Exegesis:
The following words have already been dealt with: for ho huios tou anthrōpou ‘the Son of man’ cf. 2.10; ēlthen ‘came’ in a profoundly theological sense, cf. 2.17 (diakoneō ‘serve,’ ‘be a servant (diakonos),’ cf. 1.13.
kai gar ‘for even’ (cf. Montgomery, Translator’s New Testament, Manson): American Standard Version and Revised Standard Version ‘for also’ could be misunderstood as meaning that someone else also came not to be served, etc. The Modern Speech New Testament ‘for indeed’ Moffatt, Goodspeed, O Novo Testamento de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo. Revisdo Autorizada ‘for the Son of man himself.’
dounai tēn psuchēn autou ‘to give his life’: which is to say, ‘to give himself’ (cf. discussion of psuchē in 3.4; 8.35).
lutron (only here in Mark; elsewhere in the N.T. only in the parallel Mt. 20.28; cf. antilutron 1 Tim. 2.6) ‘ransom,’ ‘price of release.’ As Deissmann points out, the word in koiné Greek signified the money paid for the release of slaves. In his discussion of the Biblical use of lutron and its cognates, however, Westcott shows that in the Bible the word loses its idea of the purchase price paid someone, and means rather ‘redemption,’ ‘release,’ as a theological term, based upon the experience of Israel’s release from the Egyptian bondage. There is, therefore, no connotation of someone to whom the price of release is paid, as would be the case if lutron were to be literally understood as ‘ransom.’ While the word ‘ransom’ correctly translates lutron, it must not be pressed to mean more than is justified by Biblical usage of the term.
anti (only here in Mark) ‘instead of,’ ‘in behalf of,’ this proposition is the object of debate. The majority of translations have simply ‘for’ (and its equivalents in other languages: pour, por, pro, für). Arndt & Gingrich classify its meaning here as being ‘in behalf of.’ Taylor, however, contends that it means ‘in the place of,’ ‘instead of,’ quoting Moulton & Milligan to the effect that the simple ‘instead of’ is by far the commonest meaning of the word. Certainly ‘in the place of,’ ‘in exchange for’ is the usual meaning of the preposition in the N.T. (cf. Mt. 2.22, 5.38 (bis), Lk. 11.11, Jn. 1.16, Rom. 12.17, 1 Thess. 5.15, 1 Pet. 3.9 (bis), 1 Co. 11.15, Heb. 12.16, Jas. 4.15).
Robertson, in his discussion of anti and huper (ibid., 630-32), points out that it is the action involved in the passage in which the preposition is used, which determines whether anti (and huper) indicates ‘in the place of’ or ‘in behalf of.’ With this Taylor agrees, saying that it is the meaning of lutron which determines the meaning of anti in this passage.
In light of these considerations (and of the similar phrase antilutron huper pantōn in 1 Tim. 2.6), it would seem that the majority of translations are justified in rendering lutron anti pollōn ‘a ransom for many.’
pollōn ‘of many’: it is generally agreed that ‘many’ here is not to be taken strictly in the sense of ‘some but not all,’ but in the general sense of ‘many’ as contrasted with the single psuchē which is given for their lutron.
Translation:
As noted above also must be translated with care, since it may imply that Jesus, along with others, came to serve. The interpretation of ‘Son of man himself’ is much to be preferred.
For Son of man, especially in connection with a first person pronoun, see 2.10.
Not to be served but to serve may be rendered quite explicitly as ‘did not come to have servants but to give himself to be a servant’ (Tzeltal). One may also translate as ‘not to have servants but rather to be a servant.’
In many languages give his life cannot be rendered literally. The meaning here, of course, is ‘to die,’ but the implication is that he surrenders himself to death, rather than being forced by others.
A ransom is easily translated in those parts of the world which employ such a term, e.g. as a ransom for someone captured, whether in fighting or in kidnapping. However, in some regions ransom is translated by a descriptive phrase meaning ‘to pay for something.’ For example, in Guerrero Amuzgo one may say ‘he died in order to pay for many,’ but this does not really convey the meaning of the original, for the implication of the Greek text is that by this payment many were ‘released.’ This is indicated in Guerrero Amuzgo by saying ‘paid for the sins of many,’ in which case the expression fits the religious context, but does obviously introduce an added factor. In Huastec the rendering has been ‘he will die in order to make many live.’ This translation has the advantage of showing the purpose of the dying in terms of the rescuing of those who are given life. In Mitla Zapotec the release is made explicit in ‘die to pay for many being released,’ the implied result of a ransom payment.
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 .