Exegesis:

genomenēs hēmeras eukairou ‘an opportune day arriving’: for the use of the participial genitive clause to express time, cf. 6.2, genomenou sabbatou ‘when the Sabbath came.’

eukairos (only here in Mark) ‘timely,’ ‘opportune,’ ‘suitable’: so most translations; some, however, hold that the meaning here is ‘a festal (day)’ (cf. Moulton & Milligan) – Moffatt and Goodspeed give it this meaning.

tois genesiois autou (only here in Mark) ‘on his birthday’: properly the dative of the neuter plural of the adjective genesios ‘relating to (one’s) birth,’ with the meaning ‘birthday celebration’ (for the use of the plural cf. ta sabbata ‘Sabbath’ in 1.21).

deipnon epoiēsen ‘he gave a banquet.’

deipnon (12.39) ‘a formal meal,’ ‘a banquet,’ ‘a dinner.’

poieō ‘do,’ ‘make’: for its use in the sense of giving a banquet.

tois megistasin (only here in Mark) ‘chief men,’ ‘nobles.’

tois chiliarchois (only here in Mark) ‘high-ranking military officers’: the chiliarchos, leader of 1000 soldiers, was equivalent to the Roman tribunus militum, commander of a cohort (about 600 men). The word is used here in the general sense of high-ranking officers.

kai tois prōtois ‘and the most prominent men (of Galilee)’: cf. Lagrange, ‘the aristocracy of the country.’

prōtos (9.35; 10.31, 44; 12.20, 28, 29; 14.12; 16.9) ‘first.’

Translation:

Opportunity is ‘the right time’ or ‘a special time,’ but to make sense one must sometimes specify for whom such an occasion was opportune. Obviously, the proper person would be Herodias, viz, ‘a day for Herodias’ (Southern Subanen).

Birthday must usually not be translated literally, as has been done in some languages. For this was not the day of Herod’s birth, but the day on which he celebrated his birth. (As the result of one translation the people were very much amazed at the precocious nature of the baby Herod, for according to the Scriptures he apparently put on a banquet on the very day of his birth and was much impressed by the dancing of Herodias’ daughter.) Equivalents of birthday are quite varied: ‘day he was remembering his birth’ (Yaka), ‘when day of his birth comes up again’ (Chicahuaxtla Triqui), ‘day when he completed another year’ (Eastern Highland Otomi), and ‘day of his year’ (Chol).

Gave a banquet may be rendered as ‘provided much food’ or ‘caused to get together to eat’ (Copainalá Zoque). The giving of a feast is such a widespread custom in so many societies that there are usually no special problems in finding a satisfactory equivalent,

Courtiers and officers and the leading men of Galilee represent three classes of people: (1) the civil government, officials, (2) the military officers, and (3) the leading citizens of the realm, i.e. members of influential, rich families. This phrase can be rendered as ‘his under-rulers (i.e. those beneath him), and the rulers of his soldiers, and the wealthy people in Galilee.’ (Wealth and social prestige were as much equated in Biblical times as they are today.) In some languages leading men are ‘the chiefs’ or ‘the headmen’ (Navajo).

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:

pugmē (only here in the N.T.) ‘fist’: as used in the present passage the word means literally ‘with the fist.’ There is no agreement on what the phrase means here. The general sense of ‘carefully,’ ‘diligently’ is given the word by American Standard Version, The Modern Speech New Testament, Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale (soigneusement), O Novo Testamento de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo. Revisdo Autorizada (cuidadosamente); ‘as far as the wrist’ is preferred by Translator’s New Testament; Moffatt, and Berkeley have ‘up to the elbow’; Zürcher Bibel has simply mit der Faust, and Lagrange à poing fermé; Manson and Revised Standard Version omit the word; Goodspeed has ‘in a particular way’ adding “though just what that particular way was we cannot as yet determine;” Weis suggests that the word refers to a special vessel supplied for the purpose.

It would seem that the translator may choose to omit the expression since its meaning is not certain and the various alternatives only obscure rather than clarify. If one wishes to employ some equivalent it is probably best to translate ‘with the fist,’ if such a phrase carries some intelligible meaning in the language into which he is translating the word.

nipsōntai (only here in Mark) ‘they may wash’; the verb is used generally with the meaning of washing some part of the body, not of taking a bath.

kratountes tēn paradosin tōn presbuterōn ‘holding to the tradition of the elders’; the participle may be causal, ‘because they hold….’

krateō (cf. 1.31) ‘hold on to,’ ‘keep,’ ‘observe.’

paradosis (7.5, 8, 9, 13) ‘tradition’: i.e. teachings, precepts, handed over, generally in oral form, from generation to generation (from the verb paradidōmi ‘hand over’: cf. v. 13).

presbuteros (7.5) ‘older (man),’ ‘elder’: in this passage and in v. 5, the word refers to the ‘ancient ones,’ ‘the ancestors’ from whom had come the traditions; elsewhere in Mark (8.31, 11.27, 14.43, 53, 15.1) the word refers to the contemporary ‘elders’ who with the chief priests and scribes (with whom they are always conjoined) composed the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jews.

Translation:

The Pharisees and all the Jews poses difficulties for the translator, since this type of expression, if translated literally, would mean in many languages that the Pharisees were not Jews. One must therefore render the phrase in some such form as ‘the Pharisees, and in fact, all the other Jews,’ ‘all the Jews, including the Pharisees’ or ‘all the Jews, and especially the Pharisees.’ The use of ‘especially’ is justified in this inverted order by virtue of the fact that in the original the Pharisees are the focus of the subject expression.

Wash their hands involves certain special aspects which are not clearly understood from the Greek term which means literally ‘with the fist.’ In some translations it is, however, possible to give something of the meaning without a literal translation (which might be entirely misleading). For example, in Navajo this passage reads ‘they wash their hands ceremonially,’ an expression which is quite understandable within the Navajo religious patterns.

The transliteration of Jews may need a classifier, ‘the people called Jews.’

Observing should not be translated literally in the sense of ‘looking at’ or ‘watching,’ but in the meaning of ‘keeping,’ ‘living according to,’ or ‘obeying.’

Tradition is essentially the ‘customs’ of the people, and for this aspect of any people’s life there are always some adequate terms, even though the assortment may be rather varied, e.g. ‘the old root-trunk,’ in which the life of a people is likened to a tree (Kekchi), ‘to live as the ancients did’ (Central Tarahumara), ‘sayings passed down from long-ago times’ (Barrow Eskimo), ‘what their fathers of old told them to follow’ (Navajo), ‘the ordinance maintained by the forefathers’ (Toraja-Sa’dan), and ‘word that has been kept from the ancients’ (Tzeltal).

The elders are ‘the fathers,’ ‘those who lived long ago,’ or ‘the ancestors.’

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:

splagchnizomai (cf. 1.41) ‘I have pity,’ ‘I feel sorry.’

ēdē hēmerai treis ‘already three days,’ ‘three days now’: this phrase in the nominative case is called “a nominative in parenthesis,” since it is not the subject of the verb that follows. Cf. Lagrange’s translation, placing these words between dashes – voilà déjà trois jours – .

prosmenousin (only here in Mark) ‘they remain with,’ ‘they stay.’

ti phagōsin (cf. v. 1) ‘what they should eat.’

Translation:

For compassion see 6.34.

Have nothing to eat does not mean that they had eaten nothing for three days, but that they now had nothing left to eat.

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:

The use and meaning of psuchē ‘life,’ ‘soul’ in vv. 35-37 is a matter of dispute (cf. 3.4). As Lagrange points out, the word has a three fold meaning, ‘life,’ or ‘soul,’ or ‘oneself.’ In these verses there is an interplay between natural life, life in the flesh (which is clearly the meaning in v. 35) and true, spiritual life, future life (which is the sense demanded in vv. 36-37). The Old Testament concept of nefesh, which furnishes the basis for the meaning of the New Testament word psuchē, bears no resemblance to the Greek idea of psuchē ‘soul’ as the spiritual part of man, distinct and separate from his material make-up, his fleshly body. Rather the basic O.T. concept of nefesh (for which Septuagint psuchē generally stands) is that of ‘breath,’ ‘life,’ and is used of the individual (animal or man) in his quality as a breathing, living being. From this the word comes to mean the individual himself, ‘person,’ ‘oneself’ (cf. Koehler). Passages which speak of killing or destroying nefesh mean, of course, to kill a person or persons (cf. Nu. 31.19; 35.11, 15, 30; Ezek. 13.19; 22.27; Lev. 7.20, 21, 25, 27; 23.30; etc.); while, conversely, to save nefesh means to save one’s life, oneself (cf. Gen. 19.17; 32.31; Job 33.28; Ps. 72.13, etc.).

Most English translations (American Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, Translator’s New Testament, The Modern Speech New Testament, Manson, Montgomery, Goodspeed, Berkeley) have ‘life’ in all three verses; some have ‘life’ in 35 and ‘soul’ in 36-37 (Moffatt; also Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale, Lagrange, O Novo Testamento de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo. Revisdo Autorizada); Zürcher Bibel has ‘life’ in all three verses, but in v. 36 introduces ‘future’ in parentheses before ‘life.’ The word ‘soul’ should not be used if it reflects the Greek concept rather than the Hebraic; ‘life’ adequately represents the word: in vv. 36-37, however, it must mean more than simple physical existence, ordinarily denoted by the word (‘true life’ or ‘real life’ is the sense required); perhaps ‘oneself,’ ‘himself’ or ‘true self’ would adequately convey the meaning in those two verses.

sōsai (cf. 3.4) ‘save,’ ‘preserve,’ ‘keep.’

apolesei (cf. 1.24) ‘he will lose.’

sōsei (cf. 3.4) ‘he will save’ in the theological sense.

Translation:

Save his life involves more than merely ‘living.’ There must be some means of indicating the concern of the man for his continued existence. Otherwise, the whole expression has no special meaning. This problem is met in a number of different ways, e.g. ‘he who wants to just keep on living’ (Central Mazahua), ‘he who wants to not die’ (Cashibo-Cacataibo), ‘he who wants to make his life safe’ (Rincon Zapotec), and ‘he who wishes to always keep living’ (Tzotzil).

Will lose it is equivalent to ‘die,’ but there is something else also involved, – namely, the loss of the very thing for which he had been concerned. This meaning is suggested in the Tzeltal as follows: ‘he who wants his life, all will go to loss, together with his life,’ implying his total life will be lost. This last phrase adds the necessary elements to make the reader understand that this is not merely existence, but life and all its values.

Loses his life is equivalent to ‘dies.’

Will save it may be rendered as ‘will really keep it’ or ‘will really live,’ in order to indicate that life in this instance involves some degree of qualitative distinction from life as it used previously in the verse.

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:

After proseuchē ‘prayer’ Textus Receptus, Soden, Vogels, and Merk (in brackets) include kai nēsteia ‘and fasting,’ which is omitted by the majority of modern editions of the Greek text.

Exegesis:

genos (cf. 7.26) here ‘class,’ ‘kind’: ‘this kind’ probably refers to demons or unclean spirits considered as a whole, rather than to the particular kind of unclean spirit which possessed this boy.

exelthein (cf. 7.29) ‘go out,’ i.e. ‘be driven out,’ ‘be cast out.’

proseuchē (11.17) ‘in prayer,’ ‘by means of prayer’: this means prayer to God.

Translation:

This kind is an elliptical expression which may require some expansion in certain languages, either by the addition of the referent, e.g. ‘this kind of spirit’ (or ‘demon’), or by the shifting of the relationship of referent to qualifier, e.g. ‘demons like this one.’ In some languages there is no word indicating ‘type,’ ‘kind’ or ‘class’ which can be applied to such spirits, and hence one can use ‘this spirit’ or ‘a spirit like this one’ (Kekchi).

The passive construction must often be shifted to active, e.g. ‘you cannot cast out demons like this one except….’

For driven out see problems discussed under cast out, 1.34. In this instance it is usually possible to employ a causative, ‘to cause to come out,’ ‘to cause to go out’ or ‘to cause to leave.’

By anything but prayer must be altered if prayer is translatable only by a verb expression. In such instances the change is generally from an instrumental to a conditional expression ‘you cannot … if you do not pray.’ Though it would seem most natural for Jesus to reply using the second person plural, e.g. ‘you cannot … unless you…,’ in some languages truths which are generally applicable can only be expressed with the first person plural, ‘we cannot…, unless we…’ (Copainalá Zoque); cf. Toraja-Sa’dan ‘except then only when we pray.’

Fasting, which occurs in the Textus Receptus, and certain other derived translations, must not be rendered by a word meaning merely ‘to be hungry’ (see 2.18). In many languages one must indicate the purposeful abstinence from food, e.g. ‘to hold back from eating’ (South Bolivian Quechua).

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 autē apolusasa ‘she divorcing’ of the majority of modern editions of the Greek text, Textus Receptus, Lagrange, and Kilpatrick have gunē apolusē … kai ‘a woman should divorce … and’; Taylor has gunē exelthē apo tou andros kai ‘a woman should abandon her husband and.’

Instead of gamēsē ‘she should marry’ of all modern editions of the Greek text, Textus Receptus has gamēthē ‘she should be married.’

Exegesis:

As the commentators point out, this saying has in view Graeco-Roman customs: in Jewish law only the husband could get a divorce.

kai ean autē ‘and if she’: in the general sense of ‘and if a woman’ (not ‘she’ the woman in v. 11 who has been divorced by her husband).

Translation:

She may be translated as ‘a woman’ or ‘any woman.’

For divorces see 10.4.

Commits adultery may need to be translated as ‘is guilty of adultery’ or ‘is guilty of sin,’ since the previous clause may describe quite clearly what she has done, e.g. ‘leaves her husband and lives with another man.’

Marries is always translatable, but in a variety of ways, depending upon such factors as (1) whether a man or woman is spoken of, (2) the consent or agreement of the clan (in this type of context clan consent would not be likely), and (3) whether or not a previous marriage has been contracted.

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 .