Text:

Before agorazontas ‘buying’ Textus Receptus omits tous ‘the ones,’ ‘those,’ which is retained by all modern editions of the Greek text.

Exegesis:

hieron (cf. 11.11) ‘Temple’: here specifically the Court of the Gentiles where all this traffic was carried on.

tous pōlountas (cf. 10.21) ‘those who sold’: the merchants who sold the animals, as well as oil, wine, and salt, for the Temple sacrifices.

tous agorazontas (cf. 6.36) ‘those who bought’: pilgrims who came to offer sacrifice and worship in the Temple.

tas trapezas (cf. 7.28) ‘the tables’ on which the money changers displayed their coins; ‘banks.’

tōn kollubistōn (only here in Mark) ‘of the money changers’: many of the worshipers, Jews of the Dispersion, would not have the half shekel coins required for the payment of the Temple tax (cf. Rawlinson).

tas kathedras (only here in Mark) ‘the chairs,’ ‘seats,’ ‘stools.’

tas peristeras (cf. 1.10) ‘the doves’ used in sacrifices, according to the requirements of the Law (cf. Lev. 12.6, 8; 14.22; 15.14, 29).

katestrepsen (only here in Mark) ‘he upset,’ ‘he overturned.’

Translation:

Came to may require alteration to ‘arrived at.’

Drive out may be rendered in a form parallel to what is used in other Gospels where the action is described as accomplished – at least in part – by the use of a whip. Where languages require a distinction between driving out as a group, or singly (as, for example, in Navajo), the former is probably preferable.

Sold and … bought is in some languages best rendered as ‘exchanged’ (or in some cultures as ‘bartered’).

Pigeons, which are very widespread, – at least in some relatively similar form – may be translated by the closest local parallel, even though the relationship may not be exact.

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:

dōmen ē mē dōmen; ‘are we to pay, or not?’: an example of what is called the deliberative subjunctive.

ho de eidōs autōn tēn hupokrisin ‘but he, perceiving their hypocrisy’: cf. Goodspeed (and Lagrange) ‘but he saw through their pretense.’

hupokrisis (only here in Mark; cf. hupokrites 7.6) ‘dissimulation,’ ‘outward show,’ ‘hypocrisy.’

ti me peirazete; ‘why do you put me to the test?’: cf. the similar use of the verb in 8.11; 10.2.

pherete moi dēnarion hina idō ‘bring me a denarius that I may look (at it)’: the hina clause expresses purpose; Rawlinson and Revised Standard Version, however, understand it as being imperatival ‘let me look at it.’

dēnarion (cf. 6.37) ‘denarius’: a silver coin, minted by the Roman government.

Translation:

Should implies the concept of obligation, which is equivalent in some languages to ‘must we pay.’ This is a question of obligation, not of mere future possibility.

Knowing may be rendered either as ‘being acquainted with’ or ‘recognizing’; either meaning would fit this context.

For hypocrisy see 7.6. In this particular context the San Mateo del Mar Huave language employs an interesting idiom ‘he could see that they were talking just with their mouth,’ that is to say, ‘not with the heart,’ which would have implied sincerity.

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:

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 .