Mark 15:21

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 kept hitting him on the head with a stick, spitting on him, and kneeling in front of him with false humility. 20After the soldiers finished making fun of Jesus, they took off the purple cape and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. A man named Simon from the city of Cyrene was coming ⌞into Jerusalem⌟ from his home in the country. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. As he was about to pass by, the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. 22They took Jesus to Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 23They tried to give him wine mixed with a drug called myrrh, but he wouldn’t take it.

Mark 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 27:32On the way they found a man named Simon. He was from the city of Cyrene. The soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross.
• Luke 23:26As the soldiers led Jesus away, they grabbed a man named Simon, who was from the city of Cyrene. Simon was coming into Jerusalem. They laid the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
• Acts 2:10Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the country near Cyrene in Libya. We’re Jewish people, converts to Judaism, and visitors from Rome,
• Acts 6:9⌞One day⌟ some men from the cities of Cyrene and Alexandria and the provinces of Cilicia and Asia started an argument with Stephen. They belonged to a synagogue called Freedmen’s Synagogue.
• Acts 11:20But other believers, who were from Cyprus and Cyrene, arrived in Antioch. They started to spread the Good News about the Lord Jesus to Greeks.
• Acts 13:1Barnabas, Simeon (called the Black), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (a close friend of Herod since childhood), and Saul were prophets and teachers in the church in Antioch.
• Romans 16:13Greet Rufus, that outstanding Christian, and his mother, who has been a mother to me too.
• Luke 14:27So those who do not carry their crosses and follow me cannot be my disciples.
• John 15:18“If the world hates you, realize 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

• Alexander
• Cross
• Cyrene
• Jesus, the Christ
• Judge
• Persecution
• Rufus
• Simon
• Soldiers

In the dictionaries

• Alexander
• Compel
• Consultation
• Content
• Cyrene
• Mark, Gospel according to
• Release
• Rufus
• Superscription
• Witness

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