Exegesis:
diegertheis (only here in Mark) ‘awakening,’ ‘arousing.’
epitimēsen (cf. 1.25) ‘he stopped,’ ‘he checked.’
pephimōso (cf. 1.25) ‘Be silent!,’ ‘Be quiet!’ (used with the unclean spirit in 1.25).
ekopasen (6.51) ‘it abated,’ ‘it ceased,’ ‘it stopped.’
galēnē (only here in Mark) ‘calm,’ ‘stillness.’
Translation:
Rebuked is equivalent in some instances to ‘scold,’ but in many instances must be translated as ‘commanded the wind strongly.’
The sea is ‘the lake’ or ‘the water in the lake.’
Peace is often translated by two different types of expressions: (1) a term indicating cessation of war and (2) one denoting quietness, inactivity, or calm. It is the latter meaning which is important here, e.g. ‘be quiet,’ ‘be calm.’ In Southern Subanen one may say ‘calm; that’s enough.’
In Greek the word translated in the Revised Standard Version as be still refers primarily to quietness, in contrast with noise. However, in some languages the figure of cessation of violent movement (speaking of the waves) would be more meaningful, especially as the second part of the command to the waters of the lake.
The wind ceased is expressed in a number of ways ‘the wind stopped,’ ‘the wind went down,’ ‘the wind stood still,’ ‘the wind passed over’ (Tabasco Chontal), and ‘the wind healed’ (South Bolivian Quechua).
There was a great calm is in Piro ‘the water was doing nothing at all.’ ‘There were no waves’ can also be used.
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 .
