independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecontentconditionaldashed = verbless / suspended
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Nazareth — the prophet without honor 6:1–6
vv. 1–3 — the hometown astonishment curdles into offense
1
And he went out from there,independent — the departure — the Nazareth episode opens
and comes to his hometown,independent — historic present — the arrival narrated before our eyes
and his disciples follow him.independent — historic present — the disciples in tow, witnesses of the rejection
2
And when the Sabbath had come,participial — genitive absolute — forward-leaning; leans on ἤρξατο
he began to teach in the synagogue;independent — Mark's ἤρξατο + infinitive — the synagogue teaching begins
and many, hearing him, were astonished,independent — imperfect — ongoing amazement, not yet faith
saying:participial — speech-participle — the frame for the barrage of questions
'Where did this man get these things?content — verbless question — τούτῳ, the dismissive 'this fellow'
And what is the wisdom given to him,content — verbless — ἡ δοθεῖσα, a passive that unwittingly implies a divine giver
and such mighty works coming about through his hands!content — verbless exclamation — the works undeniable, the source in question
3
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?content — ὁ τέκτων printed against 'the son of the carpenter' (assimilation to Matt 13:55) — a noted crux; 'son of Mary,' not of Joseph, is pointed
And are not his sisters here with us?'content — the final reduction — the whole familiar family produced as evidence
And they were offended at him.independent — ἐσκανδαλίζοντο — they stumbled over the ordinary origins of the extraordinary man
vv. 4–6a — the proverb, the withheld power, the marvel
4
And Jesus said to them:independent — imperfect of speaking + recitative ὅτι — the proverb-frame
'A prophet is not without honorcontent — gnomic present — Jesus classes himself among the rejected prophets
except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.'conditional — εἰ μή exceptive, verbless (backward-leaning, so anchored) — three concentric circles: town, kin, house
5
And he could do no mighty work there,independent — the bold οὐκ ἐδύνατο — unbelief constrains the power; Matthew softens to 'did not' (Matt 13:58)
except that, laying his hands on a few sick people, he healed them.conditional — εἰ μή exception with its own finite verb — a few healings slip through the unbelief
6
And he marveled because of their unbelief.independent — imperfect — sustained wonder; Jesus marvels only here and at a Gentile's faith (Luke 7:9)
v. 6b — the pivot: the village circuit that frames the sending
And he went around the villages in a circuit, teaching.independent — itinerant imperfect — 6b turns from Nazareth's refusal to the wider mission
The Twelve sent out two by two 6:7–13
vv. 7–9 — the commission: authority granted, baggage forbidden
7
And he summons the Twelve,independent — historic present — the commissioning foregrounded
and began to send them out two by two,independent — δύο δύο — Semitic distributive; paired for support and valid witness (Deut 19:15)
and kept giving them authority over the unclean spirits,independent — durative imperfect — his own ἐξουσία (1:27) delegated
8
and he charged themindependent — παραγγέλλω — the verb of formal orders; the travel-charge
to take nothing for the journey except a staff only —content — ἵνα of indirect command; Mark alone permits the staff (contrast Matt 10:10; Luke 9:3)
no bread, no bag, no copper in the belt —content — the triple μή list, verbless — radical dependence on God and on hospitality
9
but to go shod with sandals,content — perfect participle continuing the charge — the settled state of being shod; no finite verb
and — do not put on two tunics.content — the syntax slides into direct second-person prohibition — Mark's anacoluthon mid-charge
vv. 10–11 — the lodging rule and the dust-shaking
10
And he said to them:independent — imperfect of speaking — the lodging rule
'Wherever you enter a house,conditional — indefinite local protasis inside quoted speech — leans forward on μένετε
stay therecontent — the apodosis-command — one host per town, no upgrading to better hospitality
until you leave that place.conditional — temporal ἕως ἄν (typed cnd; no temporal key) — backward-leaning, so anchored
11
And whatever place will not receive you nor listen to you —conditional — indefinite relative protasis (plural ἀκούσωσιν, constructio ad sensum) — leans forward on ἐκτινάξατε
going out from there,participial — preposed circumstantial — the departing gesture before the command strikes
shake off the dust that is under your feet as a testimony against them.'content — the prophetic gesture — feet shaken against Gentile soil, turned on unreceptive towns (cf. Acts 13:51)
vv. 12–13 — the mission carried out
12
And going out,participial — preposed aorist participle — the mission launched; leans on ἐκήρυξαν
they preachedindependent — the Twelve take up the κηρύσσειν of John and of Jesus
that people should repent,content — ἵνα of the message's content — the summons of 1:15 echoed
13
and they cast out many demons,independent — customary imperfect — the recurring exorcisms; the granted ἐξουσία at work
and anointed with oil many who were sickindependent — anointing with oil — unique to Mark here (cf. Jas 5:14)
and healed them.independent — third customary imperfect — the mission's steady work
Herod and the Baptist — the flashback of the beheading 6:14–29
vv. 14–16 — the verdicts on Jesus' fame, and Herod's own
14
And King Herod heard of it,independent — 'king' by courtesy — Antipas was tetrarch; the fame reaches the court
for his name had become known,cause — narrator's γάρ — the mission of vv. 7–13 has made the name public
and people were saying:independent — plural ἔλεγον printed (var. ἔλεγεν) — the survey of popular opinion; recitative ὅτι
'John the baptizer has been raised from the dead,content — perfect ἐγήγερται — risen and now alive; the guilty rumor
and that is why these powers are at work in him.'content — the inference — resurrection explains the δυνάμεις
15
But others were saying:independent — the second opinion — recitative ὅτι
'He is Elijah.'content — the eschatological forerunner (Mal 4:5)
And others were saying:independent — the third opinion
'A prophet, like one of the prophets.'content — verbless — a prophet of the old stamp; every verdict falls short
16
But having heard,participial — preposed participle — leans on ἔλεγεν
Herod said:independent — the king's own verdict over the rumors — conscience chooses the worst option
'John, whom I beheaded —content — fronted relative with emphatic ἐγώ — Herod owns the deed; casus pendens
this man has been raised.'content — resumptive οὗτος — the guilty conscience's verdict
vv. 17–20 — the flashback opens: why John lay in prison
17
For Herod himself, having sent,participial — explanatory γάρ launches the flashback, narrated at mainline depth; intensive αὐτός — he sent (soldiers) to arrest; leans on ἐκράτησεν
seized Johnindependent — aorist of the arrest — the flashback's first event
and bound him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,independent — per Josephus, at Machaerus — the cause named: the unlawful marriage
because he had married her.cause — the ὅτι-ground — the marriage violating Lev 18:16; 20:21
18
For John had been saying to Herod:cause — iterative imperfect — the repeated confrontation that made the marriage the charge; recitative ὅτι
'It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.'content — the prophet's fatal candor — Torah spoken to the tetrarch's face
19
And Herodias had a grudge against himindependent — imperfect — the settled hostility; she is the active malice
and wanted to kill him,independent — imperfect of desire — the murder already willed
and she could not,independent — adversative καί — the desire blocked
20
for Herod feared John,cause — the γάρ-ground of her impotence — the king's awe of the prophet
knowing him to be a righteous and holy man,participial — causal participle — the fear grounded in knowledge
and kept him safe,cause — protective imperfect — Herod the reluctant shield against his own wife
and when he heard him, he was greatly perplexed,cause — πολλὰ ἠπόρει printed — the harder reading, against Byzantine πολλὰ ἐποίει ('did many things'); the torn conscience
and yet he heard him gladly.cause — concessive καί — drawn and disturbed at once
vv. 21–25 — the opportune day: the dance, the oath, the demand
21
And an opportune day having come,participial — genitive absolute — forward-leaning on ἤρεσεν (v. 22); εὔκαιρος is sinister: Herodias' chance
when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and the commanders and the leading men of Galilee,conditional — temporal ὅτε (typed cnd; no temporal key) defining the day — the courtly guest-list builds the stage
22
and the daughter of Herodias herself having come in and danced,participial — second genitive absolute — αὐτοῦ Ἡρῳδιάδος a notorious crux: the printed text reads 'his daughter Herodias'; translation follows the conventional 'daughter of Herodias herself' (Salome)
she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.independent — the dance lands — the trap's spring is set
The king said to the girl:independent — asyndeton — the rash offer follows at once
'Ask me for whatever you wish,content — the open-ended promise — ὃ ἐάν, anything at all
and I will give it to you.'content — the pledge — about to be sworn
23
And he swore to her:independent — the oath that becomes the trap (some witnesses add πολλά)
'Whatever you ask me,conditional — indefinite protasis inside the oath — leans forward on δώσω
I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.'content — the Ahasuerus-echo (Esth 5:3) — an extravagant, and empty, offer
24
And going out,participial — preposed participle — leans on εἶπεν
she said to her mother:independent — the consultation — the plot passes to Herodias
'What should I ask for?'content — deliberative subjunctive — the girl has no request of her own
And she said:independent — the mother's turn — the grudge of v. 19 strikes
'The head of John the baptizer.'content — verbless — the cold, instant demand
25
And coming in immediately with haste to the king,participial — preposed participle — εὐθύς plus μετὰ σπουδῆς stack the urgency; leans on ᾐτήσατο
she made her request,independent — middle αἰτέομαι — asking for herself
saying:participial — pleonastic speech-participle — the frame
'I wantcontent — the blunt volitional — governing the ἵνα clause
you to give me at once, on a platter, the head of John the Baptist.'content — ἵνα-object clause — ἐξαυτῆς ('this instant') and the platter turn the banquet to horror
vv. 26–29 — the king trapped, the head, the burial
26
And the king, becoming deeply grieved,participial — concessive participle — περίλυπος, Gethsemane's word (14:34); leans on ἠθέλησεν
because of his oaths and his guests did not want to refuse her.independent — the grounds fronted — honor before the guests outweighs conscience
27
And immediately the king, sending an executioner,participial — preposed participle — σπεκουλάτωρ, a Latin loanword (speculator); leans on ἐπέταξεν
commanded him to bring his head.independent — the order given from the banqueting couch
And going away,participial — preposed participle — leans on ἀπεκεφάλισεν
he beheaded him in the prisonindependent — the Baptist's end — one flat clause, no scene made of it
28
and brought his head on a platterindependent — the demanded πίναξ appears
and gave it to the girl,independent — first handoff
and the girl gave it to her mother.independent — the chain complete — executioner to girl to mother; the grudge served at table
29
And hearing of it,participial — preposed participle — leans on ἦλθον
his disciples cameindependent — John's own followers — the last service
and took his corpseindependent — πτῶμα — the fallen body
and laid it in a tomb.independent — the burial — foreshadowing 15:45–46: another disciple, another tomb
The return, and the five thousand fed 6:30–44
vv. 30–34 — the report, the retreat overrun, the shepherdless sheep
30
And the apostles gather to Jesus,independent — historic present — ἀπόστολοι in its full sense, only here in Mark
and they reported to him allindependent — the mission frame closes over the John flashback
that they had donerelative — the deeds
and that they had taught.relative — the teaching — the two halves of the commission
31
And he says to them:independent — historic present — the rest invitation
'Come away, you yourselves, privately, to a deserted place,content — emphatic ὑμεῖς αὐτοί — the shepherd's care for the shepherds
and rest a while.'content — the offered rest — soon overrun
For those coming and going were many,cause — narrator's γάρ — the press of the crowds explains the invitation
and they had no leisure even to eat.cause — no time even for bread — bread about to abound
32
And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.independent — the attempted retreat — ἔρημος τόπος, the wilderness motif again
33
And they saw them goingindependent — the privacy fails at once
and many recognized them,independent — recognition — the witnesses vary ('them' / 'him')
and they ran together there on foot from all the townsindependent — πεζῇ — the land-race against the boat
and got there ahead of them.independent — the crowd wins — the rest is over before it begins (the clause varies in the witnesses)
34
And coming ashore,participial — preposed participle — leans on εἶδεν
he saw a great crowd,independent — the sight that moves him
and he had compassion on them,independent — σπλαγχνίζομαι — moved in the inward parts; the shepherd's verb, against Herod's banquet
because they were like sheep without a shepherd,cause — Num 27:17; Ezek 34 — Israel shepherdless; Jesus the true shepherd
and he began to teach them many things.independent — the shepherd feeds first with the word
vv. 35–38 — the late-hour dialogue: send them away, or feed them
35
And the hour being already late,participial — genitive absolute — forward-leaning on ἔλεγον
his disciples, coming to him,participial — second preposed participle — the practical approach
said:independent — imperfect of speaking + recitative ὅτι
'The place is deserted,content — the objection begins — the sought ἔρημος now a problem
and the hour is already late;content — verbless — the narrator's genitive absolute echoed in the disciples' mouth
36
send them away,content — the disciples' solution — dispersal
so that going into the surrounding countryside and villages they may buy themselves something to eat.'purpose — purpose — let the crowd fend for itself
37
But he, answering,participial — preposed Semitic 'answering' participle — leans on εἶπεν
said to them:independent — the counter-command
'You give them something to eat.'content — emphatic ὑμεῖς — the burden thrown back on the disciples
And they say to him:independent — historic present — the protest
'Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of breadcontent — deliberative subjunctive — two hundred denarii, some eight months' wages: the impossibility priced
and give it to them to eat?'content — deliberative future — their δώσομεν echoes his Δότε, incredulous
38
And he says to them:independent — historic present — the inventory question
'How many loaves do you have?content — the question that starts from what is at hand
Go and see.'content — asyndetic double imperative — brisk
And finding out,participial — preposed participle — leans on λέγουσιν
they say:independent — historic present — the report
'Five, and two fish.'content — verbless — the meager inventory, the sign's raw material
vv. 39–44 — the seating, the blessing, the abundance, the count
39
And he commanded them to have all recline, group by group, on the green grass.independent — συμπόσια συμπόσια — Semitic distributive; the green grass a springtime, Passover-season eyewitness touch
40
And they sat down in plots, by hundreds and by fifties.independent — πρασιαὶ πρασιαί, 'garden-bed by garden-bed' — Israel's wilderness camp ordered anew (Exod 18:21)
41
And taking the five loaves and the two fish,participial — preposed participle — the eucharistic 'took' (14:22); leans on εὐλόγησεν
looking up to heaven,participial — second preposed participle — the posture of prayer
he blessedindependent — the berakah over bread — 'blessed' as at the Supper
and broke the loavesindependent — the eucharistic pattern continues — took, blessed, broke, gave
and kept giving them to his disciplesindependent — iterative imperfect ἐδίδου — the ceaseless multiplying handout
to set before the people;purpose — the disciples made waiters of the messianic banquet
and the two fish he divided among them all.independent — fronted object — the fish too stretched over all
42
And they all ateindependent — the meal itself — one verb
and were satisfied,independent — χορτάζω — fed to the full; the messianic abundance
43
and they took up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces, and of the fish.independent — twelve κόφινοι — one per apostle; the surplus exceeds the original supply
44
And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.independent — the tally caps the sign — ἄνδρες, males only counted (ὡσεί/ὡς and ἄνδρες vary in the witnesses)
The walking on the sea 6:45–52
vv. 45–47 — the compelled crossing and the mountain prayer
45
And immediately he compelled his disciples to get into the boat and go ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida,independent — the strong ἠνάγκασεν — urgency after the feeding (cf. John 6:15, the crowd's king-making fervor)
while he himself dismisses the crowd.conditional — temporal ἕως with historic present (typed cnd; no temporal key) — backward-leaning, so anchored
46
And taking leave of them,participial — preposed participle — leans on ἀπῆλθεν
he went away to the mountain to pray.independent — the second of Mark's three solitary prayers (1:35; 14:35) — mountain and prayer, the Moses echo
47
And when evening had come,participial — genitive absolute — forward-leaning; leans on ἦν
the boat was in the middle of the sea,independent — the separation staged — boat mid-sea
and he alone on the land.independent — verbless — the gap across which he will come
vv. 48–50 — the fourth-watch epiphany: the passing-by, the ghost-cry, the I AM
48
And seeing them tormented in their rowing,participial — preposed participle — βασανιζομένους, harried at the oars; leans on ἔρχεται
for the wind was against them,cause — narrator's γάρ — the contrary wind
about the fourth watch of the night he comes to them,independent — historic present — 3 to 6 a.m., Roman reckoning; the theophany-hour
walking on the sea.participial — God's own gait — treading the waves (Job 9:8; Ps 77:19)
And he meant to pass by them.independent — the famous crux — παρελθεῖν read as the theophanic 'passing by' (Exod 33:22; 1 Kgs 19:11), glory paraded before witnesses, not an intent to skip them; the imperfect keeps its strangeness
49
But they, seeing him walking on the sea,participial — preposed participle — leans on ἔδοξαν
thoughtindependent — the misperception
that it was a ghost,content — φάντασμα — an apparition where the epiphany stands
and they cried out;independent — the shriek — the demoniacs' verb (1:23) now the disciples'
50
for they all saw himcause — the γάρ-ground — no one is spared the sight
and were terrified.cause — ταράσσω — shaken through
But immediately he spoke with them,independent — εὐθύς — the reassurance as instant as the terror
and says to them:independent — historic present — the salvation-oracle frame
'Take heart;content — the courage-word of the salvation oracle
it is I;content — ἐγώ εἰμι — 'it is I,' with the ring of the divine Name (Exod 3:14; Isa 43:10)
do not be afraid.'content — the 'fear not' that seals the theophany
vv. 51–52 — the calm, the astonishment, the hardened-heart verdict
51
And he got into the boat with them,independent — the passing-by ends in boarding — presence, not bypass
and the wind ceased.independent — κοπάζω — the wind drops at his presence, as at 4:39, this time without a word
And they were utterly, beyond measure, astounded within themselves,independent — piled intensifiers λίαν ἐκ περισσοῦ — amazement that is not yet faith (some witnesses add καὶ ἐθαύμαζον)
52
for they did not understand about the loaves,cause — the editorial verdict — the sea-failure rooted in the bread-failure
but their heart was hardened.cause — periphrastic perfect — a settled πώρωσις; the charge returns as a question at 8:17
Gennesaret — the fringe of his garment 6:53–56
vv. 53–55 — the mooring, the recognition runs
53
And crossing over to the land,participial — preposed participle — leans on ἦλθον
they came to Gennesaretindependent — not Bethsaida (v. 45) — the wind has had its say; the fertile west-shore plain
and moored to the shore.independent — προσορμίζω — a sailor's word, only here in the NT
54
And as they got out of the boat,participial — genitive absolute — forward-leaning on περιέδραμον (v. 55)
immediately recognizing him,participial — second preposed participle — the subject shifts to the people; instant recognition
55
they ran about that whole regionindependent — the recognition run — the frenetic verbs begin
and began to carry the sick around on their palletsindependent — κράβαττος — the poor man's pallet (2:4 again)
to wherever they heardrelative — the moving target — the sick chase the report
that he was.content — retained present in indirect discourse
v. 56 — the iterative summary: the marketplaces and the fringe
56
And wherever he entered — villages or towns or countryside —conditional — iterative ὅπου ἄν + imperfect (typed cnd; no temporal key) — leans forward on ἐτίθεσαν
they laid the sick in the marketplaces,independent — iterative imperfect — the standing scene of the summary
and begged himindependent — iterative imperfect — the continual entreaty
that they might touch even the fringe of his garment;content — κράσπεδον — the ritual tassel (Num 15:38–39); the hemorrhaging woman's faith (5:28) gone public
and as many as touched it were being healed.independent — iterative ἄν + aorist, then imperfect ἐσῴζοντο — σῴζω, 'healed' with the overtone of 'saved'; the chapter closes on the open channel of the touch
Analysis. Mark 6 is Mark's longest chapter, and the layout shows one narrative machine running scene after scene: the flush-left column of coordinate purple main clauses, the historic presents flagged as they land (ἔρχεται and ἀκολουθοῦσιν bringing Jesus home to Nazareth, προσκαλεῖται summoning the Twelve, συνάγονται and λέγει at the return, ἔρχεται walking on the sea), and against that column the two indenting habits — preposed circumstantial participles and genitive absolutes leaning forward, anchor-less, on the verb below them (γενομένου σαββάτου, Καὶ γενομένης ἡμέρας εὐκαίρου, ὀψίας γενομένης, καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτοὺς βασανιζομένους), and speech hanging blue (cnt) beneath its verb of saying: the synagogue's incredulous questions under λέγοντες, the mission charge chaining under παρήγγειλεν and ἔλεγεν (staff only, one house per town, the dust shaken off), the banquet dialogue in quick alternating frames (Αἴτησόν με ὃ ἐὰν θέλῃς — Τί αἰτήσωμαι; — Τὴν κεφαλὴν Ἰωάννου), the feeding dialogue (Δότε αὐτοῖς ὑμεῖς φαγεῖν against the two-hundred-denarii protest), and the sea-oracle Θαρσεῖτε, ἐγώ εἰμι· μὴ φοβεῖσθε, one clause per line. The Herod episode is the structural exception the indents make visible: vv. 14–16 survey the popular verdicts on Jesus in cnt lines under ἔλεγον, then γάρ (v. 17) drops the narrative into a flashback whose tense-structure the tags track — aorists for the arrest (ἐκράτησεν, ἔδησεν), imperfects for the standing state behind it (ἐνεῖχεν, ἤθελεν, ἐφοβεῖτο, συνετήρει, ἠπόρει, ἤκουεν), aorists again for the opportune day; the layout keeps the flashback at mainline depth rather than hanging fifteen verses under one γάρ. Cruxes named honestly: at v. 3 the text prints ὁ τέκτων, ὁ υἱὸς τῆς Μαρίας — Jesus himself the carpenter, his mother not his father named — against the well-attested softening ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός (likely assimilation to Matt 13:55); at v. 14 the plural ἔλεγον ('people were saying') is read against ἔλεγεν; at v. 20 the harder πολλὰ ἠπόρει ('was greatly perplexed') stands against the Byzantine πολλὰ ἐποίει; at v. 22 αὐτοῦ Ἡρῳδιάδος ('his daughter Herodias') is the notorious reading, conventionally rendered 'the daughter of Herodias herself'; and at v. 48 ἤθελεν παρελθεῖν αὐτούς — 'he meant to pass by them' — is glossed as the theophanic passing-by of Exod 33:22 and 1 Kgs 19:11 rather than an intention to walk on past, though the line leaves the imperfect its strangeness. The chapter's two verdicts frame its middle: ἐθαύμαζεν διὰ τὴν ἀπιστίαν (v. 6) over Nazareth, and οὐ γὰρ συνῆκαν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἄρτοις … ἡ καρδία πεπωρωμένη (v. 52) over the Twelve — outsiders and insiders alike failing the recognition that the shepherdless crowd of v. 34 and the fringe-touching sick of v. 56 grope toward.