Translation commentary on Mark 10:37

Exegesis:

dos hēmin hina ‘grant us that,’ ‘allow us that’: as commonly in Mark (cf. 5.10, 18) hina ‘that’ gives the content of the request rather than its purpose.

ek dexiōn stands for ek dexiōn merōn ‘from the parts of the right’ and means, simply, ‘on the right.’

dexios (10.40; 12.36; 14.62; 15.27; 16.5, 19) ‘right.’

ex aristerōn (only here in Mark) ‘on the left,’ similar in construction and meaning to ek dexiōn ‘on the right.’ The two places ‘on the right’ and ‘on the left’ were the places of honor.

kathisōmen en tē doxē sou ‘we may sit in your glory’: the thought behind the request is eschatological. ‘The glory’ is that which the Son of man will share with his Father, in his coming (8.38), and in this final triumph (cf. Goodspeed ‘in your triumph’) the two disciples want the preeminent places of honor and authority.

kathizō (cf. 9.35) ‘sit’: in this context the verb refers to sitting in chairs, or thrones, next to the king on his throne.

doxa (cf. 8.38) ‘glory,’ ‘majesty,’ ‘sublimity.’

Translation:

Grant us may be translated as ‘permit’ or ‘give us the honor.’

Your right hand may of course be ‘your right side’ or ‘your strong arm.’ Similarly the left may be known by a number of figurative expressions.

For glory see 8.38. In Eastern Otomí the only equivalent is ‘greatness’ and in Central Mazahua a phrase ‘where you are in command’ has been used. At first thought this latter term would not seem to be adequate, but a man’s glory or distinction is generally spoken of in terms of his commanding position or authority, in which case the phrase seems to fit the context quite well.

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 10:37

10:37

They answered: The words They answered introduce the specific request of James and John. Introduce it in a natural way in your language.

Grant that one of us may sit at Your right hand and the other at Your left in Your glory: Here James and John were asking Jesus to give them positions of honor when he himself would rule in honor.

In the culture at that time, the king or person having the greatest authority sat on a throne. The person with the next greatest authority after the king sat at the king’s right side. The person next in authority after him sat at the king’s left side. James and John wanted Jesus to give them those places of greatest honor next to him and to let them rule over others.

Here are some ways to make this clear:

…we want to sit in places of honor next to you…one at your right and the other at your left. (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)
-or-
…let us sit beside you to rule with you.
-or-
…we want to rule over people with you, one of us sitting at your right side and the other one on your left.

in Your glory: The phrase in Your glory refers to the time when Jesus would rule over others as the Messiah. Some versions make explicit the idea of ruling (as a king in his kingdom). For example:

When you sit on your throne in your glorious Kingdom (Good News Bible)
-or-
in your glory in your kingdom (New Century Version)

The phrase in Your glory could also be expressed with a verb. For example:

when people honor you
-or-
and they honor you

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