Translation commentary on Mark 14:14

Text:

mou ‘my’ after kataluma ‘guest room’ is omitted by Textus Receptus, but included by all modern editions of the Greek text.

Exegesis:

hopou ean (cf. 14.9) ‘wherever’: the phrase ‘wherever he enters’ refers, of course, to whatever house he should enter.

oikodespotē (only here in Mark) ‘master of the house,’ i.e. the owner of the house (cf. Lagrange proprietaire).

ho didaskalos (cf. 4.38) ‘the teacher.’

to kataluma (only here in Mark) ‘the lodging,’ ‘the guest room’ (cf. Moulton & Milligan); possibly ‘the dining room.’

to pascha ‘the Passover meal’ as in 14.12b.

Translation:

Wherever he enters must not be translated as a generic or distributive expression, meaning that the man was likely to enter a number of places and that the disciples should inquire of each householder. The equivalent expression in some languages is ‘when he goes into a house, then say to the householder there.’ Unless this clause is translated with care, the impression will be given that the disciples were to follow the servant about town, begging a place from one householder after another.

My guest room must not be rendered as a straight possessive in some languages or it will imply that Jesus himself owned a part of the house. The meaning is rather ‘a guest room for me,’ ‘a room where I may be a guest,’ or ‘a room where I am to eat’ (see above).

Am to eat is rendered as a type of future. One must not interpret am to eat in the sense of ‘destined to eat,’ as some translators have done.

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 14:14

14:14a

and whichever house he enters, say to the owner: This part of the verse indicates that the man with the water jar would enter a house that someone else owned. Jesus told his disciples to follow the man with the water jar to that house, enter it, and talk to the owner. In some languages there may be a special way to introduce these facts. For example:

He will enter a house. Say to the owner of the house…
-or-
Follow him to the house where he enters/goes. There say to that houseowner…
-or-
when he goes into a house, say to the owner… (Contemporary English Version)

14:14b–c

In this part of the verse Jesus told his disciples the question to ask the owner of the house. Jesus expressed the question using words like “I” and “my,” as if he himself would be there to ask the question. In some languages it may be more natural to use indirect speech for this question. See the General Comment on 14:14a–c in the note on 14:14c for an example.

Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?: Jesus asked this rhetorical question to express a request. He wanted the owner of the house to show his disciples the room where he and his disciples would eat the Passover meal. There are at least two ways to translate this request:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Could you show us the room where my disciples and I will eat the Passover meal?

• As a request. For example:

Please show us the guest room where my disciples and I may eat the Passover meal.

Use an appropriate way to express this request in your language.

General Comment on quotation marks

The words in this verse are translated by most English versions as a quote within a quote within a quote. This is three levels of quotation. For a suggestion on translation as an indirect quotation see the General Comment on 14:14a–c in the note on 14:14c.

In American English, the first direct quotation is indicated by enclosing the quoted words with double quotes (“). A quotation within the quoted words is marked by using single quotes (‘). A third level of quotation is usually marked by double quotes. For example:

Jesus said, “Tell him, ‘The teacher asks: “Where is…?” ’ ”

The Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, and Good News Bible do not mark the third level of quotation. Marking only two levels of quotation is probably easier for most readers to follow.

Jesus said, “Tell him, ‘The teacher asks: Where is…?’ ”

British practice is to mark the first quotation with single quotes (‘), then double quotes for the quote within a quote (“), and so on.

Whichever method you use for marking quotations in your language, use it consistently. See how you treated a quote within a quote in 13:21.

14:14b

The Teacher: Jesus used the title The Teacher to tell his disciples how to refer to him when they spoke to the house owner. In some languages it may be more natural to say:

Our(excl) teacher

Teacher: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Teacher was a title of respect for a Jewish religious leader. When the two disciples used this title, the owner of the house knew that they were referring to Jesus. See how you translated this term in 4:38c.

asks: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as asks is a general word meaning “says.” Introduce the request that follows in a way that is natural in your language. In some languages the verb may require an object like “you.(sing)”

My guest room: In this context the phrase My guest room means “the room that you have reserved for me to use.” The phrase does not indicate that Jesus owned the room. It implies that Jesus had made arrangements beforehand with the owner of the house to use the room for the Passover meal.

Here are some other ways to translate my guest room:

the room reserved/prepared for me
-or-
the room that I arranged for

guest room: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as guest room refers to a large room. People often used such a room as a dining room when they had guests. In some languages it may be better not to include a word like guest. For example, the Good News Bible says:

Where is the room where my disciples and I will eat the Passover meal?

If you include a word like guest, be sure that it does not imply that Jesus was a stranger. The context indicates that the house owner knew Jesus.

14:14c

eat the Passover: See the note on 14:12d–e for a discussion of this expression.

General Comment on 14:14a–c

In this verse Jesus told his disciples what they should say. He told them how they should report his message to the owner of the house. Consider how people tell others to give messages to different people in your language. In some languages it may be necessary to use indirect speech for one or more of the quotations. For example:

Then say to the man who owns the house, “The Teacher wants you to show us the room where he can eat the Passover meal with his disciples.”
-or-
Then tell the man who owns the house that I, the Teacher, am asking where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples.

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