Translation commentary on Mark 14:15

Exegesis:

deixei (1.44) ‘he will show.’

anagaion (only here in Mark) ‘a room upstairs,’ ‘an upper room.’

estrōmenon (cf. 11.8) ‘strewn,’ ‘spread out’: by most commentators this is taken to mean ‘spread with carpets and couches,’ ready for the meal (Lagrange fournie de tapis et de divans). Though improbable, the word could mean ‘paved’ . Taylor is of the opinion that the participle is used in a general sense, meaning simply ‘prepared,’ and suggests it may have been simply “a bare attic.”

hetoimon (only here in Mark; cf. the verb hetoimazō in v. 12 and here) ‘ready,’ ‘prepared.’

Translation:

Upper room is not easy to translate in languages in which one-roomed huts are about the size of dwelling to which the people are accustomed. However, some such expression as ‘high room’ or ‘room high in the house’ will at least be descriptive of what the people may see in urban centers.

Furnished must be rendered in such a way as to make it meaningful, but not so detailed as to specify more than is included in the Greek term. Accordingly, ‘with what was needed’ or ‘having what they required’ may be adequate.

Prepare must often be translated with an object, e.g. ‘prepare the meal there for us’ or ‘there prepare the food for us.’

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 14:15

14:15a

And: In Greek this verse begins with the common conjunction that is often translated as “And” (as in the Berean Standard Bible). Here it introduces the event that Jesus said would happen next. Some English versions leaves this conjunction implied. Connect the events in a natural way in your language.

Here are some other ways to connect 14:15 to 14:14:

Then (Good News Bible)
-or-
After you ask him that

he will show you a large upper room: The clause he will show you implies that he will take or lead the disciples to the room. In some languages it may be necessary to make this information explicit. For example:

He will lead you to a large room upstairs
-or-
The owner will take you upstairs and show you (Contemporary English Version)

a large upper room: The phrase a large upper room implies that the owner’s house had a large room that was built on top of the main part of the house. In some cultures this custom may be unknown. If this is unknown in your culture, you may want to consider one of these options:

• Use a descriptive phrase:

a large room built on the roof of the house.

• Use a more general expression that does not specify that the room was upstairs:

a large room in the house

14:15b

furnished and ready: The phrase furnished and ready indicates that the room already had everything that the disciples needed for the meal. These things would include the table, places to sit, and dishes. Translate this expression in a general way. For example:

ready for you to use (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
all things for having a feast were there
-or-
complete with utensils/furnishings

14:15c

Make preparations for us there: In this context, the words Make preparations means “Get ready for the Passover meal.” The New Century Version makes this explicit:

Prepare the food for us there.

Paragraph 14:16

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