Exegesis:

For grēgoreō ‘watch’ cf. the preceding verse; ho kurios ‘the master,’ ‘the owner’ cf. 1.3.

Listed here are the four watches of the night, according to the Roman system, of three hours each, running from 6:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M.

opse (cf. 11.11) ‘the evening,’ ‘late’: here, the first watch, from 6:00–9:00 P.M.

mesonuktion (only here in Mark) literally ‘the middle of the night’: here, the second watch, from 9:00 P.M. to 12:00 midnight.

alektorophōnias (only here in the N.T.) ‘at the crowing (phōnē) of the rooster (alektōr)’: here, the third watch, from 12:00 midnight to 3:00 A.M.

prōi (cf. 1.35) ‘early,’ ‘at dawn’: here, the fourth watch, from 3:00–6:00 A.M. (cf. 6.48 where ‘the fourth watch’ is referred to).

Translation:

Watch is variously translated in this context, e.g. ‘be on the look-out,’ ‘keep a close watch,’ ‘be constantly alert,’ or ‘wait, look.’

The paraphrastic expression included within dashes in the Revised Standard Version text combines quite well with the introductory verb watch. Where the difficulty arises is the connection of this sentence with the following verse, which expresses a negative purpose. This latter expression cannot be combined with the last of verse 35. There are usually three different types of solutions: (1) punctuation as a parenthetical expression, either within parentheses or dashes – a solution which is quite acceptable to rather literate people; (2) the repetition of ‘watch’ at the beginning of verse 36, so that the proper syntactic relationship may be preserved; or (3) an alteration in order in which the clause within dashes in the Revised Standard Version is placed first in the verse, followed by the imperative, ‘watch,’ e.g. ‘since you do not know when the owner of the house will come, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the early morning, therefore watch, lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping.’

Many languages have highly developed expressions for periods of the night, some of which rather closely parallel the series occurring in this verse. For example, the evening is ‘the sun lost’ (Tzotzil) and ‘the sitting together time’ (Mende). The period around midnight is ‘the stomach of the night’ (Uduk). A cockcrow is ‘when the owls make a noise,’ ‘when the cock screams’ (Piro), and ‘rooster-cry-time’ (Maninka). The period in the morning before sun-up may be described as ‘when the world begins to get white’ (Tzeltal), and ‘before the sky-opens-door’ (Maninka).

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:

su ‘you’ is emphatic: ‘you yourself,’ ‘even you.’

sēmeron tautē tē nukti ‘today, in this very night’: the ‘today’ of the phrase would last until sunset the following day; ‘this very night’ defines even more precisely the period of ‘today’ in which the denial would occur – it would be before sunrise.

prin (14.72) ‘before.’

dis alektora phōnēsai ‘the cock to crow twice.’ At least three explanations are given of this phrase: (1) the words are to be taken literally, of the crowing of a cock, before dawn, with the suggestion that ‘twice’ refers to a second crowing of a cock in response to the first one; (2) the phrase refers to the bugle call, known as the gallicinium, which sounded the end of the third watch of the night (the ‘cock-crowing’ watch which ended at 3:00 A.M. – cf. 13.35), when the guard was changed; (3) the expression simply means ‘before dawn’ (for which there is support in classical usage – cf. Rawlinson). On the other hand, F. C. Grant suggests that the words are a proverbial expression indicating not time, but readiness to betray, ‘before the cock can crow twice.’ From vv. 68 and 72, however, it appears certain that the author intends that the words be taken literally (cf. Branscomb).

aparnēsē (cf. 8.34) ‘you will deny,’ ‘you will disown’: here with the sense of refusing to admit knowledge of, or relation to, Jesus.

Translation:

For truly in this type of construction see 3.28 and 8.12.

This very night should be related to what follows, not to what precedes. This may require an adjustment in order, e.g. ‘before the cock crows twice, you will this very night deny me three times.’

In some translations the Greek phrase has been rendered literally as ‘today, this night,’ resulting in obvious difficulties in languages in which the words for ‘day’ and ‘night’ are mutually exclusive in meaning. Note, however, that in the N.T. the word sēmeron refers to the twenty-four hour period, and hence there is no contradiction. In other languages the equivalent can be expressed by ‘this very night,’ ‘just on this night,’ or ‘during exactly this night.’

Since chickens are widely distributed throughout the world, there is very little difficulty in obtaining satisfactory terms for ‘cock’ and ‘crowing.’ However ‘when the fowl called cock makes an early noise’ can suffice where chickens are not known.

Deny is most commonly translated as ‘say that you do not know me.’ Tzeltal renders the expression as ‘cover in your heart that you know me.’ In instances in which direct discourse is required, one may translate ‘say, I do not know 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 .

Exegesis:

egō eimi (cf. 13.6) ‘I am’: it is probable that the words carry a meaning that goes beyond a simple affirmative answer to the question (cf. Translator’s New Testament ‘I am He’). As a set phrase (cf. their use in 13.6) the words carry an overtone of Messianic and divine self-identification.

opsesthe ‘you shall see’: this is addressed directly to the whole council as a statement of fact (in 13.26 opsontai is impersonal, ‘they shall see,’ i.e. ‘men shall see’). As in the parallel statement in 9.1 so here the verb ‘see’ should be translated unequivocally to indicate an actual experience on the part of those addressed.

ton huion tou anthrōpou ek dexiōn kathēmenon tēs dunameōs ‘the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the Power’: as in 13.36, the words are a reference to Ps. 110.1.

ho huios tou anthrōpou (cf. 2.10) ‘the Son of man.’

ek dexiōn (cf. 10.37; 12.36) ‘at the right (hand)’: as in both other passages, this is the place of authority and power.

hē dunamis (cf. 5.30) ‘the Power’: as in the case of ‘the Blessed One’ in the previous verse, this is a title for God.

erchomenon meta tōn nephelōn tou ouranou ‘coming with the clouds of heaven’: as in 13.26, these words are a reference to Dan. 7.13 (the Hebrew has ‘with the clouds of heaven’ while the Septuagint has ‘upon the clouds’; in 13.26 the expression is ‘in clouds’).

Translation:

Though the words I am may imply a subtle allusion to the divine self-revelation (cf. Exodus 3.14), it is difficult, if not impossible, to reproduce this type of allusion in a receptor language. In most languages Jesus’ reply must be either (1) an affirmative such as ‘yes’ or ‘that is right’ or (2) a declaration such as ‘I am the Christ.’ In most instances it is quite impossible to translate literally ‘I am’ because the copulative verb requires some type of so-called predicate complement.

As in other instances of the use of the Son of man in this first person relationship, it may be necessary to say ‘me who am the ‘Son of man’ or ‘me as the Son of man.’

Power cannot be used as a substitute for God in some languages since not only is the figure ‘right hand of the Power’ unintelligible, but ‘power’ does not exist apart from a possessor, e.g. ‘God who has power’ (Tzeltal) or ‘the one who has power’ (Central Mazahua).

Where there are two processes (namely, ‘sitting’ and ‘coming’) as objects of the verb ‘see,’ it may be necessary to repeat the verb in order to avoid the implication that the Son of man comes in a seated position. Hence, the rendering may be ‘see the Son of man; he will be sitting at the right hand of God who has power. And you will see him coming….’

With the clouds of heaven implies the position of the Son of man, not the fact that he will be coming, having in his possession the clouds of heaven. Moreover, one must not render with in merely the sense of accompaniment, i.e. that Jesus will be accompanying the clouds of heaven. In many instances ‘in’ is a more correct translation of the Greek meta than a presumably more literal rendering which may, however, have quite different denotations in such a context.

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 autō ‘to him’ Textus Receptus adds piein ‘to drink,’ which is omitted by modern editions of the Greek text.

Instead of the masculine hos ‘he’ of the majority of modern editions of the Greek text, Textus Receptus, Soden, Vogels, & Souter have the neuter ho ‘it.’

Exegesis:

edidoun ‘they were giving’: the imperfect indicates an unsuccessful attempt, correctly translated by Revised Standard Version ‘they offered.’ The plural is probably impersonal, meaning ‘he was given,’ ‘he was offered.’ Who ‘they’ were is a matter of conjecture: certainly not the soldiers, so perhaps one of the women.

esmurnismenon oinon ‘wine flavored with myrrh’: it is ordinarily assumed that the mixture would act as a narcotic, but there is no clear proof of this.

smurnizō (only here in the N.T.) ‘be like myrrh,’ ‘mingle with myrrh.’

oinos (cf. 2.22) ‘wine.’

Translation:

Offered is sometimes translatable as ‘tried to give’ or ‘held out for him to take.’

Wine mingled with myrrh may be ‘wine in which myrrh had been mixed.’ Myrrh is, of course, unknown in most parts of the world, thus necessitating a borrowed word, which may be identified satisfactorily in several ways, e.g. ‘something is called myrrh’ (Barrow Eskimo), ‘a mirra herb,’ in which mirra is borrowed from the Spanish (Tzeltal), and ‘mir resin,’ in which myrrh in a borrowed form is classified as a kind of resin and thus presumed to have certain medicinal or helpful qualities.

Take it may also be translated as ‘drink it.’

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:

exelthousai ‘going out (of the tomb).’

eichen gar autas tromos kai ekstasis ‘for trembling and astonishment had taken hold of them.’

tromos (only here in Mark) ‘trembling,’ ‘quivering.’

ekstasis (cf. 5.42) ‘confusion,’ ‘astonishment,’ ‘terror.’

ephobounto gar ‘for they were afraid’: for phobeō cf. 4.41. C. F. D. Moule suggests their fear kept them from saying anything to any person they might have encountered, as they hurried straight to the disciples with the message.

Translation:

The rendering of from the tomb may need to be related more closely to ‘went out,’ since some languages require an indication of what was ‘gone out of,’ e.g. ‘went out of the tomb and fled away.’

Trembling and astonishment had come upon them is a form of expression which cannot be easily translated literally in many languages. In the first place trembling and astonishment are normally rendered by verbs, ‘they were trembling and were astonished’ (or ‘amazed’). Had come upon them really means in many languages ‘began to….’ Hence, this clause may be translated as ‘they began to tremble and to be astonished’ (or ‘terrified’). For astonish see 1.22, 27.

______________

Here ends the Gospel of Mark, as it has been transmitted to us by the most reliable manuscripts. What is conventionally printed as vv. 9-20 of chapter 16 is a “Longer Ending” which early was appended to manuscripts and versions of the Gospel (cf. the Additional Note in the Appendix for reasons for not accepting this ending as Marcan); there exists also a “Shorter Ending,” appended to other manuscripts and versions of the Gospel. By most scholars it is held that the Gospel is not complete, and various solutions to the problem are proposed: the ending was never written; the ending was lost; the ending, for some reason, was suppressed. The position which raises the least formidable counter arguments is that, for some reason or other, the Gospel was never completed. Some, however, hold that the author did in fact purposely end his Gospel with v. 8.

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 euaggelion ‘gospel’ Textus Receptus has tēs basileias, ‘gospel of the kingdom of God,’ with considerable mss. support. Although ‘of the kingdom’ is rejected by Tischendorf, Nestle, Westcott and Hort, Vogels, Kilpatrick, Merk, Souter, Turner argues for its originality, in which he is followed by F. C. Grant. Considerable weight, notwithstanding mss. evidence, must be given Turner’s arguments: “the gospel of God” is far less probable, in Mark, than “the gospel of the kingdom of God.”

Exegesis:

meta de to paradothēnai ton Iōannēn ‘after John had been arrested’: an introductory temporal clause; ton Iōannēn ‘John’ is the subject of the passive infinitive to paradothēnai ‘to be arrested.’ A free translation could be ‘after the arrest of John.’

paradidōmi (20 times in Mark): ‘hand over,’ ‘turn over,’ ‘give up a person’; as a technical term of police and courts, ‘hand over into (the) custody (of).’ Moulton & Milligan quote examples from the papyri with the meaning ‘deliver up’ to prison or judgment.

kērussōn ‘proclaiming’ (cf. v. 4).

euaggelion ‘the gospel’ in the technical, Christian sense: the contents of the Christian message (cf. v. 1).

tou theou ‘of God’ (omitting tēs basileias ‘of the kingdom’): the meaning is ‘the gospel proceeding from God’ (cf. Gould, Turner). The phrase to euaggelion tou theou ‘the gospel of God’ is called a “Pauline phrase” (cf. Rom. 1.1, 15.16, 2 Cor. 11.7, 1 Thess. 2.8, 9; cf. 1 Pet. 4.17). This observation has no bearing, however, on whether or not tēs basileias ‘of the kingdom’ should be read in this passage.

Translation:

Arrested may be translated in a number of different ways, depending upon the manner in which such an event is described in the language in question, e.g. ‘taken prisoner’ (Kpelle, Pamona, Javanese) or ‘put in jail’ (Balinese).

The verbs for come and go tend to create all sorts of confusion in translating, since the viewpoint of the writer is so differently interpreted in various languages. There is no help in the Greek at this point for the same verb erchomai may be rendered either ‘come’ or ‘go,’ though ‘come’ is the more usual meaning. However, Mark does not always preserve the same geographic orientation, for in 10.46 he speaks of ‘coming to Jericho.’ The systems of geographical orientation are, of course, quite different as one goes from one language to another. In some instances one is supposed to preserve the viewpoint of the position of the writer; in others, the position of the eye-witness, i.e. of Jesus’ disciples or followers. But whatever may be the type of orientation employed in indigenous narration, it is extremely important that one use this system, for otherwise the reader will be badly confused. In this particular instance, many languages require a verb meaning ‘to go,’ since the viewpoint of the writer is assumed to be that of a companion of Jesus, and hence Jesus would be going to a point away from the writer, rather than coming to a place where the writer was.

If one follows a Greek text omitting ‘of the kingdom,’ the relationship between ‘good news’ and ‘God’ is probably subjective. That is to say, this would be ‘the good news that comes from God,’ He being the source of the glad tidings (the possible interpretation ‘good news about God,’ though theoretically possible, is rather unlikely).

If, however, we include ‘of the kingdom’ the construction becomes distinctly objective (in the grammatical sense), for in this instance the text is certainly speaking about ‘the good news about the kingdom of God.’ But this expression is very difficult to translate in some languages, for there is simply no ready equivalent of ‘kingdom,’ as this is popularly understood. In the first place, most people do not have kings, but they almost always have rulers, chiefs, headmen, etc. In the second place, in so many societies there is not the emphasis upon geographical extension or territory which the English word kingdom seems to imply. However, this should not provide special difficulty, for in the Greek the central meaning of basileia is not the region, but the rule. In other words, the Greek word applies primarily to the fact of God’s rule, rather than the territory over which he governs. Once we understand these two principal limitations, it is not too difficult to construct a functional equivalent. For example, in San Blas Kuna the ‘kingdom of God’ is ‘God’s government,’ in Navajo ‘what God has charge of,’ in Laka ‘God’s commanding,’ in Tzeltal ‘the jurisdiction of God’ (in the sense of where God has the authority), in Highland Puebla Nahuatl ‘the leadership of God,’ in Wayuu ‘where God is chief,’ in Kekchí ‘power (or authority) of God,’ and in Javanese ‘the rule of God.’

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 the first kai ‘and’ Textus Receptus, Soden, Vogels and Kilpatrick add euthus ‘immediately,’ omitted by all other editions of the Greek text.

Exegesis:

sunēchthēsan (4.1; 5.21; 6.30; 7.1) ‘they were gathered together,’ ‘brought together,’ ‘collected’ (cf. episunagō in 1.33).

hōste mēketi chōrein ‘so as no longer to be room’: for the use of hōste with the infinitive of the verb to express result see 1.27.

chōrein (only here in Mark) ‘to have space for,’ ‘to hold,’ ‘to contain,’ ‘to be room (for).’

ta pros tēn thuran (cf. 1.33) ‘the (places, space) near (toward, about) the door’: the meaning is that such a crowd was gathered in the house and overflowing into the street, that not even on the street, near the door, was there room for any more people.

elalei (some 22 times in Mark) ‘he was speaking’: Revised Standard Version “preaching,” while not incorrect, is not completely consistent. It is better to reserve “preach” for kērussō ‘proclaim’ or euaggelizomai ‘preach the Gospel.’ The imperfect, describing action in progress, tells us what Jesus was doing when the paralytic was brought to him (next verse). Some translations join the last clause of this verse ‘and he was speaking the Word to them’ directly to the next verse: “And he was speaking to them the Word when…” (Moffatt, The Modern Speech New Testament, Manson, Berkeley).

ton logon ‘the word’ i.e. the Christian message, the Gospel; Lagrange “the good tidings of salvation.” Rather than “the word” it may be preferable to use capitalization – “the Word” or something similar. “The Message” would accurately convey the meaning (cf. 1.45 and Kilpatrick’s note on logos “word” in Mark, there referred to).

Translation:

The Greek verb translated were gathered together, though a passive in form, is generally best translated as an active, implying not that the people were brought, carried, or forced to come together by the actions of others, but that ‘they came together,’ or ‘crowded together.’

In some languages a verb implying the gathering of a crowd may require some statement as to the type of place in which such a gathering may occur. In this instance it is the home of Jesus.

The second clause may be rendered ‘so that there was no space for anyone else.’

About the door refers of course to the space outside the house, and the door is in this instance better taken as the opening (where a distinction is made – see 1.33), since obviously the door would be open at such a time.

Though laleō is a more colloquial term for ‘speaking,’ it is the combination with logon ‘word’ which gives it the strictly theological connotation of ‘preaching.’ The only equivalent of the word in many languages is ‘the good news.’ In Toraja-Sa’dan and Indonesian ‘the word of God’ must be used. Certainly this phrase means much more than merely ‘he was talking.’

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 .