Translation commentary on Mark 10:6

Exegesis:

apo de archēs ktiseōs ‘but from the beginning of creation’: so most translations. Manson, however, translates: ‘From the beginning of the creation-story we learn that…’ (cf. Rawlinson).

archē (cf. 1.1) ‘beginning.’

ktisis (13.19; 16.15) ‘creation’: the meaning here may be (1) ‘the sum total of everything created, creation, world’ or (2) the act of creation (Swete). The use of the identical phrase in 13.19 (ap’ archēs ktiseōs) would favor the first meaning.

arsen kai thēlu epoiēsen autous ‘male and female he made them’: a quotation of Gen. 1.27 (cf. also Gen. 5.1). On the meaning of this passage, in the light of Jewish interpretation of it.

Translation:

For certain problems involved in translating beginning see 1.1. In many languages beginning can be translated only as an adverbial expression of time sequence, e.g. ‘when God first made the world’ (San Mateo del Mar Huave, South Bolivian Quechua) or as a verb of beginning, e.g. ‘when God began in creating the world.’

Creation indicates a process which is translatable in most languages only by a verb for ‘making’ and an object, for ‘the world’ or ‘everything.’ However, in some languages creation may be referred to in somewhat different ways, e.g. ‘when life began’ (Eastern Highland Otomi).

Them must usually be more specific, e.g. ‘people’ or ‘human beings.’

Male and female constitutes a generic phrase capable of including not only humans, but animals as well. In many languages, however, this type of classification is not possible. One may have to say, for example, ‘God made men and women,’ or as in Tzeltal ‘God made man with woman.’

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 .

Translation commentary on Mark 10:39 – 10:40

Exegesis:

to de kathisai ek dexiōn mou ē ex euōnumōn ‘but to sit at my right or at my left.’

euōnumos (15.27) literally ‘well-named’: an euphemism for ‘the left’ to avoid the sinister connotation of the word.

ouk estin emon dounai, all’ hois hētoimastai ‘is not mine to give, but (it is) for those for whom it has been prepared.’

all’ ‘but’ modifies the whole preceding phrase ‘to sit … is not mine to give,’ representing a denial on the part of Jesus that it is he who will decide who shall occupy the places of honor. The word is not to be translated ‘except’ as though Jesus were saying that he could not give the places of honor to the two brothers but only to those for whom these places had been prepared (as does Manson, following Turner: ‘I am not free to give to any but those for whom it is already destined’): on this interpretation cf. Swete.

hetoimazō (cf. 1.3) ‘prepare,’ ‘keep in readiness’: the passive ‘has been prepared’ presupposes God as the subject, ‘God has prepared.’ As Lagrange says, the word here reflects the concept of the predestinating action of God (which several translations convey by the use of ‘it is destined’: cf. Goodspeed, Moffatt, Manson; others, ‘it is reserved’: cf. The Modern Speech New Testament, Montgomery, Berkeley).

Translation:

Said may need to be rendered as ‘replied.’

We are able requires in certain languages expansion by some complementary verb, e.g. ‘we are able to do that.’

The clause to sit at my right hand … is not mine to grant must be recast in some languages, for one cannot use a possessive such as mine to describe a particular capacity to do something. For example, in Tzeltal one must change the clause to read ‘but I cannot give that you sit….’

It in the final clause (occurring twice) refers to the prerogative to sit on the right and the left. In some instances one must substitute a verb expression ‘to do that’ or a noun phrase ‘this position.’

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 .

Translation commentary on Mark 11:20

Exegesis:

Most of the words of this verse have already been dealt with: for paraporeuomai ‘pass by’ cf. 2.23; prōi ‘early,’ ‘in the morning’ cf. 1.35; xērainō ‘dry up,’ ‘wither’ cf. 3.1.

ek rizōn ‘from the roots (up)’: indicates that the whole tree was withered, not simply the branches.

Translation:

Passed by implies the place where the fig tree was. Perhaps, however, the most satisfactory equivalent is ‘passed along the road.’

Saw the fig tree withered away may require the combination of two paratactically united clauses, e.g. ‘saw the fig tree; it was withered away.’

To the roots may be translated as ‘even the roots were withered.’

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 .

Translation commentary on Mark 12:20

Exegesis:

ho prōtos ‘the first’: probably, though not necessarily so, the oldest of the seven.

apothnēskōn ouk aphekēn ‘dying he did not leave’: the participle is temporal, ‘when he died.’ In English the proper relation between the two verbs will be established by translating ‘he died without leaving….’

Translation:

The first is ‘the oldest brother.’

Took a wife may be quite wrongly understood if translated literally, e.g. ‘took away someone else’s wife.’ A more common idiom is ‘married a woman.’

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 .

Translation commentary on Mark 13:8

Text:

After limoi ‘famines’ Textus Receptus adds kai tarachai ‘and tumults’ which is omitted by all modern editions of the Greek text.

Exegesis:

The first sentence of this verse recalls the language of Isa. 19.2, but is not a quotation of that passage.

egerthēsetai (cf. 1.31) ‘shall be raised,’ ‘shall arise’ in war or hostility.

ethnos (cf. 10.33) ‘people,’ ‘nation.’

basileia (cf. 3.29) ‘kingdom’ In both clauses epi ‘upon’ has a hostile sense, ‘against.’

seismoi (only here in Mark) ‘earthquakes.’

kata topous ‘in various regions,’ ‘in different places.’

limoi (only here in Mark) ‘famines.’

archē ōdinōn ‘a beginning of birth-pangs,’ ‘the beginning of travail.’

archē (cf. 1.1) ‘beginning,’ ‘start.’

ōdin (only here in Mark; cf. //Mt. 24.8; cf. Acts 2.24, 1 Thess. 5.3) ‘birthpang,’ ‘pain (the mother suffers) in childbirth.’ As a technical phrase in apocalyptic literature, ‘the beginning of birth-pangs’ are the terrors and torments that precede the coming of the Messianic age.

Translation:

Nation is translatable as ‘tribe’ or ‘people,’ the largest group which is recognized by the people as an in-group, that is, as having mutual bonds of responsibility; the size of such groups will differ greatly in different areas.

Kingdom may be rendered as ‘government’ in some languages, or as ‘rulers’ in others, since an abstract entity such as a ‘kingdom’ or ‘government’ cannot be spoken of as participating in such a process as ‘rising up against.’ On the other hand, people can be so described.

Rise against means ‘to make war against’ or ‘to fight against.’

In most places there are quite adequate terms for earthquakes. Where necessary, however, one can always describe such an event as ‘the earth shakes’ or ‘the ground moves violently.’

Famines are of frequent enough occurrence in most parts of the world, but the term can always be rendered as a phrase, e.g. ‘people will not have food to eat.’

This must be translated as ‘these’ in some languages or the reader will understand that only the last event, namely, the famines, is involved. Hence, one may render this phrase ‘these are just the beginning….’

In some languages beginning cannot be treated as a noun (cf. 1.1), and hence the entire sentence may require recasting, e.g. ‘these sufferings are just the first.’

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 .

Translation commentary on Mark 14:3

Exegesis:

ontos autou en Bēthania ‘while he was at Bethany,’ ‘during his stay in Bethany’ (cf. 11.1 for Bethany).

Simōnos tou leprou ‘of Simon the Leper’: commentators suggest, with considerable probability, that this Simon was by now cured, but still retained the name of ‘the Leper’ (so Jerome, quoted by Swete).

lepros (cf. 1.40) ‘leper.’

katekeimenou autou (cf. 1.30) ‘while he was reclining at the table.’

gunē ‘woman’: here she remains anonymous; in John 12.3 she is identified as Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus.

echousa ‘having,’ i.e. ‘having with her.’

alabastron (only here in Mark) ‘alabaster’: by extension ‘a flask made of alabaster,’ described as “a vessel with a rather long neck which was broken off when the contents were used.” Lagrange suggests that the vase was perhaps made of oriental onyx, popularly called alabaster.

murou (14.4, 5) ‘of ointment,’ ‘of unguent’: the genitive defines the contents of the flask, not the material of which it was made.

nardou (only here in Mark) ‘of nard’: this genitive defines the kind of ointment in the flask. The oil was extracted from the root of the nard, a plant native to India.

pistikēs (only here in Mark) ‘pure,’ ‘genuine,’ ‘unadulterated’: the genitive further defines the ointment. The meaning of this word has been a source of speculation and disagreement. Most commentators take it to mean here ‘pure,’ ‘genuine’: others, however, take it to refer to a plant whose name, being misunderstood, was simply transliterated into Greek. Black surmises that it was the oil of the pistachio nut, which in Aramaic would have been pistaka’.

polutelous (only here in Mark) ‘expensive,’ ‘costly.’

suntripsasa (cf. 5.4) ‘breaking,’ ‘smashing.’

katecheen (only here in Mark) ‘she poured,’ ‘she poured on’: the woman broke the flask, presumably its neck, and poured the ointment on the head of Jesus.

Translation:

He must be clearly identified, whether in this verse or in one of the two preceding verses. In some instances it is best to use ‘Jesus.’

For leper see 1.40.

There is an awkward syntactic problem in this verse because of the double dependent temporal clauses while he was…, as he sat …. In some languages these must be separated, since two such clauses cannot precede the main clause, e.g. ‘Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper. While he was sitting there….’

Sat at table is equivalent to saying ‘sat eating’ or even ‘was eating.’

Alabaster jar may be translated as ‘a jar made of stone called alabaster’ or ‘an alabaster stone jar.’ ‘Stone’ must often be added in order that the borrowing ‘alabaster’ may have some significance.

Ointment is equivalent in many languages to ‘oil’ or simply ‘liquid.’

Nard must usually be borrowed, e.g. ‘a liquid called nard’ (Amganad Ifugao) or ‘ointment, very fragrant, nardo its name’ (Tzeltal), in which nardo has been borrowed from Spanish. ‘Very fragrant’ has been used in order to help explain the significance of the type of ointment, for otherwise the Tzeltal term would be understood to mean ‘medicine.’ In Huastec, the translation is ‘stone container of perfume, called nardo, very expensive.’ In Amganad Ifugao one may say ‘stone jar with a liquid called nard, smelling like flowers,’ in which the last phrase is a usual designation for any kind of perfume.

Very costly must constitute an entirely separate sentence in some languages, e.g. ‘it was very expensive’ or ‘this had cost a great deal.’

One must be very careful of the syntactic relationship of the phrase ‘over his head,’ which in some languages has been related to the breaking of the jar, implying that the jar was crushed on Jesus head.

It must refer to the liquid, not the jar, e.g. ‘poured the liquid on his head’ or ‘poured the perfume onto his head.’

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 .

Translation commentary on Mark 14:35

Exegesis:

proselthōn mikron ‘going ahead a little,’ ‘going forward a bit.’

proserchomai (cf. 1.31) ‘approach,’ ‘advance,’ ‘go (or, ‘come’) forward.’

mikron (14.70) ‘a little’: used here adverbially, of space.

epipten epi tēs gēs (cf. 9.20) ‘he fell upon the ground,’ ‘he prostrated himself on the ground’: an attitude of supplication and prayer.

prosēucheto hina (cf. 13.18) ‘he prayed that’: the hina clause indicates the content of the prayer which follows, in indirect form.

ei dunaton (cf. 13.22) ‘if possible,’ ‘if it could be done.’

parelthē ap’ autou hē hōra ‘the hour might pass from him’: the verb parerchomai (cf. 6.48) here means to pass by, or away (without affecting him). Lagrange: ‘make it pass far away from me.’

hē hōra (14.41) ‘the hour’: not simply an indication of time, but supremely of the content, or nature, which makes it critical. ‘The hour’ is the approaching Passion. The word has, as Lagrange says, “a nuance of divine predestination.”

Translation:

Fell on the ground must not be translated so as to imply that Jesus stumbled and fell, but rather that he ‘caused himself to fall’ or ‘prostrated himself on the ground,’ e.g. ‘lay down flat on the ground.’

The idiom the hour might pass from is an extremely complex and unusual expression, especially in those parts of the world which do not speak of ‘hours.’ Moreover, one may often speak of people passing a time, but rarely of a time passing from a person. Furthermore, it is often necessary to specify the relationship of the person to the period of time in a somewhat more specific manner. The following translations are typical of the adaptations which may be made: ‘allow me to pass this time’ (Central Mazahua); ‘that pass which would happen to him in that hour’ (Copainalá Zoque); ‘might not experience that hour’ (Highland Puebla Nahuatl); and ‘that this hour might change’ (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 .

Translation commentary on Mark 14:67

Exegesis:

thermainomenon (cf. v. 54) ‘warming himself.’

emblepsasa (cf. 8.25) ‘looking on (him),’ ‘looking closely at (him),’ ‘fixing her gaze upon (him)’: this participle, in contrast with the first one (idousa ‘seeing’), indicates a more prolonged scrutiny (cf. the use of the verb in 10.21, 27).

kai su ‘you too,’ ‘you also.’

tou Nazarēnou (cf. 10.47) ‘the Nazarene’: it is probable that in the other three places in Mark where the word occurs (1.24; 10.47; 16.6) it should be translated as here, ‘the Nazarene,’ and not simply as a geographical designation, ‘of Nazareth.’ Here, in conjunction with tou Iēsou ‘Jesus,’ the meaning is ‘the Nazarene, (even) Jesus’; cf. Montgomery ‘that Nazarene, Jesus’; Lagrange avec le Nazaréen, avec Jésus.

Translation:

It is essential that the two verbs seeing and looked are not translated as mere repetitions of the same action. In the first instance the maid saw that Peter was there warming himself. In the second case, ‘she looked very closely at him’ or ‘she examined him.’

Though it is true that Nazarene probably implies more than mere geographical origin, in most languages there is no way in which a derivative adjectival form such as ‘Nazarene’ can carry the implications of the Greek text. Accordingly, ‘that man from Nazareth, that Jesus’ may be the only equivalent. In some languages, however, the appositive elements must be reversed, ‘with Jesus, that man from Nazareth,’ or if a relative clause is required, ‘with Jesus, who is that man from Nazareth.’ In the use of ‘that man from’ or ‘the one from’ one may attempt to approximate something of the articular construction in Greek ‘the Nazarene,’ whereas merely ‘Jesus from Nazareth’ would not carry quite the same range of meaning.

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 .