Jesus and the four disciples came to the town of Capernaum. There is a house of prayer there. It was where the Jews gathered together every Sabbath to pray, to teach, to listen. It was the Sabbath day. Jesus went in there. He began to teach. The people listened attentively. They wondered:
— How is he teaching? There used to be teachers of the law, but here he was different; it was as if God had given him authority.
The people marveled. Suddenly some man jumped up. Satan was in him. He began to shout fearfully:
— You, Jesus of Nazareth! Why have you come here to us? You are planning to destroy us! I know you! God has chosen you!
Jesus looked at him and said:
— Be quiet! The demon in this man, get out!
The demon inside the man began to scream and thrash and jumped out, and the man fell down. The people around marveled, people began to say:
— How can this be? Jesus has the power to command Satan and Satan obeys.
The rumor of this miracle spread everywhere.
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
Иисус вместе с четырьмя учениками прибыли в город Капернаум. Там есть дом молитвы. Туда каждую субботу собирались иудеи вместе, чтобы молиться, учить, слушать. Был день суббота. Иисус зашел туда. Начал учить. Народ слушал внимательно. Все удивлялись:
— Как это он учит? Раньше ходили учителя закона, но вот он совсем другой; как будто бы Бог дал ему власть.
Народ удивлялся. Вдруг вскочил какой-то человек. Сатана был в нем. Он начал страшно кричать:
— Ты, Иисус из Назарета! Ты зачем пришел сюда к нам? Ты задумал нас истребить! Я знаю тебя! Бог избрал тебя!
Иисус посмотрел на него и сказал:
— Замолчи! Бес в этом человеке, выйди вон!
Бес внутри человека стал кричать, биться и выскочил вон, а человек упал. Народ вокруг изумился, люди начали говорить:
— Как же это?! Иисус имеет власть приказывать сатане и сатана слушается.
Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)
El sábado, el día de descanso, las personas fueron al templo y Jesús enseñaba.
La gente lo miró y pensó: antes de esto siempre hemos visto los maestros de la ley, primero aprenden algo y luego lo enseñan, pero Jesús es diferente, él sabe todo completo y enseña bien, ¡huy!
Mientras las personas estaban viendo (a Jesús) se paró un hombre que tenía un demonio adentro y gritó interrompiendo a las personas, y ellos se volvieron a ver el hombre que fue al frente y empezó a insultar a Jesús: ¿Tú, para qué has venido?, tú que vives en Nazaret, te conozco, huy, tú eres el santo de Dios, tú has venido para destruirme.
Jesús (dijo): “Silencio, te expulso, demonio”, y el hombre cayó en el piso convulsionando y pateando y el demonio adentro de él gritó y lo dejó.
Las personas lo vieron con asombro: ¿cómo es posible? Él, Jesús, puede enseñar en una manera nueva, puede expulsar demonios, lo obedecen y se piran, ¡huy!
La gente se levantó y en su camino advertieron y contaron (lo que había pasado) y se difundió por Galilea.
On Saturday, the day of rest, the people went to the religious building and Jesus taught.
The people watched him and thought: before this we have always seen the teachers of the law, they learn first and then they teach it, but Jesus is different, he knows it completely and he teaches well, wow!
As the people were watching (Jesus) a man who had a demon inside stood up and shouted, interrupting the people so that they all turned to see the man. He went to the front and started insulting Jesus: What have you come for? You, who live in Nazareth, I know you, wow, you are the holy one of God, you have come in order to destroy me.
Jesus (said): “Silence, get out demon”, the man fell on the ground writhing and kicking and inside him the demon screamed and left him.
The people watched him in amazement: How is this possible? He, Jesus can teach in a new way, he can throw out demons and they obey him and go away, wow!
The people got up and on their way they let people know and told them (what had happened) and it spread throughout Galilee.
The Greek Iēsous is “only” a proper name but one with great importance. The following quote by John Ellington (in The Bible Translator1993, p. 401ff. ) illustrates this:
“In Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus Christ, Joseph is told that when Mary gives birth to a son ‘you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins’ (1:21). This name is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name [Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) which is a short form of a name meaning] ‘the Lord [Yahweh] saves.’ The name is very significant and is in itself especially dear to Christians around the world. (…) Unquestionably great importance is attached to the name of Jesus by Christians of all persuasions and backgrounds.”
While Iēsous (pronounced: /i.ɛː.suːs/) is transliterated as “Jesus” (pronounced /ˈdʒiːzəs/) in English (but was translated as “Hælend” [the “healing one”] in Old English — see Swain 2019) it is transliterated and pronounced in a large variety of other ways as well, following the different rules of different languages’ orthographies, writing systems and rules of pronunciation. The following is a (partial) list of forms of Jesus in Latin characters: aYeso, Azezi, Cecoc, Chesús, Chi̍i̍sū, Ciisahs, Ciise, Ciisusu, Djesu, Ɛisa, Ƹisa, Eyesu, Gesù, Gesû, Gesü, Ġesù, Ghjesù, Giêsu, ꞌGiê‑ꞌsu, Giê-xu, Gyisɛse, Hesu, Hesús, Hisus, Hisuw, Ià-sŭ, Iesen, Ié:sos, Iesu, Iesui, Iesusɨn, Iesusiva, Ié:sos, Ihu, Iisus, Iisussa, Ijeesu, iJisọsị, Iji̍sɔ̄ɔsi, Iosa, Íosa, Ìosa, İsa, I’sa, Isiso, Isõs, Ísu, Isus, Isusa, Iisussa, Isuthi, Itota, Îtu, Isuva, Izesu, Izesuq, Jasus, Jeeju, Jeesus, Jeesuse, Jeezas, Jehu, Jeisu, Jeju, Jejus, Jeso, Jesoe, Jesosa, Jesoshi, Jesosy, Jesu, Jesû, Jesua, Jesuh, Jesuhs, Jesuo, Jesús, Jésus, Jesúsu, Jethu, Jezed, Jezi, Jézi, Ježiš, Jezu, Jezus, Jézus, Jėzus, Jēzus, Jezusi, Jėzus, Jezuz, Jiijajju, Jíísas, Jiizas, Jíìzọ̀s, Jisas, Jisase, Jisasi, Jisasɨ, Jisaso, Jisesi, Jisɛ̀, Jisos, Jisọs, Jisɔs, Jisu, Jiszs, Jizọs, Jizɔs, Jizọsi, Jizọsu, Jòso, Jusu, Jweesus, Ketsutsi, Njises, Sesi, Sisa, Sísa, Sisas, Sīsū, Sizi, Txesusu, uJesu, Ujísɔ̄si, ŵaYesu, Xesosi, ´Xesús, Xesús, Yasu, Ya:su, Ɣaysa, Yecu, Yeeb Sub, Yeeh Suh, Yeesey, Yeeso, Yeesso, Yēēsu, Yēēsu, Yehsu, Yëësu, Yeisu, Yeisuw, Yeshu, Yeso, Yesò, Yëso, Yɛso, ye-su, Yésu, Yêsu, Yẹ́sụ̃, Yésʉs, Yeswa, Yet Sut, Yetut, Yexus, Yezo, Yezu, Yiesu, Yiisa, Yiisu, Yiitju, Yis, Yisɔs, Yisufa, Yitati, Yusu, ‑Yusu, :Yusu’, Zeezi, Zezi, Zezì, Zezwii, Ziizɛ, Zisas, Zîsɛ, Zjezus, Zozi, Zozii, and this (much more incomplete) list with other writings systems: ᔩᓱᓯ, ᒋᓴᔅ, Հիսուս, ᏥᏌ, ኢየሱስ, ያሱስ, ܝܫܘܥ, Ісус, Їисъ, 耶稣, იესო, ईसा, イエス, イイスス, イエスス, 예수, येशू, येशो, ਈਸਾ, ພຣະເຢຊູ, ජේසුස්, যীশু, ଯୀଶୁ, ཡེ་ཤུ་, ‘ঈছা, இயேசு, ಯೇಸು, ພຣະເຢຊູ, ယေရှု, ઇસુ, जेजू, येसु, เยซู, យេស៊ូ, ᱡᱤᱥᱩ, ယေသှု, యేసు, ᤕᤧᤛᤢ᤺ᤴ, އީސާގެފާނު, ਯਿਸੂ, ꕉꖷ ꔤꕢ ꕞ, ⵏ⵿ⵗⵢⵙⴰ, ଜୀସୁ, يَسُوعَ,ㄧㄝㄙㄨ, YE-SU, ꓬꓰ꓿ꓢꓴ, 𖽃𖽡𖾐𖼺𖽹𖾏𖼽𖽔𖾏, ꑳꌠ, ᠶᠡᠰᠦᠰ (note that some of these might not display correctly if your device does not have the correct fonts installed).
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In some languages the different confessions have selected different transliterations, such as in Belarusian with Isus (Ісус) by the Orthodox and Protestant churches and Yezus (Езус) by the Catholic church, Bulgarian with Iisus (Иисус) by the Orthodox and Isus (Исус) by the Protestant church, Japanese with Iesu (イエス) (Protestant and Catholic) and Iisusu (イイスス) (Orthodox), or Lingala with Yesu (Protestant) or Yezu (Catholic). These differences have come to the forefront especially during the work on interconfessional translations such as one in Lingala where “many hours were spent on a single letter difference” (source: Ellington, p. 401).
In Literary and Mandarin Chinese where transliterations of proper names between the Catholic and Protestant versions typically differ vastly, the Chinese name of Jesus (Yēsū 耶稣) remarkably was never brought into question between and by those two confessions, likely due to its ingenious choice. (Click or tap here to see more).
The proper name of God in the Old Testament, Yahweh (YHWH), is rendered in most Chinese Bible translations as Yēhéhuá 耶和華 — Jehovah. According to Chinese naming conventions, Yēhéhuá could be interpreted as Yē Héhuá, in which Yē would be the family name and Héhuá — “harmonic and radiant” — the given name. In the same manner, Yē 耶 would be the family name of Jesus and Sū 稣 would be his given name. Because in China the children inherit the family name from the father, the sonship of Jesus to God the Father, Jehovah, would be illustrated through this. Though this line of argumentation sounds theologically unsound, it is indeed used effectively in the Chinese church (see Wright 1953, p. 298).
Moreover, the “given name” of Sū 稣 carries the meaning ‘to revive, to rise again’ and seems to point to the resurrected Jesus. (Source: J. Zetzsche in Malek 2002, p. 141ff., see also tetragrammaton (YHWH))
There are different ways that Bible translators have chosen historically and today in how to translate the name of Jesus in predominantly Muslim areas: with a form of the Arabic Isa (عيسى) (which is used for “Jesus” in the Qur’an), the Greek Iēsous, or, like major 20th century Bible translations into Standard Arabic, the Aramaic Yēšūaʿ: Yasua (يَسُوعَ). (Click or tap here to see more.)
Following are languages and language groups that use a form of Isa include the following (note that this list is not complete):
In Indonesian, while most Bible translations had already used Yesus Kristus rather than Isa al Masih, three public holidays used to be described using the term Isa Al Masih. From 2024 on the government is using Yesus Kristus in those holiday names instead (see this article in Christianity Today ).
Some languages have additional “TAZI” editions (TAZI stands for “Tawrat, Anbiya, Zabur, and Injil” the “Torah, Prophets, Psalms and Gospel”) of the New Testament that are geared towards Muslim readers where there is also a translation in the same language for non-Muslims. In those editions, Isa is typically used as well (for example, the Khmer TAZI edition uses Isa (អ៊ីសា) rather than the commonly used Yesaou (យេស៊ូ), the Thai edition uses Isa (อีซา) rather than Yesu (เยซู), the Chinese edition uses Ěrsā (尔撒) vs. Yēsū (耶稣), and the English edition also has Isa rather than Jesus.)
In German the name Jesus (pronounced: /ˈjeːzʊs/) is distinguished by its grammatical forms. Into the 20th century the grammatical rules prescribed a unique Greek-Latin declination: Jesus (nominative), Jesu (genitive, dative, vocative), Jesum (accusative), from which today only the genitive case “Jesu” is still in active use. Likewise, in Seediq (Taroko), the morphological treatment of “Jesus” also occupies a special category by not falling under the normal rule of experiencing a vowel reduction when the object-specific suffix an is added “since it was felt that the readers might resent that the name has been changed that drastically.” (Compare Msian for “Moses” (Mosi) as an object, but Yisuan for “Jesus” (Yisu).) (Source: Covell 1998. p. 249)
In Lamba the name ŵaYesu consists of a transliteration Yesu and the prefix ŵa, a plural form for “proper names when addressing and referring to persons in any position of seniority or honor.” While this was avoided in early translations to avoid possible misunderstandings of more than one Jesus, once the church was established it was felt that it was both “safe” and respectful to use the honorific (pl.) prefix. (Source C. M. Doke in The Bible Translator 1958, p. 57ff. )
In virtually all sign languages, “Jesus” is signed with the middle finger of each hand pointing to the palm (or wrist) of the other in succession (signing the nails of the cross). In the context of Bible translation this has been pointed out as theologically problematic since the “semantic connections of the original name Jesus do point towards ‘salvation,’ they do not naturally lead to crucifixion.” (Source: Phil King in Journal of Translation 1 (2020), p. 33ff.)
Following is the oldest remaining Ethiopian Orthodox icon of Jesus from the 14th or possibly 13th century (found in the Church of the Saviour of the World in Gurji, Ethiopia). As in many Orthodox icons, Jesus’ right hand forms the Greek letters I-C-X-C for IHCOYCXPICTOC or “Jesus Christ.” Another interpretation of the right hand is that it shows three fingers pointing to the Trinity, while the two other fingers point to Jesus’ two natures.
Orthodox icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
The style of the following drawing of Jesus by Annie Vallotton is described by the artist as this: “By using few lines the readers fill in the outlines with their imagination and freedom. That is when the drawings begin to communicate.” (see here )
Illustration by Annie Vallotton, copyright by Donald and Patricia Griggs of Griggs Educational Service.
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.
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®).
epetimesēn (3.12; 4.39; 8.30, 32, 33; 9.25; 10.13, 48) ‘he rebuked.’ The verb literally means ‘to lay a timē [price, value] upon’ and originally it had a favorable meaning (cf. Abbott-Smith); in the N.T. however, it has the unfavorable meaning of ‘censure,’ ‘rebuke’ and even ‘punish.’ Moulton & Milligan: ‘censure,’ ‘lay under a penalty.’ This idea of censure, however, disappears in many instances; Arndt & Gingrich remark: “speak seriously, warn in order to prevent an action or bring one to an end,” and Kilpatrick finds this meaning uniformly in Mark; it is a command, rather than a reproof, and is specifically a prohibition, “desist from an action being performed” (cf. Lagrange: “issue a formal command”). In this verse, therefore, ‘prohibit,’ ‘stop,’ ‘command’ is to be preferred to ‘rebuke.’
autō ‘him’ or ‘it’: although, as we saw above, the subject of the verb ‘cried out’ is the man, not the spirit, the pronoun autō in this verse refers to the unclean spirit, as the content of the order which follows shows. A translation should make this clear: “him” (King James Version, American Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, Translator’s New Testament, Manson, Knox) is ambiguous and possibly misleading; ‘it’ (Moffatt) is clear (cf. The Modern Speech New Testament, “the spirit”).
phimōthēti (4.39) ‘be silent!’: the literal meaning of the verb phimoō ‘bridle,’ ‘muzzle’ does not survive in Mark; Moulton & Milligan quote Rohde on the use of this word with the sense of binding a person by means of a spell so as to make him powerless to harm, and give examples from the papyri. Notice that the only other place it is used in Mark (4.39), it is addressed to the storm.
Translation:
The introductory verb in this verse may be translated as ‘rebuke’ (in the sense of ‘scold’ or ‘censure’), but it is probably more accurately rendered as ‘to command sternly.’
The second verb of direct discourse, namely, saying is probably better omitted in most languages.
If the language in question distinguishes in pronominal reference between a demon and a man, one should make certain that the object of the command is the demon. In some instances it may even be wise to introduce the noun object, e.g. ‘sternly commanded the unclean spirit.’
Be silent is in Greek a firm, but not undignified way of demanding silence, equivalent more to English keep quiet than to shut up.
Whether one can translate literally ‘come out’ depends largely upon the manner in which people speak of demon possession. For example, in Yaka demons do not get into people, but are spoken of as ‘grabbing people,’ hence the appropriate term in this case would be ‘let go.’ In Amganad Ifugao the normal way of speaking would be ‘get out,’ not ‘come out.’ The appropriate term in any language will, as in all such types of problems, depend upon the traditional perspective reflected in normal 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 .
But Jesus rebuked the Spirit. “Be silent,” He said: In Greek the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as He said occurs at the beginning of the sentence. Place it wherever it is natural in your language.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
Jesus commanded the evil spirit, “Be quiet!” (New Century Version) -or-
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent” (New Revised Standard Version) -or-
“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly (New International Version)
Be silent: The command Be silent uses a singular verb form. Jesus was speaking to the one demon who called him the Holy One of God.
1:25b
Come out of him!: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Come out is a normal way in Greek to speak of a demon releasing control of a person. It indicates here that Jesus commanded the demon to leave the man and stop controlling him.
In some cultures, people do not think of demons as being in a person. If that is true in your language, it may not be natural to speak of them coming or going out of a person. Use a natural expression in your language for when a demon stops controlling a person.
Here are some other ways you could say this:
Leave him! -or-
Release him!
Translate this command in a way that fits the expression you used for the phrase “with an unclean spirit” in 1:23a.
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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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