Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 14:36:
Uma: “He said: ‘My Father! There isn’t anything that can’t happen if you (sing.), Father, say [so]. Take-away this suffering that is about to strike me. But [let] not my desire happen, but rather your (sing.) desire.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “And he said, ‘O Father (amma’) you can do anything. If you want to, don’t abandon me to be persecuted. But not my wish/will should be followed but your wish/will.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “In his praying he said, ‘My father you can do anything, and if it can be, do not allow me to be killed. But do not let my desire be followed, but rather, your desire.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “‘Father, Father,’ he said, ‘you (sing.) are capable of everything. Please permit that I not undergo this coming hardship of mine. But may it not be what I want but rather what you (sing.) want that is fulfilled.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “‘Father, my Father,’ he said, ‘you can really do all things. Hopefully you won’t cause this hardship/suffering which I am coming close to to be gone through with. But not my will is to be followed/obeyed, but on the contrary, your will.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).
Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.
In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.
While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal ta (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential ta (祂) is used.”
In that system one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and one for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.
Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains in the following way: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”
In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)
Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”
In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )
In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)
The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.
Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are the closely related Indonesian and Malay. In both languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).
The Greek that is translated with the capitalized “Father” in English when referring to God is translated in Highland Totonac with the regular word for (biological) father to which a suffix is added to indicate respect. The same also is used for “Lord” when referring to Jesus. (Source: Hermann Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. )
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. In the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017, God the Father is addressed with mi-chichi (御父). This form has the “divine” honorific prefix mi– preceding the archaic honorific form chichi for “father.”
If, however, Jesus addresses his Father, he is using chichi-o (父を) which is also highly respectful but does not have the “divine” honorific. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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 show different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
Here, torisatte (取り去って) or “take away” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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 show different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morphemes rare (られ) or are (され) are affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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 show 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. )
abba ho patēr (Rom. 8.15, Gal. 4.6) ‘Abba, Father’: abba represents the Aramaic ’aba’, ‘Father,’ used in prayer. From its occurrence in Romans and Galatians, it would appear that this bi-lingual expression was used in prayer, as an address to God: ‘O my Father!.’
panta dunata (cf. 9.23; 10.27) ‘all things are possible,’ ‘(you) can do all things.’
parenegke (only here in Mark) ‘take away,’ ‘remove’: Field defines it, ‘turn aside, cause to pass by.’
to potērion touto ‘this cup’: in a figurative sense, of impending affliction (as in 10.38f.). In the context, ‘this cup’ and ‘the hour’ (in the previous verse) refer to the same experience.
egō … su ‘I … you’: the pronouns are emphatic.
Translation:
Abba, Father tends to cause a number of difficulties in translating. First, a transliteration of abba may, by coincidence, already have a meaning which would make it impossible in combination with ‘Father’ or it may, as in some instances, actually mean ‘father.’ For example, in Eastern Krahn, a language of Liberia, the correct transliteration of abba is aba, but this is a word meaning ‘our father.’ It cannot, however, be used with the following ‘my Father’ (the word father should be possessed). The only solution in this instance is to drop the expression Abba and translate simply ‘my Father.’ A similar problem exists in Barrow Eskimo, where the transliteration of abba would be aappa, which actually means ‘father,’ but in this type of context Jesus would have to say ‘my father’ (aappaang), or the expression would be a denial of his own sonship. Moreover, it is impossible to use aappa, aappaang, literally ‘father, my father.’ Again, the only solution is to drop the transliteration.
In most languages, of course, it is possible to use the transliterated expression equivalent to Abba, but it may not be possible to use it in an appositional expression with much meaning, and it is scarcely warranted to put in an explanatory phrase, as though this would be a part of the prayer of Jesus to his Father. Accordingly, the best which can be done is to reproduce the Abba, despite its relative meaninglessness and add ‘father’ or ‘my father,’ immediately following.
All things are possible to thee must usually be shifted to a more direct form of expression, e.g. ‘you can do anything’ or ‘you are able to do everything.’
Remove this cup from me may be badly understood if translated literally, e.g. ‘remove this cup which is stuck to me’ or ‘take away this cup which I have.’ In some instances, where the figure of ‘cup’ is utterly meaningless (and in fact quite misleading) a phrase has been added to indicate the figurative nature of the expression. For example, in Chol, immediately following the use of vaso (borrowed from Spanish), the phrase ‘which is the picture of wocol’ has been employed. The Chol word wocol has a wide range of meaning, including affliction, trial, punishment, and retribution. It is particularly important that in any word for ‘cup’ one avoid the connotations of ‘cup of intoxicating liquor’ (a not infrequent mistake).
Not what I will, but what thou wilt is only very tenuously connected with the preceding. The ellipsis must sometimes be filled in as ‘but do not do what I want…’ or ‘but do not let it happen just as I want….’ In Tzeltal the contrast in desire is neatly expressed as ‘not the desire of my heart, but the desire of your heart.’
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 .
Abba, Father: Here Jesus spoke to God as his father. In the Aramaic language, Abba is the informal word for “father.” It was used by family members. He used Abba, the informal word for “father,” and followed it with the Greek word for “father.” It is not clear why Mark included two words that mean “father.”
Here are some other ways to translate this:
• If you have both a formal and informal word for “father” you may be able to use both here.
• Use an expression in your language which indicates that Jesus spoke to God, his Father in an affectionate way. For example:
my father, my father -or-
dear father
• Transliterate Abba and explain it in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:
Jesus used the Aramaic word “Abba” here. It means “Daddy/Papa.” A person used this word to speak to his father when they were at home together.
If the word Abba has a different meaning in your language, you should not include this word in the text.
Use whichever form is most natural in your language for a son to address his father in a way that shows affection.
He said: The Berean Standard Bible places the words He said after “Abba, Father.” In Greek these words occur at the beginning of 14:36a. Place the words He said where it is natural in your language.
14:36b
all things are possible for You: In this context the clause all things are possible for You indicates that God can do anything, and he can cause anything to happen.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
you are able to do everything -or-
nothing is impossible for you
14:36c
Take this cup from Me: The words Take this cup from Me are a humble prayer. Be sure to express it in a humble and polite way in your language.
this cup: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as cup is used here as a figure of speech. It refers to the suffering that Jesus would soon experience. Jesus was asking God to rescue him from the suffering that he would endure on the cross. If your readers would not understand this, here are some ways to translate it:
• Keep the figure of speech and indicate that it refers to suffering. For example, the New Living Translation says:
Please, take this cup of suffering away from me.
• Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:
Save me from this suffering.
14:36d
Yet: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Yet here introduces a limit or condition that Jesus added to his request. Jesus had asked to be saved from suffering, but he did not want God to save him if it was not God’s will.
Here are some other ways to translate this conjunction:
However -or-
But even though I have asked this
not what I will, but what You will: There are implied words in this clause:
Do not do what I want you to do, but do what you want to do.
This clause indicates that Jesus accepted whatever his Father wanted to happen to him. He chose what his Father wanted, rather than what he wanted.
In some languages it may be more natural to reverse the order of these clauses and say:
your will be done, not my will
but what You will: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but indicates a contrast between two choices. In this context Jesus had to choose either what he wanted to happen or what God wanted to happen. Jesus chose what God wanted.
General Comment on 14:35–36
In 14:36 Mark gives the words that Jesus prayed as a direct quote. In some languages it may be necessary to translate 14:35c also as part of the direct quote. For example:
He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible in your plan, let me avoid the suffering that is about to strike me. Everything is possible for you. Cause this suffering not to come. Yet do what you want, not what I want.”
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.
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