What Does Mark 14:61 Mean?
But he kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said to him, Are you the Anointed One, the Son of the Praised One?
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?THE KEY
The silence holds the title “Anointed One” open until the next verse answers it.
THE MEANING
You are held inside a question that receives no defense: is he the Anointed One, the Son of the Blessed? The silence leaves the claim and its stakes exposed instead of explaining them away. The pause continues until an answer speaks.
THE ROOT
ἐσιώπα
esiōpa from siōpaō
GROWS FROM
σιωπ-
siōp-
silence; being quiet
“kept silent” in this verse is esiōpa from siōpaō. The verb’s form presents an ongoing silence, then the verse adds that he answered nothing. English can make this sound like one simple non-answer; the Greek holds the silence open before naming the absent reply.
ALSO GROWS
siōpē: silence
σιωπή
The noun gives the state held in the verb: his quiet fills the interval before the question.
siōpēlos: silent, quiet
σιωπηλός
This related word describes a silent state, underscoring that the verse presents sustained quiet rather than a spoken defense.
ἀπεκρίνατο
apekrinato from apokrinomai
GROWS FROM
κρίνω
krinō
separate, decide, judge
“answered” in this verse is apekrinato from apokrinomai. The verb for answering belongs to the family of κρίνω (krinō, “to judge or decide”), though its ordinary sense here is simply “answer.” That family resemblance gives the exchange a judicial edge, while the verse makes clear that he offers no reply.
ALSO GROWS
krisis: judgment, decision
κρίσις
It makes the judicial shade of the answer-word’s family audible in a moment of questioning.
kritēs: judge
κριτής
This branch names the one who decides, echoing the charged exchange without turning the silence itself into a verdict.
Χριστός
Christos
GROWS FROM
χρίω
chriō
anoint; mark with oil
“Christ” is a title meaning “the Anointed One,” not merely a personal name. The question asks whether this nature belongs to him; the silence leaves the title suspended until the next verse.
ALSO GROWS
chriō: to anoint
χρίω
This is the verb beneath the title, naming the act from which “Anointed One” takes its meaning.
chrisma: anointing
χρῖσμα
This related noun keeps the title connected to anointing rather than letting it sound like a surname.
THE PATTERN
Silence can withhold a reply and leave the moment’s weight visible.
He was pressed, and he was bowed low, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb he was led to the slaughter, and like a ewe before her shearers he was mute, so he did not open his mouth.Who, when he was insulted, hurled no insult back; when he suffered, he threatened not; but handed himself over to the one who judges by alignment.Even a fool, when he settles, is reckoned wise; and the one who shuts his lips is discerning.THE THREAD
Jesus said, I AM, and you will perceive the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of strength and coming in the clouds of heaven.The silence is not the scene’s conclusion: the next line gives a direct answer and then names the Son of man and his authority. The pause holds the charged title in place until speech arrives.
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