Exegesis:

ēsan … kathēmenoi kai dialogizomenoi ‘were … sitting and questioning’: these verbal phrases, consisting of the imperfect of eimi ‘to be’ plus the present participle of the main verbs, denote continuous action.

tines tōn grammateōn (cf. 1.22) ‘some scribes.’

kathēmenoi (2.14; 3.32, 34; 4.1; 5.15; 10.46; 12.36; 13.3; 14.62; 16.5) ‘(were) sitting.’

dialogizomenoi (2.8; 8.16, 17; 9.33; 11.31) ‘considering,’ ‘pondering,’ ‘reasoning.’ Moulton & Milligan note that in the N.T. the word always has the sense of “inward deliberation or questioning.”

en tais kardiais autōn ‘in their hearts’: the meaning is the same as ēn heautois ‘in themselves’ of v. 8.

kardia (2.8; 3.5; 6.52; 7.6, 19, 21; 8.17; 11.23; 12.30, 33) ‘heart’: in Hebraic thought the heart is the center of intellectual activity. Lagrange points out that the same concept was true also of the Latins and even of the Greeks. The narrative throughout makes clear that this questioning carried on by the scribes was wholly internal and not outwardly expressed. Cf. Abbott-Smith: “say to oneself, i.e. think, reflect, without saying anything aloud.”

Translation:

Now is transitional, introducing a new aspect of the situation; it is not temporal.

For scribes see 1.22.

Questioning can be quite well translated as ‘thinking’ or even ‘speaking to themselves in their hearts.’

Though the heart is spoken of in the Bible as the center of intellectual and emotive elements of human experience, in other languages the heart may have no such value. In some languages the corresponding centers are the viscera (Conob), the liver (Laka), the stomach (Uduk), the gall (Toraja-Sa’dan) and the head (Anuak), though in the neighboring Shilluk demons may be in one’s head, but the liver and heart are the center of most other psychological activities. Whether one is to use ‘heart’ or some other part or organ of the body depends entirely upon the manner in which in any language such psychological experiences are described.

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 .

Text:

At the beginning of the verse Tischendorf, Nestle, Westcott and Hort, Soden, Vogels, Kilpatrick, Lagrange, and Merk add kai epoiēsen tous dōdeka “and he appointed the twelve”: this clause is omitted by Textus Receptus, Souter, American Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, Taylor (cf. Taylor for arguments for omitting it). Although not decisive, the evidence for retaining the clause with Nestle and others, seems to outweigh the evidence for omitting it.

Exegesis:

kai ‘and’: here with the meaning ‘so’ (Translator’s New Testament, Manson).

tous dōdeka (4.10; 6.7; 9.35; 10.32; 11.11; 14.10, 17, 20, 43) ‘the Twelve’: not simply a number, as in v. 14, but a title: ‘the Twelve’ (Translator’s New Testament); Lagrange les Douze.

kai epethēken onoma tō Simōni Petron ‘and he added to Simon the name Peter.’

epitithēmi (3.17; 5.33; 6.5; 7.32; 8.23, 25; 16.18) ‘lay,’ ‘set,’ ‘place upon’: the phrase epitithenai onoma means ‘give a surname.’

Translation:

Verses 16 through 19 consist of a list of the names of the apostles, but this list is grammatically in apposition with the twelve, spoken of in verse 14. In most languages this type of apposition is so distant that without some clarification or more explicit reference, misunderstanding is likely to arise. For example, in one translation the list of names (all strange ones) was taken to be a list of the demons that were to be cast out, for the list immediately followed reference to the demons. Accordingly, verse 16 must often begin as ‘these men were…’ (Highland Oaxaca Chontal) or ‘the ones he appointed were…’ (Chicahuaxtla Triqui).

Surnamed is ‘to give an additional name to’ or ‘to give a second name to.’ This practice is a good deal more common in many cultures than in our own, and hence is not likely to be misunderstood.

For problems of transliteration of proper names and the adjustments which must be made in the case of certain familiar names see Bible Translating, 243-46. Note, however, that in many instances there are strong pressures for the adoption of arbitrary orthographic conventions in the case of well-known proper names (e.g. taking over spelling of French, Spanish, or Portuguese, despite the fact that the people do not pronounce the names according to such consonant-vowel representations). In most instances one must accede to these pressures and use the orthographically approved form of the prestige language of the area. This principle often applies to such names as Peter, James, John, Philip, and Thomas, but would not be likely to apply to Bartholomew, Alphaeus, or Thaddaeus.

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 .

Exegesis:

perilupos (14.34) ‘very sad,’ ‘deeply grieved’; possibly ‘greatly annoyed’ (Manson), ‘very vexed’ (Moffatt).

orkous (only here in Mark) ‘oaths,’ ‘vows.’

anakeimenous (14.18; 16.14) ‘(the men) reclining at (the table),’ i.e. ‘the guests.’ Most translators take ‘because of his oaths and his guests’ with what follows (as does Revised Standard Version); Translator’s New Testament, however, takes it with what precedes: ‘The king was deeply distressed on account of his oaths and those dining with him.’

ouk ēthelēsen athetēsai autēn ‘he did not want to refuse her.’

atheteō (7.9) ‘reject’; the meaning here could be ‘disappoint her’ (by breaking his word to her).

Translation:

It is usually necessary to distinguish carefully between sorry and sorrow, (though the Greek perilupos may be used for both concepts), especially if the receptor language distinguishes between emotional feelings which are caused by what one has done himself and those which arise because of sympathy for the plight of others. Expressions for sorry are often quite figurative, e.g. ‘to be heavy in the stomach’ (Uduk) and ‘to have a painful heart’ (Kpelle).

For oath, see vowed, 6.23. Guerrero Amuzgo renders this expression as ‘because of the tight (i.e. ‘binding’) word which he had said to her face’ (a verb, rather than a noun, is required). In some languages for oath one can use ‘a strong promise’ (Barrow Eskimo).

Guests may be described as ‘people who have been invited to the feast,’ but there is generally some more direct and specific way of designating such persons.

Break his word to her is strictly figurative language, and in many languages one cannot ‘break a word,’ but it may be possible ‘to kill a word’ or ‘to forget a word.’ In Cashibo-Cacataibo one must say ‘did not want to say, I will not do it,’ a full description in the form of direct discourse. Guerrero Amuzgo renders this expression as ‘he did not want to have his heart change his word to that woman’s face,’ in which the term ‘face’ is a means of identifying the direction of speaking.

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 .

Text:

Instead of tērēsēte ‘you may keep’ of the majority of modern editions of the Greek text, Lagrange, Taylor and Kilpatrick have stēsēte ‘you may establish.’

Exegesis:

kalōs (cf. v. 6) ‘how well!’: ironical. Arndt & Gingrich suggest ‘Are you doing the right thing in rejecting…?’

atheteite (cf. 6.26) ‘you are rejecting,’ ‘you set aside.’

tērēsēte (only here in Mark) ‘that you may keep,’ ‘observe,’ ‘fulfil.’

The reading preferred by Kilpatrick and others, stēsēte means ‘establish,’ ‘make firm,’ ‘set’; Lagrange pour établir.

Translation:

The irony of this statement should be made quite clear. A mark of punctuation is often not enough. Note what is done in Tabasco Chontal by beginning the verse as ‘You think you have done well in rejecting….’ Cf. also Toraja-Sa’dan ‘Your cleverness is without equal, in putting God’s commandment out of action.’

Rejecting may be variously rendered, e.g. ‘you say it is of no value to you’ (San Mateo del Mar Huave), ‘you have changed’ (Central Mazahua), ‘you have thrown away’ (Kekchi), ‘pretty you caused it to be lost’ (Copainalá Zoque), in which the word ‘pretty’ immediately marks the phrase as ironical.

The commandment of God in contrast with your tradition may be rendered as ‘what God has ordered … what your fathers have said.’

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 .