Exegesis:
diestelleto (cf. 5.43) ‘he ordered,’ ‘he commanded’: it would be better literally to translate this verb ‘he gave orders’ or (in a weakened sense) ‘he instructed,’ ‘he enjoined’ (Translator’s New Testament, Zürcher Bibel; Lagrange; cf. Moulton & Milligan), than to translate ‘he warned’ (Goodspeed, Manson, O Novo Testamento de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo. Revisdo Autorizada), ‘he cautioned’ (Moffatt, Revised Standard Version).
horate, blepete apo tēs zumēs ‘beware, watch out for the leaven….’
horate (cf. 1.44) ‘beware!,’ ‘look out!,’ ‘careful!’
blepō ‘look,’ ‘see’: in the imperative, ‘pay attention!’ ‘look out!,’ the verb is used in 4.24; 13.5, 9, 23, 33; with the preposition apo ‘from’ following, ‘watch out for!,’ in 8.15; 12.38.
zumē (only here in Mark; cf. the parallels in Mt. 16.6, 11, 12, Lk. 12.1) ‘leaven’: used in a figurative sense in these passages in the Gospels and also in 1 Co. 5.6, 7, 8, and Gal. 5.9, in a bad sense. In general it refers to attitudes, teachings, example. Lagrange: “a principle of moral corruption that contaminates all it touches.” Gould defines the leaven of the Pharisees as being their blindness to spiritual things, and the leaven of Herod as being his worldliness. Herod is Herod Antipas, referred to in 6.14ff.
Translation:
He must be changed to ‘Jesus’ in some languages.
The phrase take heed, beware, or as one may also translate in English “beware, watch out for,” involves a number of subtle problems: (1) the two related verbs, both implying caution and concern, (2) the need of paying attention only in order to avoid, and (3) the possibility of having the two verbs cancel each other out. In one translation this phrase meant ‘beware! take care of…’ (in the sense of ‘provide what is necessary on behalf of’). The meaning here must sometimes be split between two verbs (as in the Revised Standard Version), in which the first verb admonishes the disciples to pay attention and the second insists that they avoid the object in question. From our standpoint, this seems somewhat preferable to the Greek order, which first cautions and then orders one to look out for. The meaning can be conveyed as ‘beware, don’t become involved with….’
Leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod are obviously and purposely obscure phrases, designed evidently by Jesus to stimulate his disciples to consider the real implications of the feeding of the multitude. Accordingly, one must use the word ‘yeast’ (or ‘leaven’), even though within the immediate phrase the meaning is not fully evident.
Leaven is variously rendered, depending upon a number of local cultural factors, e.g. ‘that which causes bread to be sour’ (Highland Puebla Nahuatl), ‘sour-water’ (Yucateco), ‘that which causes bread to swell’ (Shipibo-Conibo), or ‘that which causes bread to rise.’ In some instances it is the same term as for ‘beer foam,’ for that is precisely what is used by the people in the preparation of bread.
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 .