Translation commentary on Mark 13:4

Exegesis:

pote (cf. 9.19) ‘when?’

tauta ‘these things’: refers back to the statement that not one stone of the Temple would be left standing on another. In the next clause tauta … panta ‘all these things’ would appear to include more than the single tauta of the first clause. A reasonable explanation is offered by Lagrange who takes ‘all these things’ to refer to everything connected with the destruction of the Temple, the destruction itself being only one of a series of events. The second question, then, represents an expansion of the first one, in normal Semitic style.

sēmeion (cf. 8.11) ‘sign’: here in the sense of a ‘token’ or ‘indication’ pointing to the events referred to. In this context the ‘sign’ asked for would be an indication that the events were about to take place.

hotan mellē tauta sunteleisthai panta ‘when all these things are about to be accomplished.’

hotan (cf. 11.19) ‘when’: indicates one single event.

mellō (cf. 10.32) ‘about to be,’ ‘on the point of.’

sunteleō (only here in Mark) ‘to fulfil,’ ‘accomplish’: the meaning ‘come to an end’ is suggested as possible here by Arndt & Gingrich.

Translation:

Tell us may require a shift to ‘answer us,’ since questions follow.

This, which is an ambiguous or obscure reference, may require a translation by ‘what you said’ (Tzeltal) if the meaning is to be intelligible.

For sign see 8.11.

Accomplished is translatable only as ‘happen’ in some languages.

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 13:4

13:4a

Tell us: The disciples were politely addressing Jesus, their respected teacher. They did not demand information. Express the phrase Tell us in a way that shows respect. For example:

Tell us,(excl) we beg
-or-
Teacher, please tell us

when will these things happen?: Here, the phrase when will these things happen? refers back to what Jesus said in 13:2. The question means, “when will the temple/buildings be destroyed?” If in 13:2b or 2c you supplied a subject such as “enemy” or “soldiers,” you may need to translate this as:

…when will they do this?

these things: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as these things refers mainly to the destruction of the temple that Jesus talked about in 13:2. It also may include other events connected with the destruction. In some languages you may need to use a more specific word or phrase. For example:

…when will these events occur?

13:4b

And what will be the sign: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sign refers to a signal or indication that something is true or that something will happen. In this context the sign would be a warning. The disciples believed that God would warn his people when these terrible events were about to happen. See how you translated sign in 8:11b.

Here are some other ways to translate what will be the sign:

…what will happen to show that…. (Good News Bible)
-or-
What will we see, so that we may know…?

that they are about to be fulfilled?: The phrase they are about to be fulfilled is literally “that they will very-soon be-accomplished.” It indicates that these events would soon happen. The word “be-accomplished” is different from the one that means “fulfilled.”

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

that they will happen soon
-or-
that they are going to happen (New Century Version)
-or-
that they are about to take place (Contemporary English Version)

If you used the subject “they” (to represent soldiers/enemies) in the previous verse part, you may need to use it here also:

What will be the sign that they are about to do these acts/actions?

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