Mark — Latin Vulgate

Metanoia (a change of mind/heart) becomes paenitentia (penance, penitence). This Latin term shaped the entire medieval penitential system. In remissionem peccatorum became a creedal formula (Nicene Creed: 'one baptism for the remission of sins'). The Greek aphesis (release, letting go) becomes remissio, which carried more of the sense of debt-cancellation.

Luther's Thesis 1 reads: 'When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said paenitentiam agite, he willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.' Luther argued that the Greek metanoeite means inner repentance, not external acts of penance. Erasmus had already made this argument in his 1516 Annotations. This single rendering choice arguably contributed to the split of Western Christendom.

The textual variant here — splanchnistheis (compassion) vs. orgistheis (anger) in Codex Bezae — is a famous text-critical problem. Jerome's misertus follows the majority reading. The Greek splanchna (bowels, gut) carries a visceral, embodied sense that the more cerebral Latin misericordia partially loses. Western art depicts Christ's healing touch as merciful condescension rather than gut-level solidarity.

The Greek aionios hamartēma could mean 'sin belonging to the age' or 'sin of eternal consequence.' Jerome's aeterni delicti firmly commits to eternal consequence. This rendering contributed to the Western theological tradition of scrupulosity — anxious Christians fearing they had committed this unforgivable sin. Aquinas and later theologians spent considerable effort defining exactly what constitutes this blasphemy.

Jerome uses both mysterium and sacramentum to render Greek mystērion in different contexts. Here the retention of mysterium preserves the apocalyptic sense of divine secrets revealed to the elect. The kingdom-as-mystery concept influenced medieval mysticism and the theology of hiddenness (Deus absconditus).

The corban passage became important in Western moral theology and canon law for adjudicating conflicts between religious vows and natural obligations. Jesus's critique of using religious dedication to avoid filial duties was cited in debates about monastic vows, clerical celibacy, and the limits of ecclesiastical authority over natural-law duties.

The Latin tollat crucem (take up the cross) shaped the Western theology of suffering and the imitation of Christ (imitatio Christi). Thomas a Kempis's The Imitation of Christ draws heavily on this Vulgate formulation. The phrase also shaped the Stations of the Cross devotion in Western liturgy.

The words 'and fasting' (kai nēsteia / et ieiunio) are absent from Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, and other early witnesses. They appear to be a scribal addition reflecting early church ascetical practice. Jerome's inclusion gave this reading canonical authority in the West for over a millennium, shaping monastic rules and Lenten disciplines.

The phrase una caro (one flesh) from Genesis 2:24, repeated here by Jesus, became a technical term in canon law. The indissolubility doctrine, the prohibition of divorce, and the theology of marital consummation all rest on this Vulgate formulation. It also shaped Western legal concepts of coverture in common law.

The Greek lytron (ransom price) becomes redemptio (redemption/buying-back). This Latin term gave rise to the entire Western 'redemption' vocabulary. Pro multis (for many) rather than pro omnibus (for all) became a debated point — does 'many' exclude some? The 2006 Liturgiam Authenticam instruction required 'for many' rather than 'for all' in the English Mass, directly citing this Vulgate tradition.

The Latin hoc est corpus meum is arguably the most theologically loaded four-word phrase in Western history. The est (is) was the battleground of the Reformation Eucharistic debates: does 'is' mean literal identity (Catholic transubstantiation), real presence in/with/under (Lutheran consubstantiation), or spiritual signification (Calvinist/Zwinglian)? The folk etymology connecting 'hocus pocus' to hoc est corpus reflects popular perception of the words as a formula of transformation.

The retention of the untranslated Aramaic Abba alongside its Latin equivalent preserves the intimacy of Jesus's original prayer language. This influenced Western theology of prayer as intimate address to God as Father. The cup (calix) became a central metaphor in Western Passion theology and the liturgy — the chalice of the Mass deliberately echoes this Gethsemane cup.

Jerome noted in his writings that most Greek manuscripts known to him did not contain these verses, yet he included them. The Longer Ending's promise of signs — speaking in tongues, handling serpents, drinking poison without harm, healing by laying on of hands — shaped Western Pentecostal and charismatic theology. Verse 16 ('He who believes and is baptized will be saved') became a proof-text for baptismal regeneration.

This verse, from the disputed Longer Ending, was treated as dominical command in the West due to its Vulgate inclusion. It influenced the development of the doctrine of baptismal necessity (necessitas baptismi), the practice of emergency baptism, and the theological category of baptism of desire (baptismus flaminis) for those who cannot receive water baptism.

The Markan longer ending (16:9-20) is text-critically uncertain but was canonical for Jerome and remained the Latin tradition's authoritative reading. The TCR includes the longer ending with a textual note.