The Fallible Study Bible

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Mark1:21–28

Jesus Expels an Unclean Spirit

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Mark 1:21–28 — Jesus Expels an Unclean Spirit. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

21

Then Jesus and His companions went to Capernaum, and right away Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai eisporeuontai eis Kapharnaoum kai euthys eiselthōn eis tēn synagōgēn tois sabbasin edidasken

Word by word13 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiThenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εἰσπορεύονταιeisporeuontai[Jesus and His companions] wentG1531
√ εἰσπορεύομαι — to enter (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Plural
eisporeuomai: to enter, literally or figuratively Present tense with a plural subject. Mark's first move in this unit is not a solo entrance but a company walking into a town, and the historical present puts the reader inside the doorway with them.
εἰςeistoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
ΚαφαρναούμKapharnaoumCapernaumG2584
√ Καπερναούμ — Capernaum (iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εὐθὺςeuthysright awayG2112
√ εὐθέως — directly, iAdverb
eutheos: directly, immediately Mark's signature adverb. It is the hinge of the whole unit: v. 21 straightway into the synagogue, v. 23 straightway the unclean spirit, v. 28 straightway the report abroad. Ellicott's count (forty-one times in the Gospel, nine in chapter one) is what makes the pace a deliberate literary fact rather than an impression.
εἰσελθὼνeiselthōn[Jesus] enteredG1525
√ εἰσέρχομαι — to enter (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
εἰςeis. . .G1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
συναγωγὴνsynagōgēnsynagogueG4864
√ συναγωγή — an assemblage of personsNounAccusative Feminine Singular
synagoge: an assemblage of persons The noun names people gathered before it names a building. Poole compares it to a parish church where the law and prophets were read and where appointed men gave the word of exhortation, which is exactly the slot Jesus steps into.
τοῖςtoison theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Neuter Plural
σάββασινsabbasinSabbathG4521
√ σάββατον — the Sabbath (iNounDative Neuter Plural
sabbaton: the Sabbath Dative plural. Henry draws the practical point: Jesus "strictly kept the sabbath day, by applying himself unto, and abounding in the sabbath work." The day of rest is the day of labour for the one who gives the rest.
ἐδίδασκενedidasken[and] began to teachG1321
√ διδάσκω — to teach (in the same broad application)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
didasko: to teach Imperfect. Mark records the fact of the teaching and not one sentence of its content. Maclaren notices what that costs and what it buys: "The sermon he does not give, but the hearer's comment he does." The next verse is therefore the only transcript we get.
22

The people were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai exeplēssonto epi autou tē didachē gar ēn didaskōn autous hōs echōn exousian kai ouch hōs hoi grammateis

Word by word18 · parsed
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐξεπλήσσοντοexeplēssonto[The people] were astonishedG1605
√ ἐκπλήσσω — to strike with astonishmentVerbImperfect Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Plural
ekplesso: to strike with astonishment Imperfect, and in a form that can be read middle or passive: they were being struck, continuously, by something outside themselves. Poole's warning belongs here, that amazement is not faith: "we read of many amongst the Jews that were affected at the hearing of Christ with astonishment and admiration, but of few that believed in him."
ἐπὶepiatG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
αὐτοῦautouHisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τῇtēG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
διδαχῇdidachēteachingG1322
√ διδαχή — instruction (the act or the matter)NounDative Feminine Singular
didache: instruction, the act or the matter The same noun returns in v. 27 as διδαχὴ καινή, a new teaching. Mark frames the exorcism between two occurrences of this one word, so the miracle is set inside the category of teaching rather than beside it.
γὰρgarbecauseG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
ἦνēnvvvG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
διδάσκωνdidaskōnHe taughtG1321
√ διδάσκω — to teach (in the same broad application)VerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
αὐτοὺςautousG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ὡςhōsasG5613
√ ὡς — which how, iAdverb
ἔχωνechōnone who hadG2192
√ ἔχω — to hold (used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remoteVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
echo: to hold, to have A present participle of possession. The grammar makes authority a thing held rather than a tone adopted, which is why Gill contrasts it with the scribal method of citing Hillel and Shammai.
ἐξουσίανexousianauthorityG1849
√ ἐξουσία — privilege, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
exousia: privilege, right, competence This is the unit's pivot word. Here the crowd hears authority in speech; at v. 27 they see it enacted on spirits (κατ' ἐξουσίαν), and the two uses are the same noun. Mark's argument is that the word which commands demons and the word which teaches men is one word.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
οὐχouchnotG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
ὡςhōsasG5613
√ ὡς — which how, iAdverb
οἱhoitheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
γραμματεῖςgrammateisscribesG1122
√ γραμματεύς — scribe, town-clerkNounNominative Masculine Plural
grammateus: scribe, town-clerk Cambridge sets out their office (to copy, read, study, explain and fence round the Law) and their method: "Their teaching was preeminently second-hand." The contrast is not scholarship against ignorance but derived authority against inherent authority.
23

Suddenly a man with an unclean spirit cried out in the synagogue:

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai euthys ēn anthrōpos en akathartō pneumati kai anekraxen en autōn tē synagōgē

Word by word13 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εὐθὺςeuthysSuddenlyG2112
√ εὐθέως — directly, iAdverb
ἦνēnG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
eimi: I exist, there was The imperfect ἦν makes the man's presence a standing state rather than an arrival: he was already there, in the congregation, when the teaching began. Cambridge: "He seems to have entered unobserved amongst the throng."
ἄνθρωποςanthrōposa manG444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounNominative Masculine Singular
ἐνenwithG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
en: in, at, on, by The preposition every commentator in this brief stops to correct. The man is located inside the spirit's sphere, which is why the personality that speaks in v. 24 is not simply his.
ἀκαθάρτῳakathartōan uncleanG169
√ ἀκάθαρτος — impure (ceremonially, morally (lewd) or specially, (demonic))AdjectiveDative Neuter Singular
akathartos: impure, ceremonially, morally, or of demons JFB notes the frequency of this exact epithet for evil spirits, "some twenty times in the Gospels," and calls it "not to be overlooked." Mark uses it three times in these eight verses (vv. 23, 26, 27), so the encounter is framed throughout as holiness meeting defilement, not merely power meeting power.
πνεύματιpneumatispiritG4151
√ πνεῦμα — a current of air, iNounDative Neuter Singular
pneuma: a current of air, breath, spirit Neuter, and Mark keeps the neuter agreement strictly in v. 26 (σπαράξαν, ἐξῆλθεν) even while the thing speaks with a first person plural in v. 24. The grammar holds together an it and a we.
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀνέκραξενanekraxencried outG349
√ ἀνακράζω — to scream up (aloud)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
anakrazo: to scream up, aloud A rare aorist (five verses in all). Gill lists three motives, dread of the majesty of Christ, grief at the success of his preaching, and fear of dispossession, and the shriek interrupts a sermon: the first recorded response to Jesus' teaching in Mark is not a question but a scream.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
αὐτῶνautōnG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
τῇtētheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
συναγωγῇsynagōgēsynagogueG4864
√ συναγωγή — an assemblage of personsNounDative Feminine Singular
24

“What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

legōn Ti soi kai hēmin Iēsou Nazarēne ēlthes apolesai hēmas oida tis se ei ho Hagios tou Theou

Word by word18 · parsed
λέγωνlegōnG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
ΤίTiWhatG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounNominative Neuter Singular
tis: who, which, what Neuter interrogative with no verb, the head of the Hebraic formula. The demon opens not with a plea but with a legal objection: our interests are separate, you have no business here. Barnes hears exactly that and answers it: "The possession of the man was a direct assault upon God and his works."
σοίsoido You [ want ]G4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἡμῖνhēminwith usG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounDative 1st Person Plural
ego: I, me First person plural dative. One voice speaks for a constituency. Barnes: "though only one impure spirit is mentioned as possessing this man, yet that spirit speaks also in the name of others." The singular shriek of v. 23 has become a corporate "us," and the corporate "us" fears one man.
ἸησοῦIēsouJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounVocative Masculine Singular
ΝαζαρηνέNazarēneof NazarethG3479
√ Ναζαρηνός — a Nazarene, iNounVocative Masculine Singular
Nazarenos: a Nazarene Vocative. Naming is the demon's tactic, matching the idiom it has just used out of the Hebrew Scriptures. Geneva explains the geography (born in Bethlehem, called Nazarene from his upbringing); Gill notes Jesus permits the popular appellation.
ἦλθεςēlthesHave You comeG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
ἀπολέσαιapolesaito destroyG622
√ ἀπόλλυμι — to destroy fully (reflexively, to perish, or lose), literally or figurativelyVerbAorist Infinitive Active
ἡμᾶςhēmasusG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 1st Person Plural
οἶδάoidaI knowG1492
√ εἴδω — used only in certain past tenses, the others being borrowed from the equivalent G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι) and G3708 (ὁράω)VerbPerfect Indicative Active1st Person Singular
eido: to know, to have seen Perfect indicative. Set against v. 22, the grammar is devastating: the congregation is astonished and does not know, the unclean spirit knows and is terrified. Cambridge: "They believe and tremble ( James 2:19 )."
τίςtiswhoG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounNominative Masculine Singular
σεseYouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 2nd Person Singular
εἶeiareG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἍγιοςHagiosHoly [One]G40
√ ἅγιος — sacred (physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated)AdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
hagios: sacred, pure, consecrated, set apart The unit's theological summit, and the exact counterweight to ἀκάθαρτος in v. 23: the Unclean One names the Holy One. Ellicott records that the title is applied to Christ only here, at Luke 4:34, and in the better manuscripts of John 6:69, and derives it from the Messianic reading of "Thy Holy One" in Psalm 16:10; Gill adds the same reference; Geneva points instead to the inscription on the high priest's golden plate (Exodus 28:36).
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ΘεοῦTheouof GodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounGenitive Masculine Singular
theos: God Genitive, and the whole weight rests on it: not holy in himself as a quality, but "the Holy One of God." Ellicott's gloss is precise: "Its strict meaning is "the Holy One whom God owns as such.""
25

But Jesus rebuked the spirit. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai ho Iēsous epetimēsen autō Phimōthēti legōn kai exelthe ex autou

Word by word11 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiButG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἸησοῦςIēsousJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἐπετίμησενepetimēsenrebukedG2008
√ ἐπιτιμάω — to tax upon, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
epitimao: to charge upon, to rebuke The same verb Mark will use of Jesus rebuking the wind (Mark 4:39), and Luke uses it at the parallel here (Luke 4:35). It is the vocabulary of a superior addressing an insubordinate, and it is spoken to a spirit, which is why Barnes argues this cannot be mere derangement: "how could the Son of God hold converse with "disease" or "insanity?""
αὐτῷautō[the spirit]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ΦιμώθητιPhimōthētiBe silentG5392
√ φιμόω — to muzzleVerbAorist Imperative Passive2nd Person Singular
phimoo: to muzzle Aorist imperative passive of a farm word. Two things are happening at once. Jesus refuses a true testimony because of its source (Poole: truth is never advantaged by the confession of known liars; JFB, following Bengel: "it was only the testimony borne to Himself which our Lord meant to silence"), and he demonstrates the authority the crowd had only heard about in v. 22. The same verb muzzles the sea at Mark 4:39.
λέγωνlegōnHe saidG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἔξελθεexeltheComeG1831
√ ἐξέρχομαι — to issue (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
exerchomai: to issue, to go out The hinge verb of the unit. It is commanded here, obeyed in v. 26, and then used of the report in v. 28: what goes out of the man is what sends the news out through Galilee.
ἐξexout ofG1537
√ ἐκ — literal or figurativePreposition
αὐτοῦautouhimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
autos: himself Genitive after ἐξ. The man, silent throughout, is named only as the place the spirit must leave.
26

At this, the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and came out with a loud shriek.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai to to akatharton pneuma sparaxan auton exēlthen ex autou kai phōnēsan phōnē megalē

Word by word14 · parsed
καὶkaiAt thisG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Singular
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Singular
ἀκάθαρτονakathartonuncleanG169
√ ἀκάθαρτος — impure (ceremonially, morally (lewd) or specially, (demonic))AdjectiveNominative Neuter Singular
akathartos: impure, of demons Third and central use of the epithet in the unit. The spirit is defined by impurity to the last, even in the act of obeying.
πνεῦμαpneumaspiritG4151
√ πνεῦμα — a current of air, iNounNominative Neuter Singular
σπαράξανsparaxanthrew [the man] into convulsionsG4682
√ σπαράσσω — apparently strengthened from G4685 (σπάω) through the idea of spasmodic contraction)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Neuter Singular
sparasso: to convulse, from the idea of spasmodic contraction A rare verb (three verses), and the other two are the boy at Mark 9:26 and Luke 9:39, which is why this reads as a recognised clinical picture in the Gospels rather than a vague violence. JFB reads the motive: "Malignant cruelty." Pulpit lists the evidential purposes served, that the possession was real, that the malice was visible, and that the exit was compelled and not voluntary.
αὐτὸνauton. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἐξῆλθενexēlthen[and] cameG1831
√ ἐξέρχομαι — to issue (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
exerchomai: to go out Aorist indicative, the exact answer to the imperative of v. 25. Nothing intervenes: no struggle of wills is narrated, only an order and an exit.
ἐξexoutG1537
√ ἐκ — literal or figurativePreposition
αὐτοῦautouG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
φωνῆσανphōnēsanvvvG5455
√ φωνέω — to emit a sound (animal, human or instrumental)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Neuter Singular
phoneo: to emit a sound, animal, human or instrumental The muzzle of v. 25 held. Pulpit draws the line precisely: while in possession the spirit used the man's organs of speech, but on the way out "there was no articulate speech." It can still make noise; it can no longer testify.
φωνῇphōnēwith a loud shriekG5456
√ φωνή — a tone (articulate, bestial or artificial)NounDative Feminine Singular
μεγάλῃmegalē. . .G3173
√ μέγας — big (literally or figuratively, in a very wide application)AdjectiveDative Feminine Singular
megas: great, big Modifying φωνή. Poole offers a striking reading of why the cry was permitted at all: possibly "Christ would have him cry out with a loud voice, that his miraculous operation might be the more taken notice of." The shriek becomes the witness the testimony was forbidden to be.
27

All the people were amazed and began to ask one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him!”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai hapantes ethambēthēsan hōste syzētein pros heautous legontas Ti estin touto kainē didachē kat’ exousian epitassei kai tois tois akathartois pneumasi kai hypakouousin autō

Word by word24 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἅπαντεςhapantesAll [the people]G537
√ ἅπας — absolutely all or (singular) every oneAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἐθαμβήθησανethambēthēsanwere amazedG2284
√ θαμβέω — to stupefy (with surprise), iVerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Plural
thambeo: to stupefy with surprise Aorist passive, and a rare word (three verses). Mark's two other uses are of disciples staggered on the way to Jerusalem (Mark 10:24, 10:32), so the verb marks the moments when what Jesus does outruns what his hearers can hold. Poole notes what the stupefaction is not: "we read of no believing, no agnation of him as God."
ὥστεhōste[and]G5620
√ ὥστε — so too, iConjunction
συζητεῖνsyzēteinbegan to askG4802
√ συζητέω — to investigate jointly, iVerbPresent Infinitive Active
syzeteo: to investigate jointly, to dispute Result of the stupefaction, not a calm sequel to it. The synagogue that was silently struck in v. 22 is now audibly arguing.
πρὸςprosvvvG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
ἑαυτοὺςheautousone anotherG1438
√ ἑαυτοῦ — him- (her-, it-, them-, also (in conjunction with the personal pronoun of the other persons) my-, thy-, our-, your-) self (selves), etcReflexive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
λέγονταςlegontasG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveAccusative Masculine Plural
ΤίTiWhatG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounNominative Neuter Singular
ἐστινestinisG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
τοῦτοtoutothisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounNominative Neuter Singular
καινήkainēA newG2537
√ καινός — newAdjectiveNominative Feminine Singular
kainos: new New in kind. Pulpit draws the inference the crowd is groping toward: the unexampled power indicated "the accompanying gift of a "new teaching," a new revelation." Geneva had already said as much at v. 23, that he preaches the doctrine by which Satan is driven out and confirms it by a miracle.
διδαχὴdidachēteachingG1322
√ διδαχή — instruction (the act or the matter)NounNominative Feminine Singular
κατ’kat’withG2596
√ κατά — (prepositionally) down (in place or time), in varied relations (according to the case (genitive, dative or accusative) with which it is joined)Preposition
ἐξουσίανexousianauthorityG1849
√ ἐξουσία — privilege, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
exousia: privilege, right, competence The same noun as v. 22, now with κατά: teaching that runs along the line of authority. Mark has bracketed the exorcism with one word, so that the crowd's verdict is really an answer to the crowd's earlier astonishment.
ἐπιτάσσειepitasseiHe commandsG2004
√ ἐπιτάσσω — to arrange upon, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
epitasso: to arrange upon, to order Present indicative. Poole's contrast is the sharpest in the brief: Jewish exorcists worked by forms of invocation, whereas "Christ commanded them out," with no compact and no invocation of God. Gill makes the same point from the other side: the exorcists could command, but could not oblige the devils to obey.
καὶkaievenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
τοῖςtoistheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Neuter Plural
τοῖςtoisG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Neuter Plural
ἀκαθάρτοιςakathartoisuncleanG169
√ ἀκάθαρτος — impure (ceremonially, morally (lewd) or specially, (demonic))AdjectiveDative Neuter Plural
πνεύμασιpneumasispiritsG4151
√ πνεῦμα — a current of air, iNounDative Neuter Plural
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὑπακούουσινhypakouousinthey obeyG5219
√ ὑπακούω — to hear under (as a subordinate), iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
hypakouo: to hear under, to obey The verb that answers ἐπιτάσσει. Note that the crowd, unlike the demon, has not yet arrived at a name for him; they have got as far as a category (new teaching) and a fact (the spirits obey), and stop there.
αὐτῷautōHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
28

And the news about Jesus spread quickly through the whole region of Galilee.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai hē akoē autou exēlthen euthys pantachou eis tēn holēn perichōron tēs Galilaias

Word by word13 · parsed
καὶkaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἡhētheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Feminine Singular
ἀκοὴakoēnewsG189
√ ἀκοή — hearing (the act, the sense or the thing heard)NounNominative Feminine Singular
akoe: hearing, the act, the sense, or the thing heard The unit began with a synagogue hearing a teaching and ends with a region hearing a report. What travels is not yet a confession, only a hearing, which is precisely the gap Poole marks: some believed, others were hardened.
αὐτοῦautouabout [Jesus]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἐξῆλθενexēlthenspreadG1831
√ ἐξέρχομαι — to issue (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
exerchomai: to go out Same verb and same form as the spirit's exit in v. 26. Mark does not comment on the repetition; the Greek simply lets one going-out produce the other.
εὐθὺςeuthysquicklyG2112
√ εὐθέως — directly, iAdverb
eutheos: immediately Mark's adverb closing the unit as it opened it (v. 21) and as it introduced the crisis (v. 23). Three εὐθύς in eight verses.
πανταχοῦpantachouthroughG3837
√ πανταχοῦ — universallyAdverb
εἰςeis. . .G1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ὅληνholēnwholeG3650
√ ὅλος — "whole" or "all", iAdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
περίχωρονperichōronregionG4066
√ περίχωρος — around the region, iAdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
perichoros: around the region An adjective used as a noun. The ambiguity is real and the commentators divide on it (JFB against Meyer and Ellicott), so the reach of the report is either all Galilee or all the country bordering it.
τῆςtēsG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
ΓαλιλαίαςGalilaiasof GalileeG1056
√ Γαλιλαία — Galilæa (iNounGenitive Feminine Singular

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. Authority heard: a borrowed pulpit and a word that is not borrowed — Mark 1:21-22

Mark opens with a plural verb in the present tense, εἰσπορεύονται, and Pulpit hears the whole company in it: "Who go into Capernaum? Our Lord and these four disciples, the elementary Church of God." Maclaren notices the restraint of the method. Christ "seeks to set Himself in the line of the ordinary teaching of the day"; he knew every fault of synagogue and rabbi, "but He prefers to intertwine the new with the old, and to make as little disturbance as possible." Barnes supplies the mechanism that made it possible: after the reading, the presiding elder invited anyone who chose to address the people (Acts 13:15), and Jesus, neither priest nor officer of the synagogue, used the privilege. ⚙ The result is that the most disruptive word in Galilee is first spoken from an ordinary slot in an ordinary service.

What the congregation felt is named by a violent verb. ἐξεπλήσσοντο (G1605) is to be struck out of oneself, and it is imperfect: the blow kept landing. Ellicott insists the stress falls on manner rather than matter, "For "doctrine" read teaching." Cambridge locates the difference exactly, in the scribes' office: their business was to copy, explain and fence round the Law, so "Their teaching was preeminently second-hand. They simply repeated the decisions of previous Rabbis." Gill says the same from the pulpit's side, that Jesus did not establish his word by the authority of the Rabbins "but he spoke as from himself, as one sent of God, that had an authority from him, and was independent of man." Poole then refuses the easy conclusion, and his refusal governs the rest of the unit: many were astonished and admired the preacher, "but of few that believed in him."

ii. Authority named: the only expert in the room — Mark 1:23-24

Mark's third εὐθὺς makes the interruption an effect, not a coincidence; Pulpit: "It marks the immediate effect of our Lord's preaching." Every commentator here stops at the preposition. The man is ἐν πνεύματι ἀκαθάρτῳ, in an unclean spirit, and JFB draws the consequence: "so entirely under demoniacal power that his personality was sunk for the time in that of the spirit." Pulpit reaches for 1 John 5:19, where the world lies "in the evil one," and distinguishes true from false inspiration by what happens to the speaker: a prophet keeps his own gifts and manner, "whereas here a false and lying spirit usurps the organs of speech, and makes them his own."

The cry is doctrinally impeccable and spiritually hostile. Τί σοί καὶ ἡμῖν is a verbless Hebraism; JFB traces it through 1 Kings 17:18, 2 Kings 3:13 and 2 Chronicles 35:21 and reads it as "entire separation of interests." Gill glosses the demons' side of the ledger honestly: "They had nothing to do with Christ, as a Saviour; they had no interest in him, nor in his redemption, but he had something to do with them." Then comes the title. Ellicott records that "the Holy One of God" is applied to Christ only here, at Luke 4:34, and in the better manuscripts of John 6:69, and that it "probably had its origin in the Messianic application of "Thy Holy One" in Psalm 16:10"; Gill cites the same Psalm and adds the high priest's mitre; Geneva names the plate outright, Exodus 28:36. Benson uses the whole scene as an argument against reducing possession to madness: the congregation did not know Jesus to be the Son of God (see v. 27), so "how then should the demoniac know this if he had been only mad"? ⚙ Set the perfect οἶδά of v. 24 beside the passive ἐξεπλήσσοντο of v. 22 and Mark's irony is complete: the worshippers are stunned and ignorant, the unclean thing is informed and terrified. Cambridge: "They believe and tremble ( James 2:19 )."

iii. Authority exercised: two imperatives, one exit — Mark 1:25-26

Jesus answers a true confession with a muzzle. Φιμώθητι is aorist imperative passive of a farm word; Ellicott, "Literally, be still, be gagged"; Cambridge traces it to the ox that must not be muzzled (Deuteronomy 25:4, quoted at 1 Corinthians 9:9) and cites Wyclif's "wexe doumbe." Three reasons are on the table in the brief, and they are not in conflict. Poole: "Truth is never advantaged from the confession of known liars, as the devil was from the beginning." Gill: lest it be thought he had "a familiarity and confederacy with him," the charge his enemies would later make. Pulpit: "the time was not yet arrived when Christ was to be publicly proclaimed as the Son of God." JFB, citing Bengel, adds the limit of the prohibition: only the testimony was forbidden, and the later cry of rage "He would right willingly permit."

The obedience is instant and ugly. σπαράξαν (G4682) is a rare word, in three verses of the whole New Testament, and Poole corrects the old English: it "signifies no more than a violent convulsion, or shaking," since Luke 4:35 says the man was not hurt. JFB names the motive, "Malignant cruelty, just showing what he would have done, if permitted to go farther: it was a last fling!" Pulpit lists what the convulsion proves: that the possession was real, that the malice was real, and that the departure was compelled. And the muzzle holds to the end: the spirit can still make noise (φωνῆσαν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ, a verb that covers animal sound) but not speech. Pulpit: "there was no articulate speech - it was nothing but a cry." Poole even wonders whether the cry was allowed so that "his miraculous operation might be the more taken notice of."

iv. Authority reported: a question the crowd cannot finish — Mark 1:27-28

The crowd's verdict is a question with a category in it. ἐθαμβήθησαν (G2284) is a stronger and rarer word than v. 22's astonishment, and the text of what they said is uncertain: Ellicott records a variant, "What thing is this? A new doctrine with power," while Pulpit reports that the now generally approved reading gives "What is this? a new teaching!" and infers that the bystanders took the power to indicate "the accompanying gift of a "new teaching," a new revelation." Either reading keeps διδαχή and ἐξουσία, the two nouns of v. 22, so the miracle is filed under teaching, not beside it. Poole draws the line that made this new: the Jews had exorcists who worked by "forms of invocation," "but Christ commanded them out; he neither did it by any kind of entreaty from any compact with the devil, nor yet by any invocation of God, but by an authoritative command." Gill: the exorcists could command, but "could not oblige the devils to obey."

Then the report. ⚙ Mark uses one verb twice, ἐξῆλθεν: in v. 26 it goes out of the man, in v. 28 it goes out through Galilee, and the BSB's two English words ("came out," "spread") hide the repetition. What travels is an ἀκοή, a hearing, and Poole refuses to overvalue it: "The fame of his miracles, rather than of his doctrine," by which many were brought to be cured and many to listen, "some of whom believed, others were hardened." Pulpit concedes that "everywhere" is "said by anticipation"; JFB and Geneva disagree over whether the region is Galilee itself or the lands bordering it. The unit therefore ends where Poole said astonishment ends: with a wide hearing and an unanswered question.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ This is the machine's own fallible reading, offered to be tested by Scripture. Mark has built these eight verses on one noun, ἐξουσία, heard in v. 22 and seen in v. 27, and on the collision of two adjectives, ἀκάθαρτος (vv. 23, 26, 27) and ἅγιος (v. 24). Read that way, the exorcism is not an interruption of the sermon but its demonstration, and the crowd's "a new teaching according to authority" is a better piece of exegesis than they knew. Two things follow that the text will not let us soften. First, correct theology is not faith: the only orthodox confession in the chapter comes from the unclean spirit, and it is muzzled rather than welcomed. Poole's blunt rule holds, that truth gains nothing from the confession of known liars, and Cambridge's citation of James 2:19 turns the knife, since the demons believe and tremble. Second, the man himself never speaks. He is addressed by no one; Jesus talks past him to the thing that holds him, and he is described only as the place it must leave. ⚙ The machine's guess, offered as a guess: Mark wants the reader who is neither demon nor scribe to notice that he is that man, silent in the assembly, and that the authority which astonished the room on a sabbath morning is exercised on his behalf before he has said a word or known enough to ask. The hearing that then goes out through Galilee is the same verb as the spirit's going out, and Mark leaves it undecided whether a hearing will become a confession. Poole says it stayed undecided then: some believed, others were hardened.

The only flawless creed in the synagogue that morning was spoken by the unclean spirit, and it was answered with a muzzle. (This line is the tool's own fallible synthesis, not Scripture.)

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

"Be muzzled": the same two words spoken to a demon and to the sea verbal / quotation: confirmed

Ellicott, on v. 25: "Literally, be still, be gagged. The same verb is used in the calming of the winds and waves in Mark 4:39 ." Cambridge says it independently, that the same word is used by our Lord in rebuking the storm on the Lake at Mark 4:39. We checked the pair, and the Verifier records two shared lexemes with Mark 4:39: the rare φιμόω (G5392, eight verses in all) and ἐπιτιμάω (G2008), which is to say that both verbs of this verse, the rebuke and the muzzling, recur together in the stilling of the storm. ⚙ The consequence for Mark's argument is precise rather than devotional: the authority the crowd could only hear in v. 22 is exercised in the same two words over an unclean spirit here and over wind and sea there, the sequel at Mark 4:41, where the disciples ask who this can be that even wind and sea obey him, is the question this crowd could not finish

Mark 4:39

basis: Verifier (pair check, Mark 1:25 against Mark 4:39): shared Greek lexemes G5392 φιμόω (in 8 vv, rare) and G2008 ἐπιτιμάω (in 29 vv); Greek to Greek within Mark, a verbal link with no quotation claimed. The link is independently asserted by Ellicott and Cambridge at this verse.

The convulsion word: a rare verb Mark keeps for one clinical picture verbal / quotation: confirmed

⚙ σπαράσσω (G4682) stands in only three verses of the New Testament, and the other two are the boy whom the spirit "tare" at Mark 9:26 and the same boy at Luke 9:39. The Verifier confirms the shared lexeme in both. That rarity is what lets us say something narrow and firm: the convulsive shaking here is not a generic violence but the specific picture Mark and Luke both reach for when a spirit is forced out. Poole uses Luke 4:35 to fix its strength ("it did him no hurt"), and Cambridge cross-references Mark 9:26 for exactly this reason. Pulpit adds that the medical writers, Galen among them, use the passive of being convulsed.

Mark 9:26 · Luke 9:39

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G4682 σπαράσσω, present in only 3 verses of the NT (a rare lexeme); Greek to Greek, within Mark and Luke, so a genuine verbal link and not a quotation claim. Mark 9:26 also shares G1831 ἐξέρχομαι (in 212 vv), Luke 9:39 shares G4151 πνεῦμα (in 344 vv), neither of which carries weight.

The scream: ἀνακράζω and the four other voices that use it verbal / quotation: confirmed

⚙ The verb of v. 23, ἀνέκραξεν (G349, to scream up), occurs in five verses in all, and the company it keeps is instructive. Luke 4:33 is the parallel to this very scene; Luke 8:28 is the Gerasene demoniac, whom Ellicott compares because the cry there is "identical"; Luke 23:18 is the crowd shrieking for Barabbas; Mark 6:49 is the disciples shrieking at what they take for a ghost on the water. ⚙ Mark's own use of the rare verb is therefore not for demons but for terrified men, which suggests the shriek is being reported as terror rather than as defiance. Gill lists dread of Christ's majesty first among its causes.

Luke 4:33 · Luke 8:28 · Luke 23:18 · Mark 6:49

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G349 ἀνακράζω, present in only 5 verses (rare), at Luke 4:33, Luke 8:28, Luke 23:18 and Mark 6:49; all NT Greek, so a verbal link within one language. Luke 4:33 additionally shares G4864 συναγωγή (in 56 vv) and G169 ἀκάθαρτος (in 30 vv).

Stupefied: the word for what is too large to hold verbal / quotation: confirmed

⚙ θαμβέω (G2284) is rarer still, three verses, and both of Mark's other uses fall on the road to Jerusalem: the disciples stupefied at the word about riches (Mark 10:24) and stupefied as Jesus walks ahead of them toward the passion (Mark 10:32). The Verifier confirms the lexeme in both. ⚙ The link is worth stating carefully, because it is lexical and not thematic in the first instance: Mark reserves this verb for the moment when Jesus outruns his hearers' categories. In v. 27 the stupefaction produces a debate (συζητεῖν) and no confession, which is exactly Poole's complaint: "we read of no believing, no agnation of him as God."

Mark 10:24 · Mark 10:32

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G2284 θαμβέω, present in only 3 verses (rare), at Mark 10:24 and Mark 10:32; Greek to Greek within Mark, a verbal link, no quotation claimed. Mark 10:24 also shares G1525 εἰσέρχομαι (in 184 vv), which is too common to weigh.

"Jesus, Nazarene": the demon's name, the denier's name, the angel's name verbal / quotation: confirmed

⚙ Ναζαρηνός (G3479) appears in six verses, and Mark uses it four times. Here it is a demon's vocative; at Mark 14:67 it is the servant girl's identification that triggers Peter's denial ("thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth"); Luke 24:19 puts it in the mouths of the Emmaus pair describing a prophet mighty in deed and word. JFB records the trajectory of the epithet: "originally given to express contempt, but soon adopted as the current designation by those who held our Lord in honor." ⚙ The same rare word therefore carries contempt, betrayal and confession in turn, which is why the demon's use of it should not be read as neutral geography.

Mark 14:67 · Luke 24:19

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G3479 Ναζαρηνός, present in only 6 verses (rare), at Mark 14:67 and Luke 24:19; Greek to Greek, a verbal link. Luke 4:34 shares it too, as part of the synoptic parallel below.

The synoptic parallel: Luke 4:31-37 word for word verbal / quotation: confirmed

Ellicott states the relation plainly: at Capernaum "St Mark's narrative ceases to run parallel with that of St. Matthew, and agrees almost verbally with Luke 4:31-37." The Verifier bears this out lexeme by lexeme: Luke 4:32 shares διδαχή, ἐξουσία and ἐκπλήσσω with v. 22; Luke 4:34 shares ἀπόλλυμι, εἴδω and Ναζαρηνός with v. 24; Luke 4:35 shares ἐπιτιμάω and the rare φιμόω with v. 25; Luke 4:36 shares ἐξουσία and ἀκάθαρτος with v. 27. ⚙ Where the two diverge, the brief's commentators use Luke to control Mark: Poole and Gill both appeal to Luke 4:35 ("he hurt him not") against translating σπαράξαν as "torn," and Benson uses Luke's "τίς ὁ λόγος οὗτος" to gloss the crowd's question. This is the clearest case in the unit of one Gospel reading another's material.

Luke 4:32 · Luke 4:34 · Luke 4:35 · Luke 4:36

basis: Verifier: dense shared Greek lexemes across the parallel, including the rare G5392 φιμόω (in 8 vv) and G3479 Ναζαρηνός (in 6 vv) alongside G1322 διδαχή (29 vv), G1605 ἐκπλήσσω (13 vv), G2008 ἐπιτιμάω (29 vv), G1849 ἐξουσία (93 vv) and G169 ἀκάθαρτος (30 vv); Greek to Greek throughout, and the verbal relation is also asserted by Ellicott.

Teaching, scribes and astonishment: the cluster that returns in the temple structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ Mark 11:18 puts the same three words back together at the other end of the ministry: διδαχή, γραμματεύς and ἐκπλήσσω, where the chief priests and scribes seek to destroy him "for all the people were astonished at his teaching." The Verifier confirms all three lexemes, but none of them is rare (29, 63 and 13 verses), so we do not claim a verbal link, only a structure Mark repeats: the same astonishment that opens his ministry in a Galilean synagogue closes it in the Jerusalem temple, and the scribes who were merely out-taught in 1:22 are plotting in 11:18. ⚙ This is our reading of a pattern, not a claim that Mark cross-references himself.

Mark 11:18

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G1322 διδαχή (in 29 vv), G1122 γραμματεύς (in 63 vv), G1605 ἐκπλήσσω (in 13 vv). The lexemes are real but none is rare, so the tier is deliberately downgraded from verbal to structural: a repeated motif, not a quotation or a pointed verbal allusion.

"What have we to do with thee?": a Hebrew idiom in a demon's mouth structural / thematic: confirmed

JFB records the formula as "an expression of frequent occurrence in the Old Testament (1Ki 17:18; 2Ki 3:13; 2Ch 35:21, &c.)," denoting "entire separation of interests." The nearest analogues are confrontations with a man of God: the widow of Zarephath to Elijah, "What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance?" (1 Kings 17:18), and Jephthah's envoys to the king of Ammon (Judges 11:12). ⚙ The parallel is illuminating and limited. It cannot be a verbal link in the technical sense, because Mark's Greek and the Hebrew of Kings and Judges share no Strong's lexemes that can be computed against each other, and the Gospel makes no citation. What it shows is that the spirit reaches for the standard Scriptural formula of dissociation, and that its nearest precedent (Zarephath) also pairs the formula with a fear of being destroyed by a holy visitor.

1 Kings 17:18 · Judges 11:12 · 2 Kings 3:13

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew), so no shared Strong's lexeme is computable and the tier cannot be verbal. The recorded basis is the idiomatic formula itself, with the Hebrew references supplied by JFB at this verse (1 Kings 17:18, 2 Kings 3:13, 2 Chronicles 35:21); Judges 11:12 is the same idiom, added by us.

"Thy Holy One": where the title in v. 24 comes from structural / thematic: confirmed

Two of the brief's voices derive the title from the same Psalm. Ellicott: it "probably had its origin in the Messianic application of "Thy Holy One" in Psalm 16:10," and he notes the title is applied to Christ only here, at Luke 4:34, and in the better manuscripts of John 6:69. Gill says flatly that this is "he whom God had called his Holy One, Psalm 16:10." JFB agrees that the expression "seems evidently taken from that Messianic Psalm." ⚙ Two cautions belong with the agreement. First, the link is a derivation asserted by commentators, not a quotation made by Mark, and the demon is not citing Scripture at all. Second, the Greek of Psalm 16:10 in the Septuagint uses ὅσιον, not the ἅγιος of Mark 1:24, so even at the level of Greek vocabulary this is a conceptual and Messianic link rather than a verbal one. Barnes takes a different route entirely and cites Daniel 9:24 for the title.

Psalm 16:10 · John 6:69 · Daniel 9:24

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew), so no shared Strong's lexeme is computable and the tier cannot be verbal; the Septuagint of Psalm 16:10 uses ὅσιος rather than the ἅγιος of Mark 1:24, which rules out a verbal tier even in Greek. Recorded basis: the Messianic derivation of the title asserted independently by Ellicott, Gill and JFB, with Daniel 9:24 offered by Barnes as an alternative.

"Holiness to the LORD" on the high priest's plate typological

Geneva, on v. 24: "He alludes to the name that was written in the golden plate which the high Priest wore; Ex 28:36." Gill reaches the same place independently, noting that the mitre's inscription "may be rendered, "the Holy One of the Lord"," and concluding that "the high priest was an eminent type of him." ⚙ We record this as a figural reading, not a verbal one: nothing in Mark's Greek points to Exodus, and the identification depends on reading the priestly plate as a type. It is old and widely held, and it is not the only available derivation (Ellicott and JFB prefer Psalm 16:10). Its force, if granted, is that the holiest object in Israel's worship carried a title which a defiling spirit now shouts inside a place of worship.

Exodus 28:36

basis: A figural reading of the high priest's inscribed plate as a type of the Holy One of God, held by Geneva and Gill at this verse; widely held in older exegesis. Cross-Testament, so no shared Strong's lexeme exists, and no verbal tier is possible or claimed.

Teaching with authority, not by citation: the prophet like Moses flagged: verify source

⚙ Cambridge fixes the difference between Jesus and the scribes in a formula: "His formula was not "It hath been said," but "I say unto you."" Deuteronomy 18:15-19 promises a prophet in whose mouth God will put his words, and whoever will not hear those words will be required to answer for it. ⚙ We offer the connection as a figural reading and nothing stronger. Mark makes no citation here, no commentator in this brief draws the line, and because the link runs from Greek to Hebrew no shared lexeme can be computed. What the two texts share is a structure: a word that carries its own warrant because of who sent the speaker, set against teaching that must borrow its warrant from an earlier teacher. The crowd's own verdict in v. 27, "a new teaching according to authority," is the closest the text comes to saying so.

Deuteronomy 18:15-19

basis: Flagged deliberately: the provenance of this link is unverified here. It is our own figural reading, asserted by no voice in this brief and not cited by Mark, and while the identification of Jesus as the prophet of Deuteronomy 18 is old (Acts 3:22 applies Deuteronomy 18:15 to him), we have no source in hand tying it to the authority of Mark 1:22, so the reader should verify it before leaning on it. Cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew), so no shared Strong's lexeme is computable and no verbal tier is possible in any case.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The Holy One of God, named by the wrong mouth ancient/widely-held

The title ὁ Ἅγιος τοῦ Θεοῦ is, as Ellicott records, applied to Christ only here, at Luke 4:34, and in the better manuscripts of John 6:69, where Peter says it. Ellicott's definition is exact: "the Holy One whom God owns as such." Gill unfolds it in three registers, divine nature, human nature ("the holy thing born of the virgin"), and mediatorial office, "whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world." Barnes gives three reasons for the name and adds Daniel 9:24; Geneva and Gill both hear the high priest's golden plate behind it; Ellicott, Gill and JFB all derive it from "Thy Holy One" in Psalm 16:10, the Psalm the apostolic preaching would later use of the resurrection. ⚙ Mark's craft is to put this confession in the mouth of ἀκάθαρτον πνεῦμα, so that the same eight verses contain the highest title and the lowest speaker. Henry sees why the two cannot coexist: "the carnal mind is enmity against God, especially against his holiness." The recognition is right and the relation is ruinous, and Christ silences it rather than accept a herald from beneath.

Psalm 16:10 · John 6:69 · Exodus 28:36 · Daniel 9:24

The Stronger One, and the first thing he does ancient/widely-held

JFB reads the demon's terror as an involuntary acknowledgement of the protevangelium: conscious that their power "was but permitted and temporary," they perceive in him "perhaps, the woman's Seed that was to bruise the head and destroy the works of the devil." JFB closes the scene with Luke's own image: the malignity of the impure spirit was impotent "when under the restraint of "the Stronger than the strong one armed" (Lu 11:21, 22)." Barnes generalises it to every conversion, since Satan "still considers it an infringement of his rights when God frees a "sinner" from bondage." Henry says the same of the convulsion: "When Christ by his grace delivers souls out of the hands of Satan, it is not without tumult in the soul; for that spiteful enemy will disquiet those whom he cannot destroy." ⚙ Redemptive-historically, note the order in Mark. Before a leper is cleansed, before a paralytic walks, before a word about the cross, the first mighty work in this Gospel is a dispossession, and Cambridge notices that Luke made the same editorial choice. The Son of God's opening act is to take back a man from an occupying power, and the demon's own question, "Did you come to destroy us?", is answered by 1 John 3:8 in the affirmative.

Luke 11:21-22 · Genesis 3:15 · 1 John 3:8

One word for what goes out of a man and what goes out to a region novel

⚙ This is our own reading and should be tested. Mark uses ἐξῆλθεν (G1831) twice in three verses: in v. 26 the unclean spirit goes out of the man, in v. 28 the hearing of him goes out into the whole surrounding region. The English of most versions breaks the repetition ("came out," "spread"), so the reader does not see that Mark's mission language and his deliverance language are one verb. Set beside the imperative ἔξελθε in v. 25, the chain is: Christ commands a going out, a man is freed, and the report goes out by the same word. ⚙ We do not claim Mark intends a pun, and we note against ourselves that ἐξέρχομαι is a very common verb (212 verses), which is exactly why the Verifier's shared lexeme count cannot bear any weight here. What the ordering does show, on any reading, is that in this Gospel the news travels because a captive was freed, and Poole's caution stands over it: what spread was "the fame of his miracles, rather than of his doctrine," and of those who came, "some of whom believed, others were hardened."

Mark 1:25 · Mark 1:26 · Mark 1:28

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (c. 1905)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Text. Two places in this unit are textually disputed, and the brief's own voices disagree. (1) At v. 24, the opening Ἔα ("Let us alone") is absent from the Greek word list given to us and is doubted by the commentators: Cambridge says "Many MSS. omit the Greek word thus translated. Even if genuine, it appears to be rather an exclamation of horror," and Pulpit says it "has not sufficient authority to be retained here," though it is retained at Luke 4:34 and rendered "Ah!" Barnes, Gill, Geneva and JFB all comment on it as though present, because they worked from a text that had it. BSB omits it. (2) At v. 27 the punctuation and wording are unsettled: Ellicott reports a variant giving "What thing is this? A new doctrine with power," while Pulpit reports that the generally approved text gives "What is this? a new teaching!" BSB follows the latter. Nothing in our reading of v. 27 depends on which is right, since both keep διδαχή and ἐξουσία.

Sources. All Greek surfaces, transliterations, parses and Strong's numbers come from the Berean interlinear supplied in the brief; the English base text is the BSB (CC0). Several lexicon glosses arrive truncated in the brief (for example G1849 ἐξουσία as "privilege, i" and G2004 ἐπιτάσσω as "to arrange upon, i"); where we have expanded such a gloss we have done so only along the line the fragment already sets, and the fuller sense is marked as ours. The interlinear as supplied contains two duplicated articles, τὸ at v. 26 index 2 and τοῖς at v. 27 index 18, which appear to be artefacts of the alignment rather than features of the Greek text; we have not built anything on them. Maclaren's entry on this passage is capped in the brief (over 13,000 further characters), so our use of him is confined to his opening section on v. 21.

What is uncertain. The identification of this synagogue as the centurion's gift (Pulpit, Cambridge) rests on combining Luke 7:5 with Matthew 8:5 and is not stated in Mark. Whether τοῖς σάββασιν means one sabbath (Benson's reading of the idiom) or a continued practice (JFB's) is genuinely open. The extent of τὴν ὅλην περίχωρον τῆς Γαλιλαίας in v. 28 is disputed, JFB taking it as Galilee itself and Ellicott, Meyer and Geneva as the surrounding country. In Poole's note on v. 26 the Greek word appears in the text available to us as "oparaxan," a corruption of σπαράξαν; his argument from Luke 4:35 is unaffected, but the spelling is not his exegesis and we have flagged it rather than silently corrected a quotation. Finally, our own contributions are marked ⚙ throughout: the Deuteronomy 18 thread, the θαμβέω and Ναζαρηνός observations about Mark's usage, and the ἐξῆλθεν reading in the third Christ entry are the tool's fallible synthesis, offered to be tested, not the judgement of any named commentator.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)