Mark 3

Mc 3.1Et introīvit iterum in synagōgam: et erat ibi homō habēns manum āridam.

And he went in again into the synagogue; and there was there a man having a dried-up hand.

Note. habēns manum āridam: 'having a withered hand'.

Mc 3.2Et observābant eum, sī sabbatīs cūrāret, ut accūsārent illum.

And they were watching him, whether on the sabbaths he would cure, so that they might accuse him.

Note. observābant eum, sī … cūrāret: 'they watched him (to see) whether he would heal', sī introducing an indirect question.

Mc 3.3Et ait hominī habentī manum āridam: Surge in medium.

And he says to the man having the dried-up hand: "Get up into the middle."

Mc 3.4Et dīcit eīs: Licet sabbatīs benefacere, an male? animam salvam facere, an perdere? At illī tacēbant.

And he says to them: "Is it allowed on the sabbaths to do well, or badly? To make a life safe, or to destroy it?" But they were silent.

Note. Licet … benefacere, an male?: the infinitives are the subjects of licet; an introduces the second alternative. animam: here 'a life'.

Mc 3.5Et circumspiciēns eōs cum īrā, contrīstātus super caecitāte cordis eōrum, dīcit hominī: Extende manum tuam. Et extendit, et restitūta est manus illī.

And looking around at them with anger, saddened over the blindness of their heart, he says to the man: "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored to him.

Note. contrīstātus super caecitāte cordis: 'grieved at the hardness of (their) heart'; super + ablative, 'about'. Some manuscripts read 'hardness', others 'blindness'. extendit: perfect, 'he stretched (it) out'.

Mc 3.6Exeuntēs autem pharisaeī, statim cum Hērōdiānīs cōnsilium faciēbant adversus eum quōmodo eum perderent.

But the Pharisees, going out, at once with the Herodians were making a plan against him, how they might destroy him.

Note. The Herodians were supporters of Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee. Pharisees and Herodians were normally opponents; Mark notes them combining against Jesus. cōnsilium faciēbant … quōmodo eum perderent: indirect question.

Mc 3.7Iēsus autem cum discipulīs suīs sēcessit ad mare: et multa turba ā Galilaeā et Iūdaeā secūta est eum,

But Jesus with his disciples withdrew to the sea; and a great crowd from Galilee and Judea followed him,

Mc 3.8et ab Ierosolymīs, et ab Idūmaeā, et trāns Iordānem: et quī circā Tyrum et Sīdōnem multitūdō magna, audientēs quae faciēbat, vēnērunt ad eum.

and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and across the Jordan; and those around Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, hearing the things which he was doing, came to him.

Note. ab Ierosolymīs: Ierosolyma is a neuter plural. Idumea lay south of Judea; Tyre and Sidon were Phoenician cities on the coast to the north-west. The list shows crowds coming from every direction.

Mc 3.9Et dīcit discipulīs suīs ut nāvicula sibi dēservīret propter turbam, nē comprimerent eum:

And he says to his disciples that a small boat should be at his service on account of the crowd, so that they would not press upon him;

Note. ut nāvicula sibi dēservīret: indirect command after dīcit, 'that a small boat should be kept ready for him'. nē comprimerent: 'so that they would not crush'.

Mc 3.10multōs enim sānābat, ita ut irruerent in eum ut illum tangerent, quotquot habēbant plāgās.

for he was healing many, so that they were rushing upon him so as to touch him, as many as had afflictions.

Note. irruerent in eum ut illum tangerent: result clause containing a purpose clause. quotquot habēbant plāgās: 'as many as had afflictions'; quotquot is indeclinable.

Mc 3.11Et spīritūs immundī, cum illum vidēbant, prōcidēbant eī: et clāmābant, dīcentēs:

And the unclean spirits, when they were seeing him, were falling down before him; and they were shouting, saying:

Mc 3.12Tū es Fīlius Deī. Et vehementer comminābātur eīs nē manifestārent illum.

"You are the Son of God." And he was threatening them strongly that they should not make him known.

Note. comminābātur eīs nē manifestārent: 'he warned them not to make him known'. This repeated command to silence is a feature of Mark's Gospel.

Mc 3.13Et ascendēns in montem vocāvit ad sē quōs voluit ipse: et vēnērunt ad eum.

And going up onto the mountain, he called to himself those whom he himself wished; and they came to him.

Note. quōs voluit ipse: 'those whom he himself wanted'.

Mc 3.14Et fēcit ut essent duodecim cum illō: et ut mitteret eōs praedicāre.

And he brought it about that twelve should be with him, and that he might send them to proclaim.

Note. fēcit ut essent duodecim: 'he made (it so) that there were twelve', i.e. appointed twelve. mitteret eōs praedicāre: an infinitive of purpose after a verb of motion, common in Biblical Latin where Classical Latin would use ut or the supine.

Mc 3.15Et dedit illīs potestātem cūrandī īnfirmitātēs et ēiiciendī daemonia.

And he gave them power of curing sicknesses and of throwing out demons.

Note. potestātem cūrandī … et ēiiciendī: genitive gerunds depending on potestātem.

Mc 3.16Et imposuit Simōnī nōmen Petrus:

And he put on Simon the name Peter;

Note. nōmen Petrus: the name is left in the nominative, as a quotation. Petrus translates the Aramaic Kēphā, 'rock'.

Mc 3.17et Iacōbum Zebedaeī, et Iōannem frātrem Iacōbī, et imposuit eīs nōmina Boanergēs, quod est, Fīliī tonitruī:

and James of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, and he put on them the names Boanerges, which is, Sons of thunder;

Note. Boanergēs, quod est, Fīliī tonitruī: Mark glosses the Aramaic phrase. quod est, 'which means', is the regular formula for such explanations.

Mc 3.18et Andream, et Philippum, et Bartholomaeum, et Matthaeum, et Thōmam, et Iacōbum Alphaeī, et Thaddaeum, et Simōnem Cananaeum,

and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean,

Note. Cananaeum: not 'from Canaan' but from an Aramaic word for 'zealot', a man zealous for the Law.

Mc 3.19et Iūdam Iscariōtem, quī et trādidit illum.

and Judas Iscariot, who also handed him over.

Mc 3.20Et veniunt ad domum: et convenit iterum turba, ita ut nōn possent neque pānem mandūcāre.

And they come to the house; and the crowd comes together again, so that they were not able even to eat bread.

Mc 3.21Et cum audīssent suī, exiērunt tenēre eum: dīcēbant enim: Quoniam in furōrem versus est.

And when his own had heard, they went out to hold him; for they were saying: "He has been turned into madness."

Note. suī: 'his own people', his family; suus used as a noun. Quoniam in furōrem versus est: recitative quoniam; in furōrem versus est, 'he has turned to madness', i.e. he is out of his mind.

Mc 3.22Et scrībae, quī ab Ierosolymīs dēscenderant, dīcēbant: Quoniam Beelzebub habet, et quia in prīncipe daemoniōrum ēiicit daemonia.

And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying: "He has Beelzebul", and "In the prince of the demons he throws out demons."

Note. Beelzebub (Beelzebul in the Greek), originally a Philistine god, here a name for the chief of the demons. in prīncipe daemoniōrum: 'by (the power of) the prince of demons', in + ablative of means, a Hebraism.

Mc 3.23Et convocātīs eīs in parabolīs dīcēbat illīs: Quōmodo potest Satanās Satanam ēiicere?

And they having been called together, he was speaking to them in comparisons: "How is Satan able to throw out Satan?

Mc 3.24Et sī regnum in sē dīvidātur, nōn potest regnum illud stāre.

And if a kingdom should be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

Mc 3.25Et sī domus super sēmetipsam dispertiātur, nōn potest domus illa stāre.

And if a house should be split up against its very self, that house cannot stand.

Note. dispertiātur: present subjunctive in a future-less-vivid condition with an indicative main clause (nōn potest), a mixed pattern common in the Vulgate. sēmetipsam: the reflexive sē strengthened by -met and ipse.

Mc 3.26Et sī Satanās cōnsurrēxerit in sēmetipsum, dispertītus est, et nōn poterit stāre, sed fīnem habet.

And if Satan has risen up against his very self, he has been split up, and he will not be able to stand, but he has an end.

Mc 3.27Nēmō potest vāsa fortis ingressus in domum dīripere, nisi prius fortem alliget, et tunc domum eius dīripiet.

No one, having gone into the house, is able to plunder the goods of the strong man unless first he binds the strong man; and then he will plunder his house.

Note. vāsa fortis: 'the goods of the strong man'; vās, vāsis has the plural vāsa, -ōrum. alliget: subjunctive in a nisi clause that looks to the future.

Mc 3.28Āmēn dīcō vōbīs, quoniam omnia dīmittentur fīliīs hominum peccāta, et blasphēmiae quibus blasphēmāverint:

Amen I say to you, that all sins will be let go for the sons of human beings, and the blasphemies with which they will have blasphemed;

Note. Āmēn dīcō vōbīs: Jesus' solemn formula; āmēn, a Hebrew word meaning 'truly', is kept untranslated in the Latin. quoniam here introduces the statement, like quia.

Mc 3.29quī autem blasphēmāverit in Spīritum Sānctum, nōn habēbit remissiōnem in aeternum, sed reus erit aeternī dēlictī.

but whoever will have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit will not have remission for ever, but will be answerable for an everlasting wrong."

Note. in aeternum: 'for ever'. reus erit aeternī dēlictī: reus + genitive of the charge, 'guilty of an eternal sin'.

Mc 3.30Quoniam dīcēbant: Spīritum immundum habet.

Since they were saying: "He has an unclean spirit."

Mc 3.31Et veniunt māter eius et frātrēs: et forīs stantēs mīsērunt ad eum vocantēs eum,

And there come his mother and brothers; and standing outside they sent to him, calling him,

Note. frātrēs: Jesus' brothers appear again in 6.3, where four are named. foris: 'outside'.

Mc 3.32et sedēbat circā eum turba: et dīcunt eī: Ecce māter tua et frātrēs tuī forīs quaerunt tē.

and a crowd was sitting around him; and they say to him: "Look, your mother and your brothers outside are seeking you."

Mc 3.33Et respondēns eīs, ait: Quae est māter mea et frātrēs meī?

And answering them, he says: "Who is my mother, and my brothers?"

Note. Quae est māter mea et frātrēs meī?: the verb agrees with the nearer subject.

Mc 3.34Et circumspiciēns eōs, quī in circuitū eius sedēbant, ait: Ecce māter mea et frātrēs meī.

And looking around at them, who were sitting in a circle around him, he says: "Look: my mother and my brothers.

Mc 3.35Quī enim fēcerit voluntātem Deī, hic frāter meus, et soror mea, et māter est.

For whoever will have done the will of God, this one is my brother, and sister, and mother."

Note. Quī … fēcerit, hic …: 'whoever does …, that person …'. fēcerit is future perfect; Latin is precise about the action being completed first.