periods of the night

Many languages have highly developed expressions for periods of the night, some of which rather closely parallel the series occurring in Mark 13:35. For example, the evening is “the sun lost” (Tzotzil) and “the sitting together time” (Mende). The period around midnight is “the stomach of the night” (Uduk). The period in the morning before sun-up may be described as “when the world begins to get white” (Tzeltal) and “before the sky-opens-door” (Eastern Maninkakan).

See also sunrise / sunset.

Mark 13:28 - 37 in Mexican Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 13:28-37 into Mexican Sign Language with back-translations into Spanish and English underneath:


© La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)

Jesús dijo: “Cuando ven un árbol brotando hojas verdes las personas que lo ven saben que el próximo día será caloroso, esto es parecido a las cinco puntos que les conté ahorita.

Cuando en el futuro las personas vean estas cinco cosas sabrán por cierto que el Hijo de Hombre está por venir.

Les advierto: Estas personas todavía no habrán muerto pero aún estarán vivos cuando lo vean con sus propios ojos. En el futuro el cielo y la tierra desaparecerán, pero mis palabras jamás desaparecen.

Les advierto: Todas las personas no saben cuando será el día o a qué hora venga, en la misma manera los ángeles y el Hijo de Hombre, todos no saben.

El único que sabe es el Padre Dios. Uds presten atención y vigilen para cuando venga, porque no lo saben.

Por ejemplo: Un hombre es dueño de una casa, y llama a todos sus siervos a que vengan y dice: “Yo me voy de viaje, uds trabajen, tú eres encargado de vigilar la puerta” y el hombre se va.

Ellos deben vigilar para cuando venga el dueño, no saben a qué hora si será en la mañana, tarde, noche o madrugada. Si ellos duermen de repente vendrá el dueño y los verá durmiendo ¿cómo sería eso?

Yo les advierto: En la misma manera todas las personas deben prestar atención y vigilar.”


Jesus said: “When you see a tree that sprouts forth green leaves, the people who see it know that the next day will be hot, it is similar with the five things I told you just now.

“When in the future the people will see these five things they will know for sure that the Son of Man is about to come down.

“I warn you: These people will not have died yet, but will still be alive when they see it with their own eyes. In the future the heaven and the earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

“I warn you: All the people do not know the day or the hour that he comes, in the same way the angels and the Son of Man all do not know.

“The only one who knows is God the Father. You must pay attention and keep watch for when he comes, because you don’t know.

“For example: A man is owner of a house and he calls all the servants to come and says: ‘I am going on a journey, you all need to work, I entrust you (one particular person) with keeping watch over the door,’ and the man goes off.

“They must keep watch for when the owner comes, they do not know at which house, morning, afternoon, evening or before sunrise. If they fall asleep the owner will suddenly come and see them sleeping, how would that be?

“I warn you: In the same way all the people need to pay attention and keep watch.”

Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

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Mark 14:1-2 in Mexican Sign Language >>

Mark 13:32-37 in Russian Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 13:32-37 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:


Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество

Jesus said to his disciples:

— No one knows when this terrible time of suffering will begin, of which I have spoken to you. Neither the angels in heaven know, nor even I, only God knows. But you be careful — watch and pray!

For example, a man, a master, left his house and property, went far away, and ordered his servants to manage the house, guard it and not sleep. In the same way, we are awake. We do not know when the master will return — in the evening? At night? In the morning at dawn? We do not know this. And if the watchman falls asleep, and at that very time the master returns and finds the servant sleeping? What will happen then? Therefore, I am telling you now: one thing is important, that you be awake in your heart.

Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):

Иисус сказал ученикам:

— Никто не знает, когда начнется это страшное время страданий, о котором я говорил вам. Ни ангелы на небе не знают, ни даже я — не знаю, один только Бог знает. Вы же будьте внимательны — бодрствуйте и молитесь!

Вот, например, одни человек, хозяин, оставил свой дом и имущество, уехал далеко, а слугам своим поручил управлять домом, сторожить его и не спать. Так же мы — бодрствуем. Мы не знаем, когда вернется хозяин — Вечером? Ночью? Утром на рассвете? Мы не знаем этого. А если сторож заснет, а как раз в это время хозяин вернется и застанет слугу спящим? Что тогда будет? Поэтому я сейчас вам говорю: важно одно, чтобы вы в сердце своем бодрствовали.

Back-translation by Luka Manevich

<< Mark 13:28-31 in Russian Sign Language
Mark 14:1-11 in Russian Sign Language >>

complete verse (Mark 13:35)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 13:35:

  • Uma: “So, they indeed had to be on the watch, for they didn’t know when the house owner would come, whether at evening or in the middle of the night or early morning or when the sun rises. It wouldn’t be good if [lit., Don’t-don’t] he arrived suddenly and found them asleep. So also you must be on the watch, for you don’t know when I will arrive.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Therefore,’ said Isa, ‘do not be careless because you do not know as to when the owner of the house will arrive. If in the evening or in the middle of the night, or before dawn, (dayi’ ellew) or in the morning.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Therefore, behave carefully, for you do not know when I, the owner of the house, will return, whether afternoon or the middle of the night, or at early dawn, or when the sun rises.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Therefore be-prepared, because you don’t know when I who am the house owner will return, whether when it is getting-dark, middle of the night, cockcrow, or getting-light.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Like that indeed, you are always to be ready, because you don’t know when will be the arrival of the one referred to as the owner of the household. Maybe evening, midnight or predawn or morning.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.

In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.

Translation commentary on Mark 13:35

Exegesis:

For grēgoreō ‘watch’ cf. the preceding verse; ho kurios ‘the master,’ ‘the owner’ cf. 1.3.

Listed here are the four watches of the night, according to the Roman system, of three hours each, running from 6:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M.

opse (cf. 11.11) ‘the evening,’ ‘late’: here, the first watch, from 6:00–9:00 P.M.

mesonuktion (only here in Mark) literally ‘the middle of the night’: here, the second watch, from 9:00 P.M. to 12:00 midnight.

alektorophōnias (only here in the N.T.) ‘at the crowing (phōnē) of the rooster (alektōr)’: here, the third watch, from 12:00 midnight to 3:00 A.M.

prōi (cf. 1.35) ‘early,’ ‘at dawn’: here, the fourth watch, from 3:00–6:00 A.M. (cf. 6.48 where ‘the fourth watch’ is referred to).

Translation:

Watch is variously translated in this context, e.g. ‘be on the look-out,’ ‘keep a close watch,’ ‘be constantly alert,’ or ‘wait, look.’

The paraphrastic expression included within dashes in the Revised Standard Version text combines quite well with the introductory verb watch. Where the difficulty arises is the connection of this sentence with the following verse, which expresses a negative purpose. This latter expression cannot be combined with the last of verse 35. There are usually three different types of solutions: (1) punctuation as a parenthetical expression, either within parentheses or dashes – a solution which is quite acceptable to rather literate people; (2) the repetition of ‘watch’ at the beginning of verse 36, so that the proper syntactic relationship may be preserved; or (3) an alteration in order in which the clause within dashes in the Revised Standard Version is placed first in the verse, followed by the imperative, ‘watch,’ e.g. ‘since you do not know when the owner of the house will come, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the early morning, therefore watch, lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping.’

Many languages have highly developed expressions for periods of the night, some of which rather closely parallel the series occurring in this verse. For example, the evening is ‘the sun lost’ (Tzotzil) and ‘the sitting together time’ (Mende). The period around midnight is ‘the stomach of the night’ (Uduk). A cockcrow is ‘when the owls make a noise,’ ‘when the cock screams’ (Piro), and ‘rooster-cry-time’ (Maninka). The period in the morning before sun-up may be described as ‘when the world begins to get white’ (Tzeltal), and ‘before the sky-opens-door’ (Maninka).

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 13:35

13:35a

At the end of 13:34e, Jesus finished giving the word picture or illustration of the man who left on a journey. In 13:35a he again addressed the disciples.

Therefore keep watch: Jesus spoke the words Therefore keep watch to his disciples. They are not words that the man in the story spoke to the doorkeeper. The form of the Greek verb keep watch is plural, so it is certain that Jesus was speaking to the disciples. The New Living Translation has one way to make this clear:

You, too, must keep watch!

In some languages it may be necessary to supply an introductory phrase to indicate this. For example:

So Jesus, finishing his story, said to his disciples: “Therefore keep(plur) watch.”

keep watch: The Greek verb translated as keep watch or “be alert” is the same verb that is found in 13:34e. It will occur again at the end of 13:37.

13:35b

because you do not know when the master of the house will return: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as because introduces the reason that Jesus told the disciples to keep watch constantly. The reason is that they did not know when he would return.

you do not know: The phrase you do not know repeats what Jesus told them in 13:33b. You may need to make it clear that it was not only the disciples who did not know when Jesus would return. You may want to use a phrase that could include others. For example:

because no one knows when the owner of the house will come back

the master of the house: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the master is often used in the Gospels when they addressed Jesus. So the disciples would understand that Jesus was the master of the house from the parable. You may need to make this plain to the listener/reader. For example:

because you(plur) do not know when I, the owner/master of the house, will come back

General Comment on 13:35a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of 13:35a and 13:35b. For example:

So Jesus, said to his disciples: 35b“You do not know when the owner of the house will come back. 35aThat is why you must keep watch.”

13:35c

In the Jewish culture, people did not usually travel at night. Thieves were out at that time and people avoided travel because it was dangerous. Jesus was saying to the disciples that he would come at a time that they did not expect him to come.

whether in the evening, at midnight: The phrases in the evening and at midnight are possible times that the owner might return. The Berean Standard Bible uses a dash to introduce these times. You may need to begin a new sentence here. For example:

The owner of the house might come back in the evening or at midnight.
-or-
I, the owner of the house, might come back in the evening or at midnight.
-or-
It could be in the evening or at midnight or at dawn or in the morning. (God’s Word)

in the evening: The phrase in the evening indicates the time period after sundown starting from about six o’clock until about nine o’clock.

Here is another way to translate this:

after sundown

at midnight: The phrase at midnight indicates a time in the middle of the night from about twelve o’clock to about three o’clock.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

late at night
-or-
in the middle of the night

13:35d

when the rooster crows: The phrase when the rooster crows indicates a time before sunrise, from about three o’clock until six o’clock in the morning.

Here are some ways to translate this:

• Translate it literally. For example:

at the time that roosters crow/cry

• Translate it as a general period of time. For example:

in the morning while it is still dark (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
early in the morning
-or-
as the night was ending

• Translate it as an exact time. For example:

three o’clock in the morning

in the morning: The phrase in the morning indicates a time period in the early morning after sunrise. It starts at about six o’clock and continues until about nine o’clock.

Here are some ways to translate this:

• Translate it literally. For example, the New Century Version has:

when the sun rises

• Translate it as a general period of time. For example:

in the morning (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
at sunrise (Good News Bible)
-or-
at dawn (New International Version)

• Translate it as an exact time. For example:

six o’clock in the morning

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