he sent two of his disciples

The Greek that is translated as “he sent two of his disciples” in English had to be translated in Mezquital Otomi: as “Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead to borrow a little donkey.” The implicit idea of borrowing the donkey had to be made explicit to avoid the wrong meaning that the instructions of verses 2 and 3 were for them to steal it. (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)

See also this devotion on YouVersion .

Mark 11:1 - 11 in Mexican Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 11:1-11 into Mexican Sign Language with back-translations into Spanish and English underneath:


© La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)

Jesús y los discípulos estaban caminando y vieron enfrente de ellos el Monte de los Olivos.

Allá cerca estaba el pueblo de Betania y más allá Betfagé, cerca de Jerusalén.

Jesús dijo a dos discípulos: Uds dos vayanse al pueblo de Betfagé y verán que hay un burro chico que todavía no ha sido montado por nadie.

El burro está atado, quiten la cuerda y si alguien les dice: “¿porqué toman el burro?” uds dos digan: “espera un poco, Jesús necesita el burro, nosotros dos lo tomamos y después vendremos otra vez aquí y dejaremos el burro.”

Jesús (dijo): “¿entienden?” Y los discipulos lo afirmaron y se fueron a Betfagé y yendo por el camino vieron una casa y a la puerta había un burro atado.

Los dos lo desataron y alguien los vio y dijo: ¿Porqué toman el burro? Los dos discípulos se dieron cuenta de que era exactamente lo que Jesús había dicho antes y dijeron: “Mira” y lo explicaron, y las personas (dijeron): “Sí, tienen permiso, vayanse.”

Los dos discípulos tomaron el burro y lo llevaron, y pusieron sus mantos en la espalda del burro.

Jesús montó el burro y fueron y una multitud de personas vino y caminaba con ellos y punían sus mantos en la calle, y cortaban ramas de los árboles y las ponían en el camino.

Jesús estaba andando el burro y muchas personas caminaban enfrente de él y atrás de él caminaba mucha gente y estaban alegres y gritaban: “alabado sea Dios que ya ha entregado la autoridad a Jesús, Dios bendiga su familia, la descendencia del Rey David de mucho antes, este es el rey bendito, ¡huy! Dios, salvanos ahorita.”

La multitud estaba caminando y Jesús estaba andando en el burro y llegaron al templo de Jerusalén y Jesús miró al templo, y como ya era tarde Jesús regresó al pueblo de Betania.


Jesus and the disciples were walking and they saw in front of them the Mount of Olives.

Over there close by was the village of Bethany and further on Bethphage, near Jerusalem.

Jesus said to two disciples: “You two go off to the village of Bethphage and you will say that there is a little donkey there that nobody has ridden yet.

“The donkey is tied up, take off the rope and if anyone says to you: ‘Why are you taking the donkey?’ tell them: ‘Wait a little, Jesus needs the donkey, we will take it and afterwards we will come here again and leave the donkey.'”

Jesus (said): “understood?” And the disciples affirmed and went to Bethphage, and going on their way they saw a house and at the door there was a donkey tied up.

The two of them untied it and someone saw them and said: “Why are you taking the donkey?” The disciples realized that it was exactly what Jesus had just said and they said: “Look” and they explained it and the people (said): “Yes, you have permission, off you go.”

The two disciples took the donkey and led it away and they put their mantles on the back of the donkey.

Jesus got on the donkey and they went and a multitude of people came and walked with them and they put their mantles on the road and cut branches of the trees and put them on the road.

Jesus was riding on the donkey and many people walked in front of him and behind him came many people and they were happy and shouted: “Praise be to God who has given the authority to Jesus, God bless his family, the descendants of King David of long ago, this is the blessed king, wow. God, save us now.”

The multitude was walking and Jesus was riding on the donkey and they arrived at the temple in Jerusalem and Jesus looked around in the temple, and since it was already late he went back to the village of Bethany.

Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

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Mark 11:1-11 in Russian Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 11:1-11 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:


Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество

Jesus and His twelve disciples were approaching the city of Jerusalem. In front of Jerusalem there is a mountain called the Mount of Olives. There are two villages near the mountain, Bethphage and Bethany. Jesus called the two disciples to him and said to them:

— Go to that village over there. There is a young donkey there. None of the people have ever ridden it before. The donkey will be tied up. You will untie him and bring him here. If, when you untie him, people will be displeased and will ask, “What is this for? Why are you untying him? What are you doing?”, answer them, “Our master needs this donkey,” and then people will allow it.

The two disciples went to the village, and there they saw a donkey tied at the gate. The disciples began to untie it. People saw it, started to come up and asked, “Why are you doing this? Why do you untie it?” The disciples answered as Jesus told them to. Then the people allowed it. The disciples brought the young donkey to Jesus. The disciples took off their cloaks and put them on the back of the donkey. Jesus sat on top and rode on top of the donkey. Many people gathered around. Many took off their cloaks and laid them on the road in front of Jesus. Others cut palm branches and laid them on the road. Jesus was riding on a donkey, and the people crowded around him, shouting:

— Jesus! Glory to you! May God bless you! You have come by the will of the Lord God! God bless you! You will reign! You are a descendant of King David. You will also reign! God’s glory is in heaven!

And Jesus continued to ride on the young donkey. Then Jesus entered Jerusalem. He went into the temple and looked around. It was late in the evening. Jesus and the 12 disciples traveled back to the village of Bethany.

Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):

Иисус с двенадцатью учениками подходили к городу Иерусалим. Перед Иерусалимом есть гора, называемая «Масличная». Возле горы есть две деревни — Вифагия и Вифания. Иисус подозвал к себе двух учеников и сказал им:

— Идите вон в ту деревню. Там есть молодой ослик. Никто из людей еще не ездил на нем верхом. Ослик будет привязан. Вы отвяжите его и приведите его сюда. Если, когда вы будете его отвязывать, люди будут недовольны и будут спрашивать: «Зачем это? Зачем вы его отвязываете? Что вы делаете?», ответьте им: «Нашему хозяину нужен этот осел», и тогда люди разрешат.

Два ученика отправились в деревню, там они увидели осла, привязанного у ворот. Ученики стали отвязывать его. Люди увидели это, стали подходить, стали спрашивать: «Зачем вы это делаете? Зачем отвязываете?» Ученики отвечали так, как велел им Иисус. Тогда люди разрешили. Ученики привели молодого осла к Иисусу. Ученики сняли с себя плащи и положили на спину осла. Иисус сел сверху и поехал верхом на осле. Множество людей собралось вокруг. Многие снимали свои одежды и стлали их по дороге, перед Иисусом. Другие срезали пальмовые ветви и клали их на дорогу. Иисус ехал верхом на осле, а вокруг толпились люди, и они кричали:

— Иисус! Слава тебе! Пусть Бог благословит тебя! Ты пришел по воле Господа Бога! бог благословляет тебя! Ты будешь царствовать! Ты потомок царя Давида. Ты также будешь царствовать! На небесах Божья слава!

А Иисус продолжал ехать верхом на молодом осле. И вот Иисус вступил в Иерусалим. Он вошел в храм, все там обошел и осмотрел. Был уже поздний вечер. Иисус и 12 учеников отправились обратно в деревню Вифания.

Back-translation by Luka Manevich

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complete verse (Mark 11:1)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 11:1:

  • Uma: “When they were close to the village of Yerusalem, they arrived at the village of Betfage and Betania on Zaitun Mountain. There Yesus ordered two of his disciples to go on ahead,” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then they were close to Awrusalam already because they were soon arriving at the villages of Betpage and Betani there at/on the hill Jaitun. Isa told two of his disciples to go ahead (of him).” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “They were now near to the city of Jerusalem for they were about to arrive in the town of Bethphage and the town of Bethany on the hill called Olive Place. Then Jesus sent two of his disciples,” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “As [plural] Jesus were approaching Jerusalem, they arrived across-from Betfage and Betania below the hill Olivo. He had-two of his disciples-go-ahead” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When they were close now to Jerusalem, being now there on the Hill of Olibo, that the barios of Betfage and Betania could now be seen, there was an errand Jesus caused two of his disciples to go on.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

olive

The olive family has over four hundred species in the world. Many of them grow in Africa, India, and Australia, but it is the one in the Bible, the European Olive Olea europaea, that has become famous. It is likely that the olive was domesticated in Egypt or the eastern Mediterranean basin in the third millennium B.C. The botanist Newberry argued that Egypt was its original home. We know from the Bible that olives grew in the hills of Samaria and in the foothills. There is a wild variety, called Olea europaea sylvestris, that is smaller than the domestic one; it produces a smaller fruit with less oil. The Apostle Paul refers to this wild variety in Romans 11:17 and 11:24. Olives are easily propagated by cuttings and by grafting fruitful species into less fruitful ones. They grow best on hillsides where the rain drains off quickly. The fruit forms by August but does not ripen until December or January.

The olive is not a big tree, reaching up to perhaps 10 meters (33 feet), but with pruning it is usually kept to around 5 meters (17 feet) tall. The leaves are grayish green above, and whitish underneath. The bark of young trees is silvery gray but gets darker and rougher as the tree ages. The trunk also gets twisted and hollow and may reach over a meter in thickness. Olives grow for hundreds of years, and some in Israel have possibly reached two thousand years.

The fruit of the olive is about 2 centimeters (1 inch) long and a bit more than a centimeter (1/2 inch) thick. It has a hard stone inside and a soft skin that covers the oily flesh. Today a mature tree may yield 10-20 kilograms (22-44 pounds) of fruit, which, when processed, will yield 1.3-2.6 kilograms (3.6 pounds) of oil.

For the Jews the “big three” trees were the vine, the fig, and the olive. People ate olive fruits, but more importantly, they squeezed the oil from the fruits, and used it for cooking, for lamps, for rubbing on the body, for medicine, and in religion. Jacob poured olive oil on the stone where he saw a vision of angels, declaring it a holy place (Genesis 28:18). Moses, similarly, anointed the Tabernacle and its equipment with olive oil mixed with sweet-smelling resins (Exodus 40:9). Aaron and the priests who served in the Tabernacle were also anointed (Exodus 29:21).

Some types of wild olive grow in Africa, India, and Australia, but are not well-known. The so-called “African olive” produces a black, oil-bearing fruit much like an olive. It is common as a snack in northern Nigeria. The “Chinese olive” is also a species of Canarium and may be a possible cultural substitute, if it produces edible fruit and oil. The “Russian olive” grown in dry regions of the world is a member of the Elaeagnus family and not a true olive. A variety of olive (Olea cuspidate) is used for building in India and Nepal, but it is probably not possible to use it in the Bible except perhaps in a study Bible where you could say that the biblical olive was related to this tree.

Since most of the kinds of olive trees in the world do not have edible fruit, it may not be possible to substitute a local variety. If it is done, however, a footnote would be required saying that the Palestinian kind produced edible fruit and oil. If a variety of Canarium is eaten in your area, you could use the local name for it. Otherwise transliterate from a major language.

Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane, Wikimedia Commons

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

Translation commentary on Mark 11:1

Exegesis:

Bethany was about two miles from Jerusalem, while Bethphage was closer, probably less than one mile from the city; Dalman (op. cit., 252) calls it “a suburb, but not a separate unit” of the city of Jerusalem.

eggizousin (cf. 1.15) ‘they approach.’

to oros tōn elaiōn (13.3; 14.26) ‘the Mount of Olives.’

apostellei (cf. 1.2) ‘he sends.’

Translation:

To Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany has been translated in some instances in such a way as to suggest that the crowd approached three different cities all at the same time. Actually, to Bethphage and Bethany is a kind of appositional explanation of the previous prepositional phrase, meaning ‘that is to say, to the outlying towns of Bethphage and Bethany,’ which were considered as essentially a part of the larger city unit. To make this clear one can sometimes use ‘that is’ as an introductory phrase. As a classifier for the small towns of Bethphage and Bethany, one may be able to employ some term which indicates small dependent towns on the outskirts of a larger city.

As in all instances of transliteration, one must check for possible meanings in strange words. For example, in one language in Mexico the normal transliteration of Bethphage turned out to mean ‘a debt tomorrow.’ By a slight modification in the transliterated form all possibility of misinterpretation was eliminated.

At as a preposition used with the Mount of Olives is so indefinite that it is often not readily translatable, especially in languages which require somewhat more precise indications of locations. In this instance one can say ‘on the slope of the Mount of Olives’ or ‘on the side of the Mount of Olives,’ or as in some languages ‘on the skirt of the Mount of Olives.’

Olives refers to the ‘olive trees,’ not to the fruit. In most instances the practice is to transliterate Olives, and use it strictly as a proper name, though in some instances a classifier such as ‘trees’ is employed, e.g. ‘high hill on which there were olive trees’ or ‘Mount of Olive trees.’ In some translations, however, the local equivalent of the olive tree is employed, though olive trees do not have a very wide geographical distribution. Mount should not be translated in such a way as to give the impression of a high mountain, for in comparison with the surrounding terrain it is only a high hill, even though it does rise somewhat higher than the surrounding hills.

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 .