Exegesis:

epigraphē (cf. 12.16) ‘inscription,’ ‘superscription’ (Latin titulus).

aitias (only here in Mark) ‘charge’: a legal technical term, indicating the charge for which the death sentence was passed (cf. Latin causa capitalis ‘reason for the capital punishment’).

ēn … epigegrammenē ‘was … inscribed,’ ‘was … written on’: it is not necessary to suppose that the verb here indicates ‘written over Jesus,’ i.e. affixed to the cross above his head. Rather the verb epigraphō means simply ‘written on the tablet,’ and is thus rendered by Revised Standard Version (cf. Gould).

HO BASILEUS TŌN IOUDAIŌN (cf. v. 2) ‘THE KING OF THE JEWS.’

Translation:

The inscription of the charge is often a difficult expression to translate, since though an actual object is referred to, the phrase includes two distinct processes: (1) the writing of the accusation and (2) the charge which was made against Jesus. In Tzeltal this phrase is translated as ‘thus written what said he had done.’ In Tabasco Chontal the charge can only be described in terms of the reasons for the crucifixion, e.g. ‘writing as to why they crucified him.’ In Copainalá Zoque the phrase is ‘paper which accused him,’ a more or less technical reference to any written type of charge.

It is quite easy for us to understand read in this specialized sense of the content of the writing, but in other languages one must say ‘said’ or ‘these were the words.’

For King of the Jews see 15.2.

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 .