Καὶ ὄντος αὐτοῦ ἐν Βηθανίᾳ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ Σίμωνος τοῦ λεπροῦ, κατακειμένου αὐτοῦ ἦλθεν γυνὴ ἔχουσα ἀλάβαστρον μύρου νάρδου πιστικῆς πολυτελοῦς, συντρίψασα τὴν ἀλάβαστρον κατέχεεν αὐτοῦ τῆς κεφαλῆς.
The Anointing at Bethany
3While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head.
The Greek that is translated as “she poured the ointment on his head” or similar in English is translated in Nabak as “She did not parcel it out drop by drop, she poured it on Jesus head.”
Grace Fabian (in: Fabian 2013, p. 136) explains: “In Nabak, they like to say things in parallel, first the negative, then the same thought in a positive sentence. So verse three says, ‘She did not parcel it out drop by drop, she poured it on Jesus head.’”
The name that is transliterated as “Simon the leper” in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with a sign for a person with leprosy (skin disease). (Source: Missão Kophós )
“Simon the leper” in Libras (source )
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
More information under Simon the Leper .
In the Fuyug culture, stone-working is unknown and “alabaster jar” in was therefore translated into Fuyug as “a nice jar shaped like a . . . ” with the next word indicating a gourd container of a particular shape.
The name “spikenard” seems to be gaining ground over “nard” in global English. The Hebrew and Greek words for spikenard could have referred to a variety of substances from a variety of plants. Zohary (Plants of the Bible. Cambridge University Press, 1982) takes the New Testament spikenard to be the same as the Old Testament one, namely Nardostachys jatamansi from India. Hepper (Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants: Flowers and Trees, Fruits and Vegetables, Ecology. Baker Book House, 1992) doubts the Indian origin of most biblical spices and suggests that the references in Song of Songs may be to the Camel Grass Cymbopogon schoenanthus, which grows in the deserts of Arabia and North Africa. Assyrians called it lardu. However, if the writing of Song of Songs is late, the Indian origin of spikenard mentioned there is quite possible. The Greek expression nardos pistikos in Mark 14:3 and John 12:3 is rendered “pure nard” by New Revised Standard Version, updated edition, but the meaning of pistikos is debatable. It may in fact come from the Sanskrit picita, the local name of the spikenard plant. In Arabic spikenard is called sunbul Hindi (“Indian spike”).
The spikenard plant is a leafy bush less than a meter (3 feet) high, with fragrant-smelling, short stems and a tuft of three narrow leaflets at the tip of each stem. The pink flowers are umbrella-shaped. The rhizomes (tubers) are pounded to extract pungent, pale orange or yellow oil.
The two references to spikenard in Song of Songs 4:13 and 4:14 are metaphorical, the bride being referred to as a luxurious garden or park filled with all kinds of lovely spice plants and trees. The spikenard there is mentioned first in the plural in Hebrew, paired with a plural form of henna, as though they are plants or trees, or perhaps the fruit of trees. Then its singular form is paired with saffron, followed by calamus and cinnamon. Spikenard was a luxury item in ancient Egypt, the Near East, and Rome. A Chinese medical text written around 1100 A.D. notes the calming effect of spikenard incense. It is still used in incense sticks (senko) in China and as a medicine. It is also used in Japan as an ingredient of the incense used in the Plum Blossom Festival. In John 12:3 spikenard is cited as the “costly perfume” used by Mary, the sister of Lazarus, to anoint Jesus.
For the metaphorical references in Song of Songs a cultural equivalent of spikenard is appropriate. The references in Mark and John are of course non-rhetorical and should be translated with a local name for spikenard where possible or transliterated where translators feel it is important to be concordant throughout. A transliteration such as “naridi” is recommended.
Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)
The Greek and Hebrew terms that are often translated as “leprosy (or: defiling/skin disease)” or “leprous (person)” in English is translated in Mairasi as “the bad sickness,” since “leprosy is very common in the Mairasi area” (source: Enggavoter 2004).
Following are various other translations:
Targumim (or: Targums) are translations of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic. They were translated and used when Jewish congregations increasingly could not understand the biblical Hebrew anymore. Targum Onqelos (also: Onkelos) is the name of the Aramaic translation of the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) probably composed in Israel/Palestine in the 1st or 2nd century CE and later edited in Babylon in the 4th or 5th century, making it reflect Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. It is the most famous Aramaic translation and was widely used throughout the Jewish communities. In Leviticus 13 and 14 it translates tzaraat as a “quarantining affliction” — focusing “on what occurs to individuals after they suffer the affliction; the person is isolated from the community.” (Source: Israel Drazin in this article ). Similarly, the English Jewish Orthodox ArtScroll Tanach translation (publ. 2011) transliterates it as tzaraat affliction.
See also stricken and leprosy healed.
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Leprosy (Word Study) and Bible Translations Are for People .
Following is the translation of Mark 14:3-11 into Mexican Sign Language with back-translations into Spanish and English underneath:
© La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios
En Betania, en la casa de un hombre que se llamaba Simón, que había estado enfermo de lepra pero ahora estaba sano, en este mismo casa Jesús y los discípulos y otras personas estaban sentados alrededor de la mesa.
Vino una mujer cargando un frasco de piedra, de marmol, con un perfume muy caro y fino, rompió el cuello del frasco y vertió el frasco y derramó el perfume sobre la cabeza de Jesús
Algunas personas estaban furiosas y dijeron: “Tú derramaste el perfume, qué perdida, ¿para qué? Mejor lo habrías vendido, te habrían pagado 300 monedas de plata que tú habrías (podido) repartir a los pobres.” La regañaban.
Jesús los detuvo: “¿Porqué la regañan? dejala, esta mujer me ha tratado bien, siempre habrá personas pobres de ahora en adelante y uds pueden ayudarlos libremente.
Pero yo no vivo aquí para siempre, dentro de poco yo moriré y mi cuerpo estará acostado, esta mujer ya antes lo ha preparado y ha derramado el perfume para alistar mi cuerpo.
Esta mujer ha hecho bien, yo les digo la verdad en el futuro las personas se dispersarán a evangelizar y advertir las buenas noticias a todas las personas del mundo, y recordarán que esta mujer me ha tratado y ha derramado perfume sobre mi cabeza.”
Después, uno de las personas, Judas, se fue a platicar con los líderes de los sacerdotes. Judas dijo: “Yo he decidido a traicionar a Jesús, para que uds lo puedan arrestar.”
Los sacerdotes (dijeron): “¡Qué bien!, nosotros te pagaremos, lo prometimos.” Judas (dijo): “¿De acuerdo?, perfecto”, y se fue.
Judas esperaba el día oportuno para avisarles que podían arrestar a Jesús.
In Bethany, in the house owned by a man named Simon, who had been ill with leprosy but was now healed, in that same house Jesus and the disciples and other people were present seated around the table.
A woman came up carrying a jar of stone, of marble, with a very expensive and fine perfume, she broke the neck off the jar and poured out the perfume on Jesus’ head.
Some people were furious and said: “You poured out the perfume, what a loss, what for? It would have been better to sell the perfume, they would have paid you 300 silver coins and you (could) have handed them out to the poor.” They told her off.
Jesus told them to stop: “Why are you telling her off? Leave her, this woman has treated me well, there will always continue to be poor people and you are free to help them.
“But I do not live here forever, in a little while I will die and my body will be laid out, this woman has already prepared it and has poured out the perfume to make my body ready.
“This woman has done something good, I tell you the truth, in the future people will disperse to tell the gospel and make the good news known to all the people of the world, and they will remember that this woman has cared for me and poured perfume over my head.”
Afterwards, one of the people, Judas, went to talk to the leaders of the priests. Judas said: “I have decided to betray Jesus so you can arrest him.”
The priests (went): “How wonderful, we will pay you, we promise.” Judas (went): “It’s agreed then? Good!” and he left.
Judas waited for the right day to tell them that they could arrest Jesus.
Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios
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Mark 14:12-21 in Mexican Sign Language >>
Following is the translation of Mark 14:1-11 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:
Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество
There are two Jewish holidays: Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They were two days away. The chief priests and teachers of the law gathered and plotted how they could seize Jesus secretly and kill him. They were afraid that if they seized Jesus right now, during these days, the people would hear about it and there might be a riot.
Here is the village of Bethany. There is a house there belonging to a man named Simon. In the past, this man had leprosy and was covered with sores. In this house, Jesus and other people were sitting around a table and were feasting.
A woman had a jug in her hands, and in it was a very expensive fragrant oil made from the nard plant. The woman opened the jug and began to pour the oil on Jesus’ head. The oil began to flow down his face and drip onto his clothes. Everyone around looked at this with displeasure and became angry. They said to each other:
— Why is this woman pouring out such expensive oil? It costs a lot, it could be sold and make a lot of money to give it to the poor, help them.
Everyone was angry and reproached her. Jesus said:
— Leave this woman alone. Stop judging her and scolding her. Don’t. This woman did a good deed for me. You will always have many beggars, but I will not always be. This woman anointed my head with oil, when I will die, I will be wrapped in burial shrouds and anointed with oil. That’s what she did. I tell you for sure: throughout the whole earth they will proclaim about me, and they will always tell about this woman, what she did for me. The story of this woman will never disappear.
One of the 12 disciples named Judas Iscariot stood up and went to the chief priests and made a deal with them to hand over Jesus to them. The chief priests were delighted and promised to give him money for this. He began to wait for a convenient time to hand over Jesus.
Есть два еврейских праздника: Пасха и Праздник пресных хлебов. До них оставалось два дня. Первосвященники и учителя закона собрались и замышляли, как бы им тайно схватить Иисуса и убить. Они боялись, что если они схватят Иисуса прямо сейчас, в эти дни, народ прослышит об этом, и может случиться волнение.
Вот селение Вифания. Там есть дом, принадлежащий человеку по имени Симон. В прошлом этот человек болел проказой и весь был покрыт язвами. В этом доме Иисус и другие люди сидели вокруг стола и пировали.
У одной женщины в руках был кувшин, а в нем находилось очень дорогое благоуханное масло, сделанное из растения «нард». Женщина открыла кувшин, и стала выливать масло на голову Иисуса. Масло стало стекать по лицу и капать на одежду. Все вокруг смотрели на это с неудовольствием и сердились. Они говорили друг другу:
— Зачем эта женщина выливает такое дорогое масло? Оно стоит очень много, его можно было бы продать, получить много денег и раздать их бедным, помочь им.
Все злились и упрекали ее. Иисус сказал:
— Оставьте эту женщину в покое. Хватит вам ее осуждать и ругать ее. Не надо. Эта женщина сделала доброе дело ради меня. У вас всегда будет много нищих, а я буду не всегда. Эта женщина помазала мою голову маслом, потом я умру, меня завернут в погребальные пелены и помажут маслом. Вот она это и сделала. Я говорю вам точно: по всей земле будут возвещать обо мне, и всегда будут также рассказывать и об этой женщине, что она сделала для меня. Никогда история об этой женщине не исчезнет.
Один из 12 учеников по имени Иуда Искариот встал и пошел к первосвященникам и сговорился с ними, что выдаст им Иисуса. Первосвященники обрадовались и обещали дать ему денег за это. Он стал выжидать удобное время, чтобы выдать Иисуса.
Back-translation by Luka Manevich
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Mark 14:12-26 in Russian Sign Language >>
The different Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “(olive) oil” and “(animal) fat” in English are translated in Kwere with only one term: mavuta. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
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