Translation commentary on Mark 13:6

Exegesis:

epi tō onomati mou (cf. 9.37) ‘in my name’: some difficulty arises from the fact that the phrase ordinarily means ‘on my account,’ ‘for my sake,’ ‘in my behalf’; here, however, it seems to demand the meaning, ‘representing to be me,’ ‘as though they were I,’ since they will say, “I am he.” Arndt & Gingrich suggest ‘using my name’; ‘in my name’ is the reading of most English translations (cf. Vulgate in nomine meo); Lagrange has sous mon nom. Notwithstanding the difficulty, some such translation as Revised Standard Version ‘in my name,’ or ‘under my name,’ will probably convey the meaning without involving the statement in any contradiction.

hoti ‘that’ introduces direct statement.

egō eimi literally ‘I am’ or ‘It is I’ (cf. 6.50); here, clearly, a claim to be the Messiah – ‘I am He’ (cf. 14.62), or, in accordance with Marcan language, ‘I am the Son of man’ (cf. v. 26).

Translation:

For the use of in my name see 9.37, but in this context a special rendering is often required, e.g. ‘making use of my name,’ ‘calling themselves by my name,’ or ‘applying my name to themselves.’

I am he is sometimes very ambiguous, especially as this expression is spoken by Jesus. Hence, ‘I am the Christ’ or ‘I am the Son of man’ is a much closer equivalent. In languages which generally prefer an indirect form of discourse, this statement may be less ambiguous, e.g. ‘they will say that they are I,’ or ‘they will say that they are what I am.’

A further complication may be found in the shift from plural to singular in the form of the direct discourse, e.g. ‘many will come…, each will say, I am he.’ Moreover, the plural of ‘many’ must be interpreted as distributive, not as collective, for each person claims for himself the Messiahship.

For lead many astray see the previous verse.

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 13:6

13:6

In some languages it may be more natural to state 13:6 before giving the command in 13:5. See the reordered verses in the General Comment on 13:5–6 after the note on 13:6c.

13:6a

This verse gives the reason why Jesus said “See to it that no one deceives you” in 13:5.

Many will come: The word Many here means “Many people” (as in the New Century Version) or “Many men,” as in the Good News Bible. The phrase will come introduces them as people who will do (or say) things in the future. It does not indicate that they will come to any particular place.

Here is another way to translate this:

There will be many men who will come…

13:6b

in My name, claiming, ‘I am He’: The phrase in my name, claiming, ‘I am He’ indicates that people would say that they were “the Christ” or “the Anointed One.” They would say (falsely) that they were the Savior promised by God, the One whom the Jews were waiting for. Actually, it was Jesus who was the Christ.

I am He: In the Greek, the word is emphatic and the word He implies “the Christ/Messiah.” When translating the words I am He, you may:

• Use direct speech. For example:

claiming ‘I am he’ (New International Version)
-or-
and each one will say, ‘I, I am the Christ/Messiah’

• Use indirect speech. For example:

each one will claim that it is he who is the Christ/Messiah
-or-
and they will all say that they are the Christ/Messiah

If you use the word “Christ” or “Messiah” here, use the same expression that you used in 12:35c.

13:6c

and will deceive many: The subject of this clause is “Many (people)” in 13:6a. The people who will come and claim to be the Christ (13:6a–b) will deceive many other people. In this context the word deceive implies that people will believe the lies that the deceivers are telling them. They will believe that these men are truly the Messiah. It may be clearer to start a new sentence in this part of the verse. For example:

When they say this, they will deceive many people into thinking that they are truly the Messiah.
-or-
By saying this, they will trick many people into believing them.

General Comment on 13:5–6

In some languages, it may be more natural to place Jesus’ command in 13:5 at the end of 13:6. For example:

Jesus said to them, 6a “Many people will come 6b using my title, and will claim, ‘I am the Christ/Messiah.’ 6c They will deceive many people. But see to it that no one deceives you….”

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