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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)A passerby named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the countryside just then, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus.)

Context of Mark 15:21

19Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. 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. 22They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 23Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not 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 27:32As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.
• Luke 23:26As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
• Acts 2:10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome
• Acts 6:9Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen.
• Acts 11:20Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.
• Acts 13:1Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.
• Romans 16:13Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.
• Luke 14:27And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
• John 15:18“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.

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