Translation commentary on Mark 13:13

Exegesis:

misoumenoi (only here in Mark) ‘hated,’ ‘detested.’

dia to onoma mou ‘because of my name,’ i.e. ‘on account of me’ (cf. v. 9). ‘Because you bear my name’ (Goodspeed); ‘because of your allegiance to me’ (Manson); ‘because you are called by my name’ (The Modern Speech New Testament).

ho … hupomeinas (only here in Mark) ‘he who endures,’ ‘he who perseveres,’ ‘he who remains firm.’

eis telos ‘to the end,’ ‘until the end’: either in a general sense, ‘until the persecution and hatred are ended,’ or, in a special sense, ‘until one’s life is ended.’ The context would seem to favor the second alternative. Swete and Taylor take it adverbially, ‘finally,’ ‘completely.’

sōthēsetai (cf. 3.4) ‘shall be saved’ in the theological sense.

Translation:

You will be hated by all is easily shifted to the active when necessary, e.g. ‘all people will hate you.’

To the end must generally be made somewhat more specific, e.g. ‘to the end of his life.’

Endures is equivalent in some languages to ‘has patience’ or ‘bears the suffering.’

For save see 10.26, but where a subject is required for active, transitive verbs, ‘God’ may be used, e.g. ‘God will save him.’

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 .

SIL Translator's Notes on Mark 13:13

13:13a

You will be hated by everyone: This phrase uses a passive verb. Use an active or a passive verb, whichever is more natural in your language.

everyone: The phrase everyone means “all people.” Here Jesus used hyperbole (deliberate exaggeration) for emphasis. He did not literally mean every person in every place.

If this hyperbole will not be correctly understood in your language, here are some other ways to translate this:

Many people
-or-
People everywhere

because of My name: This phrase is very similar to the phrase in 13:9d.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

because you follow me (New Century Version)
-or-
for your allegiance to me (Revised English Bible)

13:13b

but the one who perseveres: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the one who perseveres here refers to anyone who remains faithful to Jesus. It does not refer to a specific person so in some languages it is natural to use another general form like “you,” “whoever,” or “people who.” For example:

But if you keep on being faithful (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
but those people who keep their faith (New Century Version)
-or-
but whoever endures (Revised English Bible)

perseveres: The verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as perseveres indicates that a person continues to be loyal to Jesus even though people hate him and cause him to suffer. In some languages it may be necessary to make the meaning more explicit. For example:

continues to be faithful to me

to the end: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to the end probably means “to the end of his life.” (All English versions have the literal “to the end.” There are three ways to interpret this phrase: (1) to the end of one’s life; (2) completely, as long as it takes; (3) to the end of the suffering. Since the first and second interpretations largely overlap, the notes have given only the first interpretation.)

will be saved: The verb will be saved is passive. In some languages it may be more natural to use an active expression. For example:

God will save you(plur)

be saved: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as be saved means “to be rescued or preserved from harm.” In this context it refers to being rescued from God’s judgment and allowed to enter heaven.

In some languages, it may be necessary to make explicit what people are saved from. For example:

rescued from God’s judgment
-or-
saved from judgment and allowed to enter heaven

Do not indicate here that people would be saved from physical death. In 13:12 Jesus indicated that some disciples would indeed die because of persecution.

The expression be saved also occurs in 10:26b.

General Comment on 13:13a–b

The Berean Standard Bible uses the pronoun “you” in 13:13a and “the one” in 13:13b. These pronouns refer to the same group of people. In some languages it may be natural to use the same pronoun in both verse parts, as the Contemporary English Version has done:

Everyone will hate you because of me. But if you keep on being faithful right to the end, you will be saved.

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