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.”
Here is a group of Sadducees. They believed that a person lives, dies, but then does not rise again. A person disappears after death — and that’s it. That’s what they thought. And then one day they met Jesus and began to ask him:
— Teacher! In the Law of Moses it is clearly written that if a man married a woman and if this man died and had no children, then this man’s brother must marry the widow. The children born in this marriage will be the continuation of the name of the deceased man, to continue his line. So it is written. Let’s look at this example. One man had seven brothers. This man got married, then died, and he had no children. The second brother also married this woman, and the second brother also died, and had no children. And the third brother also married her and also died, and had no children. And so did the fourth brother, and the fifth, sixth, and finally the seventh. The woman was left a lonely widow, and after some time she also died. Then this woman will be resurrected. Then whose wife of the seven brothers will she be? After all, all seven of them were her husbands. How will that be?
Jesus answered:
— You think that a person dies and then there is no resurrection. You are mistaken! You distort what the Scripture says! You do not understand the power of God! When a person is resurrected after death, there will no longer be marriage. There, everyone will be like angels. The Scripture says that in ancient times Moses saw a burning bush, and from there God said to him: Here is Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. I am the God of each of them!
Do you really think they all died? Of course not. They all have life.
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
Вот группа саддукеи. Они считали, что человек живет, умирает, но потом не воскресает. Человек после смерти исчезает — и все. Так они думали. И вот однажды они повстречали Иисуса и стали спрашивать его:
— Учитель! В Законе Моисея точно написано, что если человек вступил в брак с женщиной и если этот человек умер, а детей у него не было, то брат этого человека должен взять в жены вдову. Дети, которые родятся в этом браке будут продолжением имени умершего человека, продолжат его род. Так написано. Рассмотрим такой пример. У одного человека было семь братьев. Этот человек женился, затем умер, а детей у него не было. Второй брат тоже женился на этой женщине, и второй брат тоже умер, а детей не было. И третий брат тоже женился на ней и тоже умер, а детей не было. И так же четвертый брат, и пятый, шестой, и наконец последний седьмой. Женщина осталось одинокой вдовой, а через какое-то время и она умерла. Потом эта женщина воскреснет. Тогда чьей женой из семерых братьев она будет? Они ведь все семь были ее мужьями. Как же тогда?
Иисус ответил:
— Вот вы считаете, что человек умирает, а потом воскресенья нет. Вы заблуждаетесь! Вы искажаете то, что говорит Писание! Вы не понимаете силу Бога! Когда человек воскресает после смерти, то там уже не будет брака. Там все будут, как ангелы. В Писании говорится, что в древности Моисей увидел горящий куст, и оттуда Бог сказал ему: Вот Авраам, Исаак, Иаков. Я — Бог каждого из них!
Неужели вы думаете, что все они умерли? Конечно, нет. У всех у них есть жизнь.
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 12:23:
Uma: “So, on the future day, if all the dead indeed do live again, who of them will have that woman, for seven of them married her.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Na, Sir,’ they said, ‘in the day when the dead will live again, whose wife will she be? And-what’s-more all seven brothers had her as wife.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “In the future when people are raised from the dead, who will really be the husband of the woman? For all of the seven brothers married her.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Now then, at the future day at the living again of the dead, which perhaps among them will be her correct spouse (lit. spouse owner)? Because they all married her.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well now, who of those seven is her husband when/if those who have died will be made alive again, since they all married her?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
The clause hotan anastōsin ‘when they rise’ following anastasei ‘resurrection,’ is omitted by Westcott and Hort, Souter, and Revised Standard Version, but retained by all other modern editions of the Greek text. (For the textual evidence, strong in favor of omission, cf. Taylor.)
Exegesis:
en tē anastasei (cf. v. 18) ‘in the (Day of) resurrection.’
hotan anastōsin is impersonal ‘when they rise,’ i.e. ‘when men are raised (from the dead on the resurrection Day).’ Cf. v. 25.
hotan (cf. 11.19) ‘when,’ referring to a single definite event.
eschon ‘they had’: for the use of this verb with the meaning of ‘have’ or ‘possess’ cf. 6.18. The phrase ‘had her as wife’ means ‘married her.’
Translation:
For resurrection compare 12.18, and note also the expressions for rise again 9.9.
The first clause may be variously translated, e.g. ‘when people rise from the dead to whom will she be a wife’ or ‘… who will have her for a wife,’ or ‘… to whom will she belong.’
The seven, as a numeral substitute for a noun expression (compare the use of the Twelve), may require a noun complement, e.g. ‘the seven men’ or ‘the seven brothers.’
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 .
The Sadducees finished their sad story in 12:22. In 12:23 they asked Jesus the question that they had prepared. In some languages it may be necessary to indicate that the Sadducees have finished their story and will now ask Jesus a question. The Berean Standard Bible includes the word “then” in the middle of the question to indicate this. Here are some other ways to say this:
So tell us, whose wife will she be… (New Living Translation) -or- So now, whose wife will she be…
12:23a
In the resurrection:
There is a textual issues in 12:23a. After the word resurrection, some Greek manuscripts have the phrase “when they are raised.” (1) Some Greek manuscripts do not have this phrase. For example, the Contemporary English Version says: “When God raises people from death, whose wife will this woman be?” (New International Version, Revised Standard Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version). (2) Other manuscripts have the phrase when they are raised. For example, the NET Bible says: “In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be?” (Good News Bible, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English). The Berean Standard Bible follows the manuscripts that include when they are raised, but it translates the phrases “In the resurrection” and “when they rise again” together as one phrase. In your translation, you could follow the option that is most clear and natural in your language.) The resurrection refers to the time when God will cause people who have died to live again. The Sadducees did not believe that this would ever happen. They referred to it in this story only to make belief in a resurrection look foolish.
whose wife will she be: The Sadducees asked Jesus to say which of the seven men would be her husband when God caused people to live again. The Sadducees thought that there was no good answer to this question.
12:23b
For: The Greek connector that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For introduces an explanation of 12:23a. Some English versions use “since” or “after all” here or do not use a connector. Use a natural way to connect 12:23a and 12:23b in your language.
all seven were married to her: The Sadducees referred here to the seven brothers who had married the one woman. The Sadducees implied that this would create an impossible situation in the resurrection. They believed that no woman could have seven husbands at the same time.
General Comment on 12:23a–b
In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of information in this verse. For example:
23b So, because all seven brothers had married the woman, 23awhose wife will she be when dead people live again?
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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