Translation commentary on Mark 10:16

Exegesis:

enagkalisamenos (cf. 9.36) ‘embracing,’ ‘taking into (his) arms.’

kateulogei titheis ‘he blessed laying’: most translations have it simply, ‘he laid (his hands upon them) and blessed.’ The participle titheis ‘laying’ may indicate means ‘by laying (his hands upon them),’ or accompanying circumstances ‘as he laid (his hands upon them)’ (cf. Williams, Zürcher Bibel).

kateulogeō (only here in the N.T.; cf. eulogeō 6.41) ‘bless’: in accordance with the customs of the time, we are to understand that Jesus invoked God’s blessings upon them (‘May God bless you’) rather than pronounced a blessing himself (‘I bless you’). Some commentators and translators understand the preposition kata in this compound verb to have the meaning ‘tenderly,’ ‘warmly,’ ‘lovingly.’ The imperfect of the verb describes Jesus blessing the children one by one, not all at the same time.

tithenai tas cheiras (cf. 5.23 for epitithenai tas cheiras) ‘to lay hands,’ ‘to place (his) hands’: as Lagrange points out, this imposition of hands is the mode of the benediction.

Translation:

Them must refer specifically to the children.

In his arms probably refers to a position on his lap rather than to his simply lifting them up from the ground while he was in a standing position (as a Rabbi he was probably teaching in a seated position). This difference is important in some languages.

For bless see 6.41, but in this instance persons are the object of the blessing, and hence certain adjustments may be required.

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 .

SIL Translator's Notes on Mark 10:16

10:16a

And: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible here translates as And introduces what Jesus did after he finished speaking in 10:15. The Contemporary English Version translates it as:

Then

Connect this verse to 10:15 in a way that is natural in your language.

He took the children in His arms: The expression took…in His arms indicates that Jesus put his arm or arms around the each of the children or gave them a hug.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

Jesus put his arms around the children (God’s Word)
-or-
Then he embraced them (New Jerusalem Bible)

See how you translated the same verb in 9:36b.

10:16b

The form of the Greek verbs used here indicates that Jesus did these things to each of the children in turn. He did not put his hands on all the children and bless them at the same time.

placed His hands on them: The expression placed His hands on them probably indicates that Jesus touched the head of each child in turn.

Here are some other ways to translate this expression:

placed his hands on each of them (Good News Bible)
-or-
put his hands on each of their heads in turn

blessed them: The phrase blessed them here means that Jesus asked God to do good to the children.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

asked God to bless them
-or-
asked God to show kindness to them

In some languages it may be natural to use a direct quote here. For example:

said to God, “Bless this child.”

See bless, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.

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