Exegesis:

This is the third prediction of the Passion (cf. 8.31; 9.31).

Most of the words of this verse have already been dealt with: for ho huios tou anthrōpou ‘the Son of man’ cf. 2.10; paradidōmi ‘deliver up’ cf. 1.14; hoi archiereis ‘the chief priests’ cf. 8.31, hoi grammateis ‘the scribes’ cf. 1.22.

katakrinousin (14.64; 16.16) ‘they will condemn.’

tois ethnesin (10.42; 11.17; 13.8, 10) ‘to the nations,’ i.e. ‘to the Gentiles.’ The modern equivalent of this word on the lips of the Jews would be “pagans,” “heathen.” All non-Jews were considered “pagan.” In this context the specific reference is to the Roman authorities.

Translation:

Saying may be translated as a coordinate or independent verb of speaking, e.g. ‘and he said….’

Behold is not a command to look, but to pay attention.

For the Son of man see 2.10, and not especially the problems of a third person referent applicable to the speaker, hence translated in some instances as ‘I the Son of man.’

Will be delivered, as a passive, would normally be shifted to the active form in many languages, but this is made difficult by the fact that the one who delivered up Jesus was Judas, and Jesus does not make this known at this time. An equivalent form of expression can, however, usually be found, e.g. ‘the Son of man will come under the control of,’ ‘will come into the hands of,’ or ‘the chief priests … will get the Son of man in their hands.’

For chief priests see 2.26 and 8.31, and for scribes see 1.22.

Condemn him to death is translatable in some instances as ‘declare, You must die’ (or ‘be killed’), depending upon the normal way of speaking about the execution of criminals.

Deliver is ‘hand him over,’ to ‘turn him over to,’ or ‘lead him to.’

Gentiles is often rendered by transliteration, but this is not very satisfactory, since it conveys no meaning. A better, but not entirely adequate, alternative is to use the local equivalent of ‘foreigners,’ e.g. ‘the people of other lands’ (Guerrero Amuzgo), ‘people of other towns’ (Tzeltal), ‘people of other languages’ (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), and ‘strange peoples’ (Navajo).

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 .