8:12a

Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sighed deeply in His spirit is literally “having sighed-deeply in his spirit.” The words in His spirit indicate that Jesus sighed because of the strong emotions that he felt in his inner being. In this context, he sighed because he was feeling disturbed and disappointed over the Pharisees’ attitude. The Greek verb that is used here is a more intense form of the verb that was translated as “sighed deeply” in 7:34b.

In some languages a literal translation of the words in His spirit would wrongly imply that Jesus had another spirit that he was communicating with. In other languages it would sound unnatural. If this is true in your language, you may leave these words implicit. Be sure to communicate the idea of strong emotion in a way that is natural in your language.

8:12b

Why does this generation demand a sign?: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus asked this question to rebuke the Pharisees because they asked Jesus to perform a special miracle just to satisfy them. There are at least two ways to translate this rebuke:

• As a rhetorical question. For example, the New Century Version says:

Why do you people ask for a miracle as a sign?

• As a statement. For example:

You people should not be asking for a miraculous sign.

Use whichever form is most natural to express this rebuke in your language.

this generation: In this context, the phrase this generation refers to the adults who lived at the same time as Jesus. It does not refer only to the Pharisees who were arguing with him.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

the people of this day (Good News Bible)
-or-
these people (God’s Word)
-or-
you people of this generation

a sign: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sign is the same word that it translated as “sign” in 8:11b. It refers to the sign from heaven that the Pharisees demanded to see.

8:12c

Truly I tell you: Jesus used the phrase Truly I tell you to introduce a statement that he wanted to emphasize. It indicates that the statement was important and totally reliable, and that people should listen carefully to it. Jesus used this phrase eight times in Mark. Sometimes it introduces a serious warning or prediction. Here this phrase introduces the fact that Jesus refused to give the Pharisees a sign.

See how you translated this expression in 3:28a. In some languages you may need to translate the phrase differently in different contexts. Do not translate in a way that implies that Jesus had not been telling the truth at other times.

Here are some ways that English versions have translated the phrase in this context:

I can guarantee this truth: (God’s Word)
-or-
No, I tell you! (Good News Bible)
-or-
I assure you (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)
-or-
I can promise you that (Contemporary English Version)

8:12d

no sign will be given to this generation: The clause no sign will be given to this generation indicates that the adults who were alive at that time would not be given a miraculous sign. This clause is passive. Jesus was saying that he refused to perform a special miracle for the Pharisees. In some languages you may need to use an active verb and supply a subject. For example, the New Living Translation says:

I will not give this generation any such sign.

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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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