The Greek and Latin that is translated as “resurrection” in English is translated in Chicahuaxtla Triqui and Pohnpeian as “live-up” (i.e. return to life) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel) and in Iloko as panagungar: a term that stems “from the word ‘agungar,’ an agricultural term used to describe the coming back to life of a plant which was wilting but which has been watered by the farmer, or of a bulb which was apparently dead but grows again.” (Source: G. Henry Waterman in The Bible Translator 1960, p. 24ff. )
Likewise, in Matumbiyu’ya carries the meaning of “raise from the dead, resuscitate, come back from near death” and is used for dry plants that come back to life when you water them or sick children who revive after being healed. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
In Estado de México Otomi, it is translated as “people will be raised from the dead,” in Teutila Cuicatec as “the dead having to come to life again,” in San Mateo del Mar Huave as “arose from the grave” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), and in Kriol as gidap laibala brom dedbala or “get up alive from the dead” (source: Sam Freney in this article .)
Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)
Los saduceos, que no creen en la resurección, ellos también vinieron diciendo: “Maestro, una pregunta. Hace mucho Moisés escribó la ley que dice que si un hombre casa una mujer y el hombre se muere y no hay hijos le toca a su hermano casar la misma mujer para que nazcan hijos para su hermano.
Oye, una pregunta de ejemplo: había siete hermanos y el mayor se casó con una mujer, después el hombre murió y no había hijos, y le tocó al segundo hermano a casar la misma mujer, pero el hombre se murió y no había hijos.
En la misma manera les tocó al tercero hermano, el cuarto, el quinto, el sexto y el séptimo, todos los hermanos muerieron sin que la mujer tuviera hijos, y también la mujer murió.
En el futuro todas las personas resucitarán, también los siete hermanos y la mujer pero la mujer ha sido casado en la misma manera a los siete hermanos. ¿Quién de ellos será su esposo, cuál?”
Jesús (dijo): “Ay, uds están equivocados porque no entienden la palabra de Dios, uds no saben qué tan poderoso es Dios.
Oigan, en el cielo los ángeles no se casan, y en la misma manera las personas que mueren y resucitarán en el futuro no se casarán. Uds los Saduceos piensan que no hay resurección pero uds están equivocados.
Oigan, miren, el rollo que Moisés escribió ¿uds jamás lo han leído? ¿No saben? Mucho antes cuando Moisés vio el arbusto en llamas Dios le habló y dijo: “Moisés, yo soy Dios; Abraham, Isaac y Jacob creían en mi.”
Los tres adentro todavía viven, uds piensan que murieron y después de mucho tiempo desintegraron pero uds están equivocados.”
The Sadducees, who do not believe in the resurrection, came also saying: “Teacher, we ave a question. Long ago Moses wrote the law which says that when a man marries a woman and the man dies without their being children it falls to his brother to marry the same woman so that children are born for his brother.
“Listen, a question that is an example: there were seven brothers and the oldest married a woman, then the man died and there were no children and it fell to the second brother to marry the same woman, but the man died and there were no children.
“In the same way it fell to the third brother, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth and the seventh, all the brothers died without the woman having children, and the woman also died.
“In the future all the people will be resurrected and also the seven brothers and the woman, but the woman has been married to the seven brothers in the same way. Who of them will be her husband, which one?”
Jesus (said): “Oh, you are mistaken, because you don’t understand the Word of God, you do not know how powerful God is.
“Listen, in heaven the angels do not marry, and in the same way the people who die and will be resurrected in the future wil not get married. You Sadducees think there is no resurrection but you are mistaken.
“Listen, look, the scroll that Moses wrote, have you never read it? Don’t you know? Long ago when Moses saw the burning bush God spoke to him and said: “Moses, I am God, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob believed in me.”
“The three of them are still living inside, you think that they died and after a long time decomposed but you are mistaken.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 12:18:
Uma: “After that, several Saduki people came to Yesus. Those Saduki people were Yahudi religion leaders who rejected [the concept of] dead people living again on a future day. When those Saduki people arrived, they said to Yesus:” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “After that some Sadduseo went to Isa, (they are) Yahudi who do not believe that the dead will live again in the last day/in later days. They asked him, they said,” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “There were also some Sadducee people who went to Jesus. The Sadducees are the Jews who believe that nobody will be raised from the dead in the future.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “There were also some Sadducees who went to Jesus. They are a party/group of Jews who say that the dead don’t live again. They said to him,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “The next who went to Jesus were the Saduceo, for they questioned Jesus. As for these Saduceo, they uphold that those who have died aren’t made alive again.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Saddoukaioi (only here in Mark) ‘Sadducees’: as in the similar case in 10.12, the meaning here is ‘some Sadducees.’ They were not so much a religious party (as the Pharisees), but more of a social class, or elite, composed mostly of the priests (cf. Acts 5.17). The traditionalists of their day, they rejected all “innovations”, including the idea of the resurrection, angels, etc. (cf. Acts 23.8).
hoitines legousin ‘who say,’ ‘who affirm’: this is said of the Sadducees as a party, not just of the individuals who came to Jesus.
anastasin mē einai ‘resurrection not to be’: the indirect form, with the verb in the infinitive and the subject in the accusative case (cf. 8.27). The equivalent, in the direct form, is ‘there is no resurrection.’
anastasis (12.23; cf. anistēmi 8.31) ‘resurrection’: this, of course, is eschatological, referring to the resurrection on the last day.
epērōtōn (cf. 5.9) ‘they asked (a question).’
Translation:
Who say there is no resurrection must usually be brought closer to the subject expression, either as a relative clause, e.g. ‘the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him’ or as a paratactically combined statement, e.g. ‘the Sadducees say there is no resurrection; they came to him.’
In view of the fact that resurrection is a process, it is very commonly translated as a verb expression: ‘to rise from the dead is not’ (Sediz), ‘the dead will never rise’ (Southern Subanen), ‘people do not rise from the dead’ (Amganad Ifugao).
Saying, as an extra verb of speaking, may not be required in some languages; in fact, it may be entirely misleading after a statement of ‘asking’ or ‘questioning.’ It should be noted, however, that the immediately following sentences are not questions. The question does not come until verse 23, and hence the introductory verb should agree with receptor-language usage.
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 .
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