SIL Translator's Notes on Mark 10:51

10:51a

What do you want Me to do for you?: In Greek, the question that Jesus asked Bartimaeus here is similar to the one that he asked James and John in 10:36. If it is natural in your language, you may translate in a similar way here.

Jesus asked: In Greek the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Jesus asked occurs at the beginning of this verse. It introduces Jesus’ words. Place this phrase where it is natural in your language.

In some languages it may be more natural to use indirect speech for this part of the verse. For example:

Jesus asked Bartimaeus what his request was.

10:51b

Rabboni: The word Rabboni is a Hebrew word that is used several times in Mark. (The literal meaning of “Rabbi” in Hebrew is “my great one.”) Here in 10:51b the text uses a slightly different form. Both forms refer to a person who taught people about God and his ways. People often used the word as a title to show respect when they spoke to such a religious teacher. See how you translated this word in 9:5a.

said the blind man: This phrase indicates that Bartimaeus was answering Jesus. In some languages it may be more natural to use a verb like “answered” or “replied.”

In the Greek text the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as said the blind man occurs at the beginning of this sentence. Place it where it is natural in your language.

let me see again: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as let me see again is literally “so that I may see.” The man was politely requesting Jesus to do something for him. He was begging Jesus to make him able to see. Translate this in an appropriate way in your language. For example, the New International Version says:

I want to see

see again: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as see again can imply either “be able to see for the first time” or “be able to see again.” The text does not say whether this man had been able to see and then became blind or whether he was born blind. It is good not to specify this in your translation.

© 2008 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

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