Exegesis:

ho tektōn (only here in Mark) ‘the carpenter’: cf. Mt. 13.55 ‘the son of the carpenter.’

ho huios tēs Marias ‘the son of Mary’: very probably stated as an insult.

kai eskandalizonto en autō (cf. 4.17) ‘and they took offense at him’ (Revised Standard Version, Translator’s New Testament, Goodspeed, The Modern Speech New Testament).

en ‘in’: denotes that towards which the feeling is directed.

Translation:

Carpenter is best rendered as ‘house-builder’ or ‘builder,’ for the Greek term may refer to one who uses either wood or stone.

Brother must be in many languages ‘older brother.’

Sisters would be ‘younger sisters’ in languages which make a distinction as to relative age.

In some languages there are precise distinctions made between full brothers and half-brothers. Some translators have felt that because Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, they should use a term for half-brother, but generally this is not a wise procedure, for it introduces all sorts of other problems, implying as it does that Mary had two husbands.

Offense in this verse cannot usually be translated in the same way as the corresponding word (in the Greek text) of 4.17. There the reference is more to loss of faith, but in this verse the reaction is one of jealousy and personal animosity: ‘they were jealous and angry against him’ (Sierra Popoloca), ‘they had no more respect for’ (Highland Puebla Nahuatl ), ‘they were distrustful’ (Indonesian), ‘they felt offended because of His dignity’ (Javanese), ‘they despised’ (San Blas Kuna), ‘a grudge arose in their hearts’ (Tzeltal), ‘they were angry to see him’ (San Mateo del Mar Huave), and ‘they hated him’ (Copainalá Zoque).

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 .