Exegesis:

hōra tritē ‘the third hour’: this is the equivalent of the modern 9:00 A.M., being ‘the third hour’ from sunrise. It appears that in this chapter Mark means to divide the day into four three-hour periods: prōi (15.1), sunrise (i.e. 6:00 A.M.); hōra tritē (15.25), 9:00 A.M.; hōra hektē (15.33), 12:00 noon; hōra enatē (15.34), 3:00 P.M.; opsia (15.42), sunset (i.e. 6:00 P.M.).

kai ‘and’ is here used according to Semitic fashion, and should be translated ‘when.’

Translation:

The indigenous equivalents of the third hour are quite varied, e.g. ‘yoking up time’ (South Bolivian Quechua), ‘sun half way up’ (Copainalá Zoque), ‘when the sun is raising itself up’ (Shipibo-Conibo), ‘the sun is not very high’ (San Blas Kuna), and ‘middle of the morning’ (Piro). Of course, where time is reckoned by hours one can do one of two things: (1) use the equivalent expression such as ‘nine o’clock’ or (2) follow the Greek expression somewhat more closely, e.g. ‘three hours after sunrise.’

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .