Exegesis:

soi legō ‘to you I say’: the order of the Greek makes the personal pronoun soi ‘to you’ emphatic: cf. Translator’s New Testament ‘to you I am speaking.’

eis ton oikon sou ‘to your house,’ i.e. ‘go home’ (presumably in Capernaum itself, where the incident occurred). American Standard Version ‘into thy house’ is an example of extreme literalism in translation. Cf. en oikō ‘at home’ in 2.1.

Translation:

In all such verses as this one, in which most of the words are identical with expressions used in previous verses, but where some (the last) are slightly different, one must be sure to maintain parallelism where the wording is the same but not to overlook the minor differences.

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:

hoi apo Ierosolumōn katabantes ‘who came down from Jerusalem’: one went up to the capital (cf. 10.32) and came down from it (cf. similar usage with regard to London) (cf. Lk. 2.51, 10.30f., Acts 8.26).

For hoi grammateis ‘the scribes’ cf. 1.22.

elegon hoti … kai hoti ‘they were saying that … and that’: both times hoti is recitative, introducing direct speech. This being so, it would be more accurate to punctuate the translation in such a way as to indicate two direct statements: The scribes … were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he casts out demons.”

elegon ‘they were saying’: the statement was repeated.

Beelzeboul echei ‘he has Beelzebul,’ i.e. ‘he is possessed by Beelzebul.’ Commentators are divided over whether or not ‘Beelzebul’ and ‘the prince of the demons’ are the same one, or refer to two different evil spirits.

en tō archonti tōn daimoniōn ‘in the ruler of the demons.’

en ‘in,’ ‘by,’ i.e. ‘in the name of,’ ‘by the power of.’

ho archōn (only here in Mark) ‘ruler,’ ‘chief’: in form it is the present participle of the verb archo ‘to rule.’

ekballei ta daimonia ‘he drives out the demons’ (cf. 1.34).

Translation:

For scribes see 1.22.

In many languages expressions of coming and going, whether up to or down from, are used with great precision and care, something which is not typical of the Gospels. Accordingly, if one is to use such expressions in a translation in a language which maintains a scrupulous consistency in such details of movement, it is obligatory that one maintain the same expressions throughout. Otherwise the reader is likely to be utterly confused.

For expressions dealing with possession see 1.23. A literal translation of this type of expression ‘has Beelzebul’ or ‘is possessed by Beelzebul’ can give rise to entirely wrong meanings. For example in Izthmus Zapotec to say only ‘is possessed by’ would mean ‘to speak filthy words.’ On the other hand, if one wants to designate demon possession, one must say ‘he talks with Beelzebul.’ Despite the fact that the literal expressions in this language do not seem to carry this proportionate scale of intensity in meaning, nevertheless, they do, and what counts is not the literal words but the meaning.

If one wishes to identify Beelzebul with the prince of the demons, one may translate ‘and by this prince of demons’ (San Mateo del Mar Huave).

The last clause of this verse introduces a difficult problem of secondary agency. That is to say, the primary agent is he (i.e. Jesus), but the secondary agent (secondary in terms of the grammatical structure, but primary in importance as far as the scribes were concerned) is the prince of demons. In languages in which such secondary agency can be expressed by a prepositional phrase, as in Greek or English, the problem is simple enough, but in many languages this is not possible. The alternatives are of two types: (1) the secondary agent becomes the primary agent of a causative expression, e.g. ‘the prince of demons causes him to cast out demons’ or ‘… gives him power to cast out…’ (Copainalá Zoque) and (2) the secondary agent becomes the source of power for the accomplishment of an activity, e.g. ‘Jesus receives power from the prince of demons so that he can cast out demons.’

Prince is ‘the chief’ (Copainalá Zoque, Southern Bobo Madaré) or ‘the ruler.’ In Shipibo-Conibo one may say ‘the strong one among the demons.’

For demons see 1.26, 32.

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:

kokkō sinapeōs (only here in Mark) ‘grain (seed) of mustard’: the plant is identified as the sinapsis nigra (cf. Lagrange). The mustard grows wild in Palestine: it is an annual plant, growing from seed, and, especially when cultivated, may reach a height of 10 to 12 feet. A garden herb (cf. lachanon ‘herb’ next verse), it is, not quite accurately, called a ‘tree’ (Lk. 13.19), due to its large size.

mikroteron on ‘being smaller (than)’: as is common, the comparative ‘smaller than’ is used for the superlative ‘smallest of.’ The neuter tense of the adjective and participle is probably due to the neuter spermatōn ‘seeds’ which follows.

on ‘being’: the participle is concessive ‘though it is.’

spermatōn (12.19, 20, 21, 22) ‘seeds’ (notice sporos ‘seed’ in v. 27, and kokkos ‘grain,’ ‘seed’ in this verse).

Translation:

It must be translated so as to refer to ‘the kingdom of God.’

Grain of mustard seed may be rendered as ‘a seed of a plant called mustard,’ employing a word borrowed from the dominant prestige language of the area (Central Tarahumara, Eastern Highland Otomi). Frequently, one can find a type of local mustard plant, which, though somewhat different, can still be used as a basis for the translation, e.g. ‘a seed of a kind of … plant’ (in which the appropriate close equivalent can be used; cf. Taungthu). Toraja-Sa’dan, Indonesian and Javanese use sawi, a sort of mustard plant (Brassica rubosa), the leaves of which are eaten as vegetables.

The constructions introduced by which, when are such that they frequently require some radical readjustments, e.g. ‘it is like the grains of a plant called mustard; when these seeds are sown in the earth, they are the smallest….’ In this rendering we have suggested the plural for singular since in a number of languages such generic statements must be regularly in the plural form. However, for the sake of the following verse, it is preferable, if at all possible, to employ the singular throughout. Note also the change of sown upon to ‘sown in,’ as in a number of languages.

Despite the fact that the statement smallest of all the seeds on earth cannot be taken in any absolute sense, one should nevertheless translate the text as it is.

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:

aphēken (cf. 2.5) ‘he allowed,’ ‘he permitted.’

sunakolouthēsai (14.51) ‘to go along with,’ ‘to accompany’: cf. akoloutheō ‘follow’ in 1.18.

ei mē (cf. 2.7) ‘except,’ ‘but,’ ‘with the exception of’ (occurs some 16 times in Mark).

Translation:

Follow here has the sense of ‘to go with’ (cf. 1.17).

For a discussion of problems relating to expressions of lineage and relationships such as James and John the brother of James, see 1.19 and 3.17. Here the equivalent of such as expression may be ‘James and John, they were 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 .

Exegesis:

estin … eisporeuomenon ‘is … going in’: although Translator’s New Testament treats this as a compound verbal phrase meaning simply ‘enters,’ the majority of translations, like Revised Standard Version, separate the two, translating ouden estin ‘there is nothing,’ and eisporeuomenon ‘which goes in’ as an independent participle modifying ouden ‘nothing.’

eisporeuomai (cf. 1.21) ‘go in,’ ‘enter.’

exōthen (7.18; cf. exō 3.31, 32) ‘from without,’ ‘from the outside.’

koinōsai (7.18, 20, 23; cf. koinos 7.2) ‘to make common,’ ‘to defile.’

ekporeuomena (cf. 1.5) ‘the things which go out’: the reference, of course, is to passions, sins and evil desires, catalogued in vv. 21-23, which have their origin inside the man, in his heart, and are outwardly expressed in sinful deeds and words.

Translation:

Nothing going into him must be made somewhat more specific in some languages, for this could be understood as referring to being wounded by a spear, pierced by an arrow, or stabbed by a knife. Obviously the meaning here is ‘eating,’ and hence in Guerrero Amuzgo the translation is ‘nothing that he eats.’

For defile see 7.2, but in this context it may be necessary to translate ‘make him bad’ or ‘cause him to sin.’

The phrase the things which come out of a man has been grossly misinterpreted in some translations to mean the excretion of body wastes, vomiting, an the discharge of mucus from the nose. In order that these ‘things which come out’ may be identified as behavior, one may add ‘out of the heart’ (Tzeltal), or say ‘what he does and says.’

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:

apheis (cf. 2.5) ‘leaving,’ ‘abandoning.’

embas (cf. 4.1) ‘entering,’ ‘getting in’: although eis to ploion ‘into the boat’ does not belong to the text, the meaning of the verb embainō is clear enough – ‘embarking.’

eis to peran (cf. 4.35) ‘to the other side (of the Lake)’: presumably to the east side of the Lake of Galilee.

Translation:

In this instance left them should imply a degree of rejection or unfavorable attitude, e.g. ‘left them there’ or ‘went off from them’: cf. Pamona ‘He walked away from them.’ It must be made clear, however, that the ‘them’ refers to the Pharisees, and not to the disciples.

For problems involved in translating to the other side see 4.35.

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:

egeneto nephelē episkiazousa ‘there came a cloud, overshadowing,’ ‘there appeared a cloud, covering’: it is generally agreed that egeneto ‘came,’ ‘appeared’ here has an independent force of its own and does not function as an auxiliary to episkiazō ‘overshadow’ (as Revised Standard Version translates it): cf. American Standard Version, The Modern Speech New Testament, Moffatt, Goodspeed, Manson, Translator’s New Testament, Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale, Zürcher Bibel.

nephelē (13.36; 14.62) ‘cloud.’

episkiazō (only here in Mark) ‘overshadow’ (from skia ‘shadow’), ‘cover.’

houtos estin ho huios mou ho agapētos ‘this is my Son, the Beloved’: cf. the Voice from Heaven at the baptism of Jesus, 1.11. Notice that at the baptism the Voice addresses itself to Jesus; here, to the disciples.

Translation:

Overshadowed may be rendered as ‘passed over them,’ ‘came between them and the sun’ or ‘covered up the sun for them.’

As noted in Mark 1.3 in some languages one cannot speak of a ‘voice speaking,’ much less one ‘coming out of a cloud,’ as in this verse. People may speak, but not ‘voices come.’ In Central Tarahumara, for example, the only way to translate this passage is to say ‘God spoke out of the cloud.’ Some translators have tried to make the reference less specific by rendering the passage as ‘they heard someone speaking in the cloud,’ but this suggested a person, not God. In certain instances, however, it is possible to say ‘they heard words coming from somewhere in the cloud’ (cf. Indonesian and Javanese ‘and a voice out of the cloud was heard’), a rendering which conserves something of the indefinite form of the original.

For my beloved Son see 1.11. In Navajo this phrase becomes ‘this is the Son I love,’ but it is nonrestrictive. That is to say, this passage must not be translated in such a way as to suggest that Jesus is the Son God loves, while other sons he does not love. The correct meaning may be conveyed in some languages by translating ‘this is my Son; I love him.’

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 .