1:13a

and He was there for forty days, being tempted by Satan: The phrase for forty days indicates the time period during which Jesus was tempted by Satan.

The verb being tempted is passive. In some languages it may be natural to use an active verb. For example:

He stayed there for forty days while Satan tempted him.

tempted: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as tempted has more than one meaning. Scholars differ about what it means in this context:

(1) It means “to try to cause someone to sin,” that is, “to entice/encourage someone to do what is wrong.” For example, the New International Version says:

being tempted by Satan (New International Version, 2011 edition)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, Good News Bible, Revised English Bible, New American Standard Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation, New Century Version, NET Bible, English Standard Version)

(2) It means “to test.” For example, the Contemporary English Version says:

while Satan tested him (Contemporary English Version)

(Contemporary English Version, New Jerusalem Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most English versions and scholars.

In some languages, a statement such as “Satan tempted Jesus” implies that Jesus yielded to the temptation. If that is true in your language, you may need to make clear that Satan only tried to cause Jesus to sin. For example:

Satan tried to tempt him.

Satan: The word Satan is the Hebrew name of the chief or leader of all the evil spirits. In Hebrew his name means “enemy.” He is the enemy of God and God’s people. Here are some ways to translate Satan:

• Use a local name or idiom that refers to the chief of all demons.

• Use a descriptive phrase such as:

the chief/leader of the evil spirits
-or-
the spirit enemy of God

• Transliterate the name Satan. If this word is not already known in your area, you may also want to add a descriptive phrase. For example:

Satanas, the ruler of demons
-or-
Shaitan

If you transliterate Satan or borrow a word from another language, be sure that it communicates the biblical meaning to people in your culture. It is important to check this in each biblical context.

Try to use a term that will be acceptable to churches in the area. It is suggested that you also add a footnote or glossary entry that further explains who Satan is. For example:

Satan is the leader of all the evil spirits or demons. Once he was an angel in heaven, but he rebelled against God. God expelled him from heaven, and now he tempts people on earth. Here are other names for Satan that are used in the Bible: “Beelzebul,” “the Devil,” “the Evil One,” “the Enemy,” and “the Tempter.”

1:13b

He was with the wild animals: The phrase He was with the wild animals implies that no other people lived in this place where Jesus had gone. Jesus was in a desolate, uninhabited area where only wild animals lived.

He: The pronoun He refers to Jesus. In some languages it may be necessary to make it explicit that He refers to Jesus rather than to Satan.

1:13c

This part of the verse tells another fact about the time when Jesus was in the wilderness. Angels were helping him. This help contrasted with the difficulties that Mark mentioned in 1:13a–b, so the Good News Bible uses a connector that shows contrast:

Wild animals were there also, but angels came and helped him. (Good News Bible)

However, your translation should not imply that wild beasts would have harmed Jesus if the angels had not helped him. Connect this part of the verse to the context in a natural way in your language.

the angels ministered to Him: This is the first time that angels are mentioned in the book of Mark. In some languages, it may be necessary to introduce them in some way before saying that they attended Jesus. For example:

and there were angels who took care of him
-or-
and some angels came and gave him what he needed

the angels: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as angels means “messengers.” It refers here to spirit beings who serve God. Sometimes God sends an angel to give a message to human beings. He also sends angels to serve him in other ways. Some ways to translate this term are:

• Use a descriptive word or phrase. For example:

messengers from God/heaven
-or-
good/holy spirit-beings

• Use a local term that fits the biblical meaning.

• In some areas the churches may already be using a borrowed term or a transliterated word for “angel.” If you use this term, be sure that it fits the biblical meaning. If some people do not understand the right meaning from it, you may need to indicate the meaning in some way. For example:

an angelos messenger from God
-or-
a sacred angelos spirit

Be sure that your term for “angel” is different from your terms for “prophet” and “apostle.” See angel, Meaning 1, in the Glossary for a chart that shows the differences in these three terms.

ministered to Him: In this context, the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as ministered to Him means “served him.” It indicates that angels helped him in various ways.

According to Matthew 4:11, the angels came after Satan had finished tempting Jesus. However, the verb form here in Mark indicates that the angels helped Jesus over a period of time or perhaps at various times. Your translation should have that meaning.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

took care of him (New Living Translation)
-or-
helped him (Good News Bible)

© 2008 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.