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). 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).
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 .