Christian Standard Bible
Mark 15:21
21They forced a man coming in from the country, who was passing by, to carry Jesus’s cross. He was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.
Mark 15:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.
- New International Version (NIV)A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.
Context of Mark 15:21
19They were hitting him on the head with a stick and spitting on him. Getting down on their knees, they were paying him homage. 20After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple robe and put his clothes on him. They led him out to crucify him. They forced a man coming in from the country, who was passing by, to carry Jesus’s cross. He was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. 22They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull). 23They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.
Read all of Mark 15Mark 15:21 word by word
καὶ ἀγγαρεύουσιν παράγοντά τινα Σίμωνα Κυρηναῖον ἐρχόμενον ἀπ᾽ ἀγροῦ, τὸν πατέρα Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Ῥούφου, ἵνα ἄρῃ τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- they compelἀγγαρεύωaggareuō · to forceG29
- oneτιςtis · oneG5100
- SimonΣίμωνSimōn · SimonG4613
- a CyrenianΚυρηναῖοςKurēnaios · CyreneG2956
- who passed byπαράγωparagō · to passG3855
- coming outἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
- ofἀπόapo · away fromG575
- the countryἀγρόςagros · fieldG68
- the fatherὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
- of AlexanderἈλέξανδροςAlexandros · AlexanderG223
- RufusῬοῦφοςRhouphos · RufusG4504
- toἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
- bearαἴρωairō · to take upG142
- hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- crossσταυρόςstauros · crossG4716
Cross-references for Mark 15:21
- Matthew 27:32As they were going out, they found a Cyrenian man named Simon. They forced him to carry his cross.
- Luke 23:26As they led him away, they seized Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, and laid the cross on him to carry behind Jesus.
- Acts 2:10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts),
- Acts 6:9Opposition arose, however, from some members of the Freedmen’s Synagogue, composed of both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, and they began to argue with Stephen.
- Acts 11:20But there were some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.
- Acts 13:1Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
- Romans 16:13Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother — and mine.
- Luke 14:27Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
- John 15:18“If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you.
Commentaries on Mark 15:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21A Cyrenian - One of Cyrene, a celebrated city in the Pentapolis of Libya. The father of Alexander and Rufus - It appears that these two persons were well known among the first disciples of our Lord. It is not unlikely that this is the same Alexander who is mentioned, Acts 19:33, and that the other is the Rufus spoken of by St. Paul, Romans 16:13.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-21Verses 15-21 Christ met death in its greatest terror. It was the death of the vilest malefactors. Thus the cross and the shame are put together. God having been dishonoured by the sin of man, Christ made satisfaction by submitting to the greatest disgrace human nature could be loaded with. It was a cursed death; thus it was branded by the Jewish law, De 21:23. The Roman soldiers mocked our Lord Jesus as a King; thus in the high priest's hall the servants…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-22After they left the walled city of Jerusalem, Jesus became too weak to carry his cross. The Roman soldiers forced Simon of Cyrene (a city in northern Africa) to carry it (see Matthew 5:41). Usually, a person being crucified had to carry the horizontal crossbeam (called the patibulum) to the place of execution. The vertical post (called the stipes) was often left in the ground as a warning to others (like a hangman’s scaffold in a public square). Simon of…Read the comment
Topics related to Mark 15:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Mark 15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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