The Greek in Mark 14:15 that is translated as “furnished” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with mit Liegepolstern ausgestattet or “equipped with reclining cushions.”
room upstairs
The Greek that is translated as “room upstairs” of “upper room” in English is translated in a 1922 translation into Chagatai, a precursor language of both Uzbek and Uighur, with bala-xāna, “small room” of “children’s room.” “It is safe to say that the cultural structure of the Uighurs influenced the choice of this word for the translation. At the time of the translation, the attic room commonly used by the Uighurs living in East Turkistan was known as “bala-khana”, due to its smaller size compared to other rooms. Therefore, it is understood that the translators translated the source text by considering word choices such as this that would help society understand the text better. This choice of the translators can again be explained by the concept of cultural equivalents.” (Source: F. Erbay and F.N. Küçükballı in Acta Theologica 2025 45/2, p. 133ff. )
Mark 14:12 - 21 in Mexican Sign Language
Following is the translation of Mark 14:12-21 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)
Ya empezó la fiesta de los panes sin levaduro y los judíos acostumbraban a matar una ovejar como ofrenda para la fiesta de Pascua.
Nosotros, los discípulos dijeron: “Jesús, ¿dónde está el lugar donde haremos preparaciones para la fiesta de Pascua?”
Jesús eligió a dos (y dijo): “vayanse a Jerusalén y verán un hombre caminando cargando una jarra de agua, uds dos siganlo y llegarán a una casa.
Vean al dueño y preguntenlo: ‘Maestro, dinos, ¿dónde está el cuarto para nuestra comida de la noche en la fiesta de Pascua?’
El dueño (dirá): ‘Sí, hay un cuarto arriba vamonos’, y subirán junto con él y verán un cuarto grande y completamente listo, y uds dos hagan las preparaciones. Vayanse.”
Los dos discípulos fueron y vieron todo exactamente como les había dicho y empezaron a preparar, y después en la noche Jesús y los doce discípulos fueron a la casa, y estaban comiendo alrededor de la mesa.
Jesús dijo: “Yo les digo la verdad, uno de uds que comen conmigo me traicionará.” Ellos se desanimaron y dijeron uno al otro: “¿yo?” “¿yo?”.
Jesús otra vez les explicó: “Les digo la verdad, este mismo plato en lo cual mojamos nuestro pan para comerlo, uno de los discípulos me traicionará.
Porque hace mucho un profeta escribió en un rollo diciendo: ‘En el futuro un hombre traicionará al hijo del hombre al muerte’, y lo que escribió y dijo (pasará) exactamente.
Pero el hombre que me traicionará, huy, será castigado fuertemente, será una lastima, habría sido mejor que no hubiera nacido.”
The feast of unleavened bread was starting and the Jews were accustomed to kill a sheep as an offering for the feast of Passover.
We, the disciples, asked: “Jesus, where is the place where we are to make preparations for the Passover feast?”
Jesus chose two (and said): “‘Go to Jerusalem and you will see a man walking, carrying a jar of water, follow him and you will arrive at a house.
See the owner and ask him: ‘Master, tell us, where is the room for our evening meal during the Passover feast?’
The owner (will say): ‘Yes, there is a room upstairs, let’s go’, and you will go up with him and see a big room completely ready and you two can make the preparations. Go now.”
The two disciples went and saw everything exactly like he had told them and they began to prepare, and afterwards in the night Jesus and the twelve disciples went to the house and they were eating around the table.
Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, one of you who is eating with me will betray me.” They were discouraged and said to each other: “Me?” “Me?”
Jesus told them again: “I tell you the truth, this bowl, the same that you and I dip our bread in to eat it, one of the disciples will betray me.
“Because long ago a prophet wrote in a scroll saying: ‘In the future a man will betray the Son of Man to his death’ and what he wrote and said (will come to pass) exactly.
“But the man that will betray me, wow, he will be punished severely, what a pity, it would have been better had he not been born at all.”
Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios
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Mark 14:22-26 in Mexican Sign Language >>
Mark 14:12-26 in Russian Sign Language
Following is the translation of Mark 14:12-26 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:
Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество
The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread had begun. This feast lasts only seven days. This feast has been around for a long time. Here is the country of Egypt. The Jews were slaves there. Slavery lasted for many years. A man named Moses freed the Jews from slavery, broke their chains. This is the story of the feast that the Jews still celebrate. On the first day of the feast, the Jews sacrifice a lamb, cook it and eat it in memory of these events.
The disciples asked Jesus:
— Today is the first day of the holiday. Where shall we gather to have a festive meal?
Jesus chose two disciples and said to them:
— Go to the city. There you will see a man with a jug of water. Follow him. He will enter a house. You will tell the owner of the house: “Our teacher asks to give us a room for a festive meal.” The owner of the house will agree and take you to the second floor. There will be a room, large, clean, with dishes and utensils. There you will be able to prepare food for us.
The two disciples went into the city. There they really met a man with a pitcher of water, the owner of the house gave them a room on the second floor; everything happened exactly as Jesus said. The two disciples made all the preparations. Evening came. Jesus and the disciples entered the house, went up to the second floor, sat around the table and began to feast.
Jesus said to his disciples:
— I tell you for sure: one of my disciples will betray me! This man is among us, he eats with us.
The disciples began to look at each other anxiously and ask: “Jesus, am I the one who will betray you?”
Jesus said:
— The man who dips bread into this dish with me, he will betray me.
The disciples were alarmed. Jesus said:
— It is written in the scriptures that the Son of God, who became man, that is, me, must die. But the man who betrays me — woe to him! It would have been better for him not to have been born into this world.
Jesus took the bread, said a prayer of thanksgiving, broke the bread into pieces and began to distribute it to the disciples. The disciples ate the bread.
Jesus said to his disciples:
— This bread is my body!
Jesus took the cup of wine, thanked God and said to the disciples, “Drink this wine.” And the disciples drank wine from the cup.
Jesus said:
— This wine in this cup is my blood.
God makes a new covenant with people. My blood is shed to save many people. I tell you for sure: I will not drink this wine on earth anymore. Then, when the day of the Kingdom of God comes, then I will drink new wine there.
The disciples sang a psalm, went out and climbed the Mount of Olives.
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
Начался первый день праздника Пресных хлебов. Этот праздник длится всего семь дней. Этот праздник возник давно. Вот страна Египет. Евреи там были рабами. Много лет продолжалось рабство. Человек по имени Моисей освободил евреев из рабства, порвал их цепи. Это история праздника, который евреи отмечают до сих пор. В первый день праздника, евреи приносят в жертву ягненка, готовят его и едят в память об этих событиях.
Ученики спросили Иисуса:
— Сегодня первый день праздника. Где мы соберемся, чтобы совершить праздничную трапезу?
Иисус выбрал двух учеников и сказал им:
— Идите в город. Там вы увидите человека с кувшином воды. Идите за ним. Он войдет в один дом. Вы скажете хозяину дома: «Наш учитель просит дать нам комнату для праздничной трапезы». Хозяин дома согласится и поведет вас на второй этаж. Там будет комната, большая, чистая, посуда с утварью. Там вы сможете приготовить для нас еду.
Два ученика пошли в город. Там они действительно встретили человека с кувшином воды, хозяин дома дал им комнату на втором этаже; все исполнилось в точности, как говорил Иисус. Два ученика сделали все приготовления. Наступил вечер. Иисус с учениками вошли в дом, поднялись на второй этаж, сели вокруг стала и стали пировать.
Иисус сказал ученикам:
— Говорю вам точно: один из учеников предаст меня! Этот человек среди нас, ест вместе с нами.
Ученики стали тревожно переглядываться и спрашивать: «Иисус, не я ли предам тебя?»
Иисус сказал:
— Человек, который макает хлеб вот в это блюдо вместе со мной, он предаст меня.
Ученики были встревожены. Иисус сказал:
— В писании написано, что Сын Бога, ставший человеком, то есть я, должен умереть. Но тому человеку, который предаст меня, — горе ему! Лучше бы ему было не рождаться на этом свете.
Иисус взял хлеб, прочитал молитву благодарения, разломал хлеб на части и стал раздавать ученикам. Ученики ели хлеб.
Иисус сказал ученикам:
— Этот хлеб — это тело мое!
Иисус взял чашу с вином, поблагодарил Бога и сказал ученикам: «Пейте это вино». И ученики отпивали из чаши вино.
Иисус сказал:
— Это вино в этой чаше — это кровь моя.
Бог с людьми заключает новый договор. Моя кровь проливается ради многих людей, чтобы спасти их. Говорю вам точно: это вино на земле я больше пить не буду. Потом, когда наступит день Царствия Божьего, тогда там я буду пить новое вино.
Ученики пропели псалом, вышли и поднялись на Масличную гору.
Back-translation by Luka Manevich
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Mark 14:27-31 in Russian Sign Language >>
inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Mark 14:15)
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including the disciples).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
complete verse (Mark 14:15)
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 14:15:
- Uma: “The house owner will show you a big room up above. That room is all prepared, complete with stuff [i.e., furniture, utensils]. There you will prepare the Paskah food for us.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “So-then he will show you a big room upstairs,’ said Isa. ‘That room is already prepared beforehand. Prepare there our (incl.) food.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then he will show you a wide room overhead which is already outfitted. There you prepare our supper.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “He will then show/point-out-to you a wide room upstairs where all that we need is located. Prepare what we will eat there.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “Well, he will show you a spacious room upstairs, complete with utensils/furnishings. There in that room is where you are to prepare our (incl.) evening meal.'” (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.
1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also pronoun for “God”.
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