16:15–18

In these verses Jesus spoke to his disciples. In some languages it may be more natural to use indirect quotes for his words. See the General Comment on 16:15–18 at the end of the notes on 16:18c for an example.

16:15a

He said to them: The words He said to them introduce important instructions that Jesus gave his disciples. You may need to make it clear in your translation that 16:15–18 is not part of Jesus’ rebuke. For example:

And then he told them (New Living Translation)
-or-
But after that he said to them

16:15b–c

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature: The command in 16:15b–c is often called “the Great Commission.” It indicates that Jesus wanted his disciples to preach the good news to everyone in every place in the world.

into all the world…to every creature: The expressions into all the world and to every creature have similar meanings. The Greek text uses two similar words that are translated as all and every in the Berean Standard Bible. This repetition emphasizes that Jesus wanted everyone in the whole world to hear the good news. Emphasize this in a way that is natural in your language.

into all the world: In this context the expression into all the world means “to every place” or “everywhere” in the world.

preach: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as preach means to publicly tell people something important. In Mark, it usually refers to speaking about God and his kingdom to a group or crowd of people. The word should not only refer to what a preacher does in church.

Here are some other ways to translate preach:

announce
-or-
proclaim
-or-
tell people

See how you translated this word in 1:38b and 14:9b.

the gospel: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as the gospel is the same word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “gospel” in 1:1. In Mark, this word refers to the good news about Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

good/sweet news
-or-
good news about Jesus Christ
-or-
good news from God
-or-
message/report that causes joy

Be sure that the term you choose does not refer only to a news report or to a story that is not true.

See how you translated this term in 1:1. In 14:9b, the Berean Standard Bible translates this same term as the “gospel.”

to every creature: The expression every creature is a figure of speech that refers to all of mankind. It does not include other animals or plants.

Here are some other ways it has been translated:

everyone (New Living Translation)
-or-
all people (Good News Bible)

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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