Text:

The clause hotan anastōsin ‘when they rise’ following anastasei ‘resurrection,’ is omitted by Westcott and Hort, Souter, and Revised Standard Version, but retained by all other modern editions of the Greek text. (For the textual evidence, strong in favor of omission, cf. Taylor.)

Exegesis:

en tē anastasei (cf. v. 18) ‘in the (Day of) resurrection.’

hotan anastōsin is impersonal ‘when they rise,’ i.e. ‘when men are raised (from the dead on the resurrection Day).’ Cf. v. 25.

hotan (cf. 11.19) ‘when,’ referring to a single definite event.

eschon ‘they had’: for the use of this verb with the meaning of ‘have’ or ‘possess’ cf. 6.18. The phrase ‘had her as wife’ means ‘married her.’

Translation:

For resurrection compare 12.18, and note also the expressions for rise again 9.9.

The first clause may be variously translated, e.g. ‘when people rise from the dead to whom will she be a wife’ or ‘… who will have her for a wife,’ or ‘… to whom will she belong.’

The seven, as a numeral substitute for a noun expression (compare the use of the Twelve), may require a noun complement, e.g. ‘the seven men’ or ‘the seven brothers.’

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 ti lalēsēte ‘what you should say’ Textus Receptus adds mēde meletate ‘nor be anxious,’ which is omitted by all modern editions of the Greek text.

Exegesis:

hotan agōsin humas paradidontes ‘and whenever they arrest you and deliver you up to trial.’

hotan (cf. 11.19) ‘whenever’: here the sense is probably ‘whenever’ (rather than ‘when’), indicating repeated events and not simply one single event.

agō (cf. 1.38) ‘cause to go,’ ‘lead,’ ‘bring’: in a specialized use, ‘lead away,’ ‘take into custody,’ ‘arrest.’

paradidōmi (cf. 1.14) ‘deliver up (to trial),’ ‘turn over to the court.’

mē promerimnate ‘do not be concerned beforehand’: only here does the verb appear in the N.T.

ho ean dothē humin ‘whatever may be given you (by God).’

to pneuma to hagion (cf. 1.8) ‘the Holy Spirit.’

Translation:

The first clause may be accurately translated as ‘arrest you and hand you over to the authorities to be tried.’

For anxious see under cares 4.18. In this context words for ‘worry’ or ‘concern’ must be specifically applicable to the special anxieties involved, e.g. ‘don’t let your stomach rise up’ (Farefare), ‘don’t let you mind kill you’ (Navajo), ‘don’t be driven hard,’ a reference to animals being chased in the hunt (Piro).

Is given is a very indefinite passive, requiring in some languages an agent, e.g. ‘God gives you.’

Hour is more idiomatically rendered as ‘at that time’ or ‘on that occasion,’ since ‘hour,’ as a precise unit of time may be quite strange and completely inapplicable to this type of context.

For Holy Spirit see 1.7.

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:

aphete autēn (cf. 2.5) ‘leave her alone’: Arndt & Gingrich suggest ‘let go,’ ‘tolerate,’ while Lagrange prefers the meaning ‘let her do it.’ In light of the context, however, the Revised Standard Version is to be preferred (cf. Swete).

ti autē kopous parechete; ‘why are you causing her trouble?’ ‘why are you giving her difficulty?’: Moulton & Milligan give examples from the papyri of the use of this phrase meaning ‘cause trouble,’ ‘bother.’

kopos (only here in Mark) ‘trouble,’ ‘difficulty,’ ‘toil.’

parechō (only here in Mark) ‘to present,’ ‘to furnish,’ ‘to cause.’

kalon ergon ‘a good work,’ ‘a beautiful deed,’ ‘a noble thing’: the adjective here indicates “what is morally good, with a nuance of nobility and beauty” (Lagrange).

kalos (cf. 4.8) ‘beautiful,’ ‘fine,’ ‘fitting.’

ergon (cf. 13.34) ‘deed,’ ‘task,’ ‘action.’

ērgasato (only here in Mark) ‘she worked,’ ‘she performed,’ ‘she accomplished.’

en emoi ‘to me’: the preposition here indicates the object to whom something is done.

Translation:

Let her alone is sometimes translated rather concretely, e.g. ‘do not touch her’ (Cashibo-Cacataibo), an expression which implies avoidance of molestation or disturbance.

Beautiful thing requires recasting in some languages, e.g. ‘what she has done to me is beautiful’ or ‘it is very good what she has done to me.’

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:

grēgoreite kai proseuchesthe hina ‘you (plural) must watch and pray that’: Revised Standard Version takes ‘that’ to refer to the content of the prayer (as in v. 35 and 13.38); if, however, both verbs be taken with hina, it could indicate purpose – ‘watch and pray, in order that…’ (so Translator’s New Testament; cf. Moffatt “so that”).

peirasmon (only here in Mark; cf. peirazō 1.13) ‘temptation’: the context seems to demand the meaning of ‘temptation’ leading to sin, and not merely the idea of ‘trial’ or ‘testing.’

pneuma (cf. 2.8) … sarx (cf. 10.8) ‘spirit … flesh’: here presented as distinct and antithetical elements of man’s nature. The contrast between the two, say Arndt & Gingrich, is between the will as opposed to inferior feelings such as fear, anxiety, etc. which are attributed to the ‘flesh.’

prothumon (only here in Mark) ‘ready,’ ‘willing,’ ‘eager.’

asthenēs (only here in Mark); cf. astheneō (6.56) ‘weak,’ ‘powerless.’

Translation:

Watch would seem to be best translated as ‘stay awake’ or ‘stay alert.’

Enter into temptation is an awkward idiom in most languages, for one does not literally ‘enter into’ such an experience. In Tzeltal this concept is expressed as ‘end by being tempted,’ and in Copainalá Zoque one must say ‘fall when Satan tries you.’ In Highland Puebla Nahuatl one may ‘enter into sin,’ but not ‘enter into temptation.’

The spirit … the flesh is a fundamental contrast, but one which is variously expressed in different languages. Often, however, spirit is equivalent to ‘heart’ (Eastern Highland Otomi, Loma (Liberia), Guerrero Amuzgo, Highland Puebla Nahuatl ), and flesh may be rendered as ‘body’ (Guerrero Amuzgo, Highland Puebla Nahuatl , Tzeltal), ‘you yourself’ (Central Tarahumara). The following translations are illustrative of the contrastive expressions: ‘your hearts are ready but your bodies are weak’ (Highland Puebla Nahuatl ), ‘your heart is strong but you yourselves are not strong’ (Central Tarahumara), ‘your heart has strength, but your body does not have strength’ (Tzeltal), ‘your heart desires to do good, but your heart is weak,’ in which ‘heart’ must be used in both clauses since it not only stands for the center of the personality, but is also the symbol of typical human nature (Loma (Liberia)).

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 end of the verse kai hē lalia sou homoiazei ‘for your speech is like (the speech of Galileans)’ is added by Textus Receptus and included in brackets by Soden and Taylor; it is omitted, however, by the majority of modern editions of the Greek text.

Exegesis:

ērneito (cf. v. 68) ‘he was denying’: the imperfect tense here, in contrast to the aorist tense in v. 68, may portray the denial as being repeated; cf. The Modern Speech New Testament, ‘he repeatedly denied it.’ Translator’s New Testament (again cf. v. 68), ‘But he disowned Him again.’

meta mikron (cf. 14.35) ‘after a little (while).’

kai gar Galilaios ei ‘for you also are a Galilean’: the kai ‘also’ should not be omitted (as done by Revised Standard Version).

Galilaios (only here in Mark) ‘a Galilean,’ ‘a man from Galilee.’

Translation:

Again he denied it may be rendered as ‘again he said it was not so’ or ‘again he declared that it was not true.’

One of them is rendered as ‘one with them’ in some languages, since association is described as being ‘with’ a group rather than ‘of’ it.

Galilean is generally rendered as ‘a man from Galilee’ or ‘Galilee is your land.’

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 words of this verse have already been dealt with: for homoiōs ‘in like manner’ cf. 4.16; hoi archiereis ‘the chief priests’ cf. 8.31; empaizō ‘mock’ cf. 10.34; pros allēlous ‘among themselves,’ ‘to one another’ cf. 4.41; hoi grammateis ‘the scribes’ cf. 1.22; sōzō ‘save,’ ‘rescue,’ ‘help’ cf. 3.4.

Translation:

The logical subject includes both the chief priests and the scribes. In many languages this full logical subject must also be the formal grammatical subject, e.g. ‘the chief priests together with the scribes mocked him….’

Mocked him to one another is not always easy to translate, for a double type of subject is involved: (1) Jesus is actually the one mocked but (2) the chief priests and scribes direct their speech, not to Jesus, but to each other. In some instances this may be translated as ‘made fun of Jesus, speaking to each other.’

For save see 10.26.

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:

ho pisteusas kai baptistheis ‘he who believes and is baptized’: the single definite article governing both participles joins the two verbs together in describing the man who will be saved; the clause could be translated, ‘the baptized believer.’

pisteuō ‘believe’: here and in v. 17 the aorist participle is used absolutely, ‘the believer’ (in Mark, the present active participle is used absolutely twice, 9.23, 42 – never the aorist participle).

baptizō (cf. Mk. 1.5) ‘baptize.’

sōthēsetai (cf. Mk. 3.4) ‘shall be saved’: in the theological sense; in apposition to ‘shall be condemned,’ the reference is eschatological.

ho … apistēsas (cf. v. 11) ‘the one who does not believe’: the aorist participle is parallel to ‘the believer’ in the previous clause, and may be translated, ‘the unbeliever.’

katakrithēsetai ‘shall be condemned’: the verb katakrinō is not used in Mark (cf. 10.33) in the theological sense, as here. The reference is obviously eschatological: ‘he shall be condemned in the Day of Judgment.’

Translation:

Believes is often translatable only by a transitive verb, requiring an object. In this instance one may use ‘the gospel’ (or ‘the good news’) as object.

For baptize see 1.4, and for save see 10.26.

Condemned is more than ‘judged’ or ‘denounced.’ There should be some connotation of judgment for sin, e.g. ‘he who does not believe still has his sin,’ implying a continuing guilt (Tzotzil), ‘whom God will cause to find sin,’ in which only an active form can be used (Copainalá Zoque), and ‘arrive to get words because of sin’ (Tzeltal). In some instances condemnation is spoken of in quite idiomatic ways, e.g. ‘condemnation will eat in him’ (Conob).

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:

exeplēssonto (6.2; 7.37; 10.26; 11.18) ‘they were astonished’: the compound verb is from plessō ‘strike,’ ‘smite’ (cf. Rev. 8.12), and has a very strong meaning ‘they were amazed,’ ‘they were overwhelmed.’ Abbott-Smith: ‘strike with panic or shock, amaze, astonish.’ The third person plural of the verb is appropriately called an “impersonal plural” by Turner: “Mark meant … simply ‘people were astonished.’”

epi tē didachē autou ‘at his teaching.’

epi ‘at,’ ‘on the ground of’: after verbs which express feelings, opinions, etc. it means ‘at,’ ‘because of,’ ‘from,’ ‘with.’

didachē ‘teaching’: either in the active sense of the act of teaching itself (cf. 4.2; 12.38), or in the passive sense of that which is taught, teaching, doctrine (cf. 1.27; 11.18). There is difference of opinion over the meaning here ; the context, however, seems to favor the active sense of the word (in v. 27, however, didachē kainē ‘new teaching’ has the passive sense).

ēn … didaskōn ‘was teaching’: this verbal phrase is better translated into English by ‘he was teaching’ rather than by ‘he taught.’

hōs exousian echōn ‘as one having authority’: the phrase describes the “manner of an action”, here, of course, the manner of teaching (cf. the parallel Lk. 4.32).

echōn ‘having’: ‘as one who has authority’ (cf. O Novo Testamento de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo. Revisdo Autorizada como quem tem autoridade). This participle, however, instead of being independent “one having” (as most translations have it), may modify the subject of the main verb ‘he was teaching them as though he had authority.’

exousian (1.27; 2.10; 3.15; 6.7; 11.28, 29, 33; 13.34) ‘authority’: the word has several shades of meaning: ‘freedom of choice, right to act’: ‘ability, capacity, might, power’; ‘authority, absolute power.’

The whole phrase has been examined by Daube, who concludes that it here refers to “Rabbinic [i.e. one ordained] authority, and not like the ordinary teachers.” The meaning ‘like a king’ has been advocated, receiving some support from Manson: ‘with a right to command.’

hoi grammateis (21 times in Mark) ‘the scribes.’ By the time of the N.T. the word had developed from its original sense of a copyist of the law to that of an authorized interpreter ‘a biblical scholar, teacher of the law,’ ‘experts in the law, scholars versed in the law.’ Luke uses also nomikoi ‘lawyers’ and nomodidaskaloi ‘teachers of the law.’

Translation:

To be astonished at, as might be expected of such a psychologically significant expression, is translated in a variety of ways, some of which are highly figurative, e.g. ‘confusing the inside of the head’ (Mende), ‘shiver in the liver’ (Uduk, Laka), ‘to lose one’s heart’ (Miskito, Tzotzil), ‘to shake’ (Southern Bobo Madaré), ‘to be with mouth open’ (Huanuco Quechua).

Since the subject of were astonished has not been previously identified, one must usually either specify a noun as the object of ‘taught’ (verse 21) or introduce a subject such as ‘the people’ as the subject of ‘were astonished’ in verse 22. More often than not, however, the verb ‘to teach’ requires an object, and hence an object introduced at the end of 21 provides the appropriate referent for the subject of verse 22. (For a discussion of some of the lexical problems in “teach” see 2.13).

Since teaching should probably be taken in the active sense in this context, it is often rendered best as ‘astonished at the way he taught.’ In Central Tarahumara this is rendered idiomatically as ‘when he taught them they kept quiet.’

Authority is a term with a very wide area of meaning, and in this situation it must usually be qualified in such a way as to make it contextually appropriate. In some languages, of course, one can speak of ‘power,’ ‘right,’ or ‘strength to command’; but in other languages one must say ‘taught them like a chief not like the writers of the law’ or ‘taught like a person who had the power to command them.’ Cf. Pamona ‘someone who thrones upon (sits on the chair of) authority.’

The scribes (see above) were more than mere writers of the law. They were the trained interpreters of the law and expounders of tradition. In Yaka, spoken in the Congo, the scribes are designated as ‘clerks in God’s house’ and in Amganad Ifugao these are ‘men who wrote and taught in the synagogue.’ In Navajo a compound expression ‘teaching-writers’ is used, as an attempt to emphasize their dual function. In Shipibo-Conibo, however, it seemed enough simply to call such people ‘book-wise persons’ (knowledge of books and writing would of necessity mean a distinct prestige class to these rather primitive Shipibo-Conibo people in Upper Amazonia). In San Blas Kuna an excellent descriptive phrase has been employed, namely, ‘those who knew the Jews’ ways.’ Among the Loma (Liberia) people of Liberia it has seemed quite enough to call the scribes ‘the educated ones,’ while in San Mateo del Mar Huave the area of learning is more circumscribed, e.g. ‘those knowing holy paper,’ and in Central Mazahua the equivalent is ‘writers of holy words.’ In Indonesian they are called ‘experts in the Torah’ and in Pamona ‘men skilled in the ordinances.’

Some languages require the full form of clauses which in Greek or English may be left elliptical, e.g. and not as the scribes becomes ‘he did not teach as the scribes taught’ (Southern Bobo Madaré).

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 .