointed One,” Messiah/king.

v01

υἱὸς θεοῦ (huios theou)

“Son of God.”

v04

μετάνοια (metanoia)

repentance; turning/reorientation.

v04

ἄφεσις (aphesis)

forgiveness; release, restoration.

v08

πνεῦμα (pneuma)

Spirit; breath/wind, God’s empowering presence.

v10

σχίζω (schizō)

to tear open, split (the heavens).

v11

ἀγαπητός (agapētos)

beloved.

v12

ἐκβάλλω (ekballō)

“Drive out, compel (Spirit driving Jesus).”

v14

παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi)

hand over, deliver up (key Markan verb).

v15

πιστεύω (pisteuō)

trust; rely on, entrust oneself to.

v15

βασιλεία (basileia)

“Kingdom; reign/rule.”

v16

θάλασσα (thalassa)

sea.

v17

ἁλιεύς (halieus)

fisher.

v18

εὐθύς (euthys)

immediately, at once.

v22

ἐξουσία (exousia)

authority; right/power to act.

v23

πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον (pneuma akatharton)

unclean spirit.

v25

ἐπιτιμάω (epitimaō)

rebuke; authoritative constraint.

v35

ἔρημος (erēmos)

wilderness/desolate place.

v40–42

καθαρίζω (katharizō)

cleanse; make clean, restore.

v42

λέπρα (lepra)

“leprosy”; impurity/skin-disease category with social exclusion.