Honorary "rare" construct denoting God ("speaking")

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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is 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, hanashiteo-rare-ru (話しておられる) or “speaking” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Mark 14:43

Text:

After ochlos ‘crowd’ Textus Receptus and Kilpatrick add polus ‘great,’ which is omitted by all other modern editions of the Greek text.

Exegesis:

eti autou lalountos ‘while he was speaking’: cf. 5.35 for the identical phrase.

paraginetai (only here in Mark) ‘he is present,’ ‘he comes,’ ‘he arrives.’

heis tōn dōdeka (cf. 14.10, 20) ‘one of the Twelve.’

ochlos ‘crowd’: here, in the nature of the case, ‘mob’ (Moffatt), ‘rabble’ (Taylor).

meta machairōn kai xulōn ‘with swords and clubs’: the machairai (14.47, 48) were not necessarily swords, in the usual or technical sense of the term; they might have been knives. The xula (14.48) would be clubs, or cudgels.

para ‘from’ (cf. 8.11; 12.2, 21 for other places in which the preposition is used in this sense): here ‘from’ goes back to the main verb paraginomai ‘arrive,’ or else something like apestalmenos ‘sent’ is to be understood (cf. Lagrange envoyée).

tōn archiereōn kai tōn grammateōn kai tōn presbuterōn ‘the chief priests and the scribes and the elders,’ all three groups of the Sanhedrin (cf. 8.31).

Translation:

The syntax of this verse is deceptively simple, for there are a number of difficulties which, if not treated properly, result in misunderstanding. In the first place immediately should be related to the coming of Judas. This often requires a shift of order, e.g. ‘and while Jesus was still talking, Judas came right up’ or ‘… Judas came up immediately.’

One of the twelve is in apposition with Judas, and as such may be treated (1) as a paratactically combined expression, e.g. ‘He was one of the twelve’ or as in many languages ‘he was one with the eleven,’ or (2) as a dependent relative clause, e.g. ‘Judas, who was one of the twelve, came right up.’

The phrase with him a crowd with swords and clubs must frequently be made a separate clause, with two entirely different treatments of the preposition with, since in the first instance the meaning is accompaniment and in the second, possession, e.g. ‘a crowd who had (or ‘carried’) swords and clubs accompanied Judas.’

From the chief priests and the scribes and the elders is sometimes wrongly translated in such a way as to imply only that the swords and the clubs came from the three groups of the Sanhedrin. In still other instances, the rendering has implied that the crowd consisted of these groups. However the real meaning is that Judas and the crowd came from these authorities, in the sense of having been sent out by them. This meaning can be conveyed in some languages by a pronominal usage ‘these came from…’ or ‘they came from….’ This verse, consisting of a single sentence in Greek, must often be translated by at least three in other languages because of the radical shifts in participants and the fact that the Greek prepositions imply a complex relationship which cannot be duplicated by corresponding phrases in other languages.

For certain lexical problems, the following references are useful: chief priests (2.26; 8.31), scribes (1.22), and elders (8.31).

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 14:43

Section 14:43–52

Judas betrayed Jesus, and then Jesus’ enemies arrested him

The events in this section, like those in the preceding section, happened at night in the olive grove called Gethsemane.

At the end of 14:42, Jesus told his disciples that the one who would betray him was coming. At the beginning of this section in 14:43, Judas, the betrayer, arrived. He came with a crowd of armed men that the Jewish religious leaders had sent. Judas betrayed Jesus by kissing him. Then the crowd of men arrested Jesus and the disciples fled. As one of them was running away, some people grabbed the linen cloth he had wrapped around himself. He left the cloth in their hands and ran away naked.

In this section Mark referred back to things that happened before the crowd came to arrest Jesus. Before Judas came with the crowd, he went to the chief priests, teachers of the law, and elders. He told them that he would betray Jesus to them. They agreed to send armed men with him to arrest Jesus. These men probably would not recognize which man was Jesus. Judas told them that he would kiss Jesus to show them the man whom they should arrest. Tell about these events in a way that will help people understand why that group of men arrived with Judas.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The betrayal and arrest of Jesus
-or-
Jesus is captured

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 26:47–56, Luke 22:47–53, and John 18:3.

Paragraph 14:43–50

14:43a

While Jesus was still speaking: The clause While Jesus was still speaking refers back to what Jesus was saying in 14:41–42. This clause introduces an important new event: Judas brought men to arrest Jesus. The introductory clause indicates that this event began even while Jesus was speaking. Here is one way to introduce this important event:

While he was still speaking, this is what happened: Judas, one of the twelve disciples, appeared.

Introduce this important event in a natural way in your language. See the note on 1:10 for a similar example.

Jesus was still speaking: In some languages, you may need to say to whom Jesus was speaking. For example, you could say:

he was speaking to his disciples

In some languages it may be natural to provide a direct object for the speech verb. For example:

he was saying these words

14:43b

Judas, one of the Twelve: In this context the phrase one of the Twelve indicates that Judas was one of Jesus’ twelve closest disciples. You may need to include your term for “disciples” in this phrase. For example:

Judas, who was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples

arrived: In some languages it may be necessary to mention the place where Judas arrived. For example:

arrived at the place where Jesus was.

John 13:30 indicates that Judas had left the other disciples earlier in the evening during the supper. If readers wonder why Judas was not with the other disciples, you may want to supply this information in a footnote.

14:43c

accompanied by a crowd: A crowd came with Judas to the place where Jesus was. In some languages it may be natural to mention Judas’s name again here. For example:

A crowd accompanied Judas.

a crowd: The word crowd refers to many people. In this case the people were probably all men.

armed with swords and clubs: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as armed with is literally only “with,” as in the Revised Standard Version. In this context it indicates that the men were carrying swords and clubs to use as weapons. They were ready to fight anyone who resisted them. The New Century Version has:

carrying swords and clubs (New Century Version)

swords: The word swords refers to long metal knives or daggers that people used for fighting. (According to the UBS Handbook (page 454), these were not necessarily official swords, but may have been knives. Louw & Nida (page 58) identify them as short swords or daggers used for stabbing and slicing.) These long knives were sharp. If there is no word for swords or “daggers” in your language, you may:

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

long knives

• Use a cultural substitute. For example:

machetes/bolos/bush knives

clubs: The word clubs refers to heavy pieces of wood that people used for fighting. If there is no word for clubs in your language, you may use a descriptive phrase. For example:

heavy/big sticks

14:43d

sent from the chief priests, scribes, and elders: The clause sent from the chief priests, scribes, and elders is passive. If it is more natural in your language to use an active verb here, you can say:

…the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders had sent the crowd.

sent from: The armed crowd was sent by the Jewish leaders. This means that the Jewish leaders planned the way to arrest Jesus and ordered some men to do that.

the chief priests, scribes, and elders: These three groups together represented all the leaders of the Jews. Mark wrote about these same three groups in 8:31c. See how you translated the description there.

chief priests: A Jewish priest was a man who offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. He also performed other rituals for them. The phrase chief priests refers to the leaders among these priests.

Here are some other ways to translate chief priests:

the leading/ruling priests
-or-
the elders among the Jewish sacrificers
-or-
the most prominent priests

This same term occurs in 14:1b and 14:10b.

scribes: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as scribes is sometimes translated as “teachers of the law” (as in the New International Version). The original work of these men was to copy the laws of Moses by hand. In New Testament times, their main task was to study, interpret, and teach the law of Moses and Jewish laws and traditions that were based on the law of Moses.

Here are some other ways to translate this term:

the teachers of the Law of Moses (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
the teachers of religious law (New Living Translation)

This same word occurs in 14:1b. See also teacher of the law in the Glossary.

elders: The elders were the civil leaders or rulers. They were generally older men. See how you translated this in 11:27.

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