Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)
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.
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.
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
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.
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 14:6:
Uma: “Yesus said to them: ‘Let her alone. Why are you making her feel bad [lit., hurting her heart]? What she has done for me is good.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “But Isa said to them, ‘Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? It is good what she has done to me.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. Why are you criticizing her? What she did for me is very good.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “But Jesus said, ‘Leave-(her)-alone! Why are you hardshipping her? What she has done to me is very-good!” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “But Jesus spoke, saying, ‘Why are you bothering this woman? Just leave her alone. What she did to/for me is really good.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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.
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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) 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, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.
The Greek Iēsous is “only” a proper name but one with great importance. The following quote by John Ellington (in The Bible Translator1993, p. 401ff. ) illustrates this:
“In Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus Christ, Joseph is told that when Mary gives birth to a son ‘you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins’ (1:21). This name is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name [Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) which is a short form of a name meaning] ‘the Lord [Yahweh] saves.’ The name is very significant and is in itself especially dear to Christians around the world. (…) Unquestionably great importance is attached to the name of Jesus by Christians of all persuasions and backgrounds.”
While Iēsous (pronounced: /i.ɛː.suːs/) is transliterated as “Jesus” (pronounced /ˈdʒiːzəs/) in English (but was translated as “Hælend” [the “healing one”] in Old English — see Swain 2019) it is transliterated and pronounced in a large variety of other ways as well, following the different rules of different languages’ orthographies, writing systems and rules of pronunciation. The following is a (partial) list of forms of Jesus in Latin characters: aYeso, Azezi, Boiyesuq, Cecoc, Chesús, Chi̍i̍sū, Chisɔsi, Ciisahs, Ciise, Ciisusu, Djesu, Ɛisa, Ƹisa, Eyesu, Gesù, Gesû, Gesü, Ġesù, Ghjesù, Giêsu, ꞌGiê‑ꞌsu, Giê-xu, Gyisɛse, Hesu, Hesús, Hisus, Hisuw, Ià-sŭ, Iesen, Ié:sos, Iesu, Iesui, Iesusɨn, Iesusiva, Ié:sos, Ihu, Iisus, Iisussa, Ijeesu, iJisọsị, Iji̍sɔ̄ɔsi, Iosa, Íosa, Ìosa, İsa, I’sa, Isiso, Isõs, Ísu, Isus, Isusa, Iisussa, Isuthi, Itota, Îtu, Isuva, Izesu, Izesuq, Jasus, Jeeju, Jeesus, Jeesuse, Jeezas, Jehu, Jeisu, Jeju, Jejus, Jesesi, Jeshu, Jeso, Jesoe, Jesosa, Jesoshi, Jesosi, Jesosy, Jesu, Jesû, Jesua, Jesuh, Jesuhs, Jesuo, Jesús, Jésus, Jesúsu, Jethu, Jezed, Jezi, Jézi, Ježiš, Jezu, Jezus, Jézus, Jėzus, Jēzus, Jezusi, Jėzus, Jezuz, Jiijajju, Jíísas, Jiisusi, Jiizas, Jíìzọ̀s, Jisas, Jisase, Jisasi, Jisasɨ, Jisaso, Jisesi, Jisɛ̀, Jisos, Jisọs, Jisɔs, Jisu, Jiszs, Jizọs, Jizɔs, Jizọsi, Jizọsu, Jòso, Jusu, Jweesus, Ketsutsi, Njises, Sesi, Sisa, Sísa, Sisas, Sises, Sīsū, Sizi, Txesusu, uJesu, Ujísɔ̄si, ŵaYesu, Xesosi, ´Xesús, Xesús, Yasu, Ya:su, Yasuuⓐ, Ɣaysa, Yecu, Yeeb Sub, Yeeh Suh, Yeesey, Yeeso, Yeesso, Yēēsu, Yehsu, Yëësu, Yeiqsul, Yeisu, Yeisuw, Yeshu, Yē shú, Yeso, Yéso, Yesò, Yëso, Yɛso, ye-su, Yésu, Yêsu, Yẹ́sụ̃, Yěsù, Yésʉs, Yeswa, Yet Sut, Yetut, Yexus, Yezo, Yezu, Yiesu, Yiisa, Yiisu, Yiitju, Yis, Yisɔs, Yisufa, Yitati, Yusu, ‑Yusu, :Yusu’, Zeezi, Zezi, Zezì, Zezuz, Zezwii, Ziizɛ, Zisas, Zîsɛ, Zjezus, Zozi, Zozii, and this (much more incomplete) list with other writings systems: ᔩᓱᓯ, ᒋᓴᔅ, Հիսուս, ᏥᏌ, ኢየሱስ, ያሱስ, ܝܫܘܥ, Ісус, Їисъ, 耶稣, იესო, ईसा, イエス, イイスス, イエスス, 예수, येशू, येशो, ਈਸਾ, ພຣະເຢຊູ, ජේසුස්, যীশু, ଯୀଶୁ, ཡེ་ཤུ་, ‘ঈছা, இயேசு, ಯೇಸು, ພຣະເຢຊູ, ယေရှု, ઇસુ, जेजू, येसु, เยซู, យេស៊ូ, ᱡᱤᱥᱩ, ယေသှု, యేసు, ᤕᤧᤛᤢ᤺ᤴ, އީސާގެފާނު, ਯਿਸੂ, ꕉꖷ ꔤꕢ ꕞ, ⵏ⵿ⵗⵢⵙⴰ, ଜୀସୁ, يَسُوعَ,ㄧㄝㄙㄨ, YE-SU, ꓬꓰ꓿ꓢꓴ, 𖽃𖽡𖾐𖼺𖽹𖾏𖼽𖽔𖾏, ꑳꌠ, ᠶᠡᠰᠦᠰ (note that some of these might not display correctly if your device does not have the correct fonts installed).
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In some languages the different confessions have selected different transliterations, such as in Belarusian with Isus (Ісус) by the Orthodox and Protestant churches and Yezus (Езус) by the Catholic church, Bulgarian with Iisus (Иисус) by the Orthodox and Isus (Исус) by the Protestant church, Japanese with Iesu (イエス) (Protestant and Catholic) and Iisusu (イイスス) (Orthodox), or Lingala with Yesu (Protestant) or Yezu (Catholic). These differences have come to the forefront especially during the work on interconfessional translations such as one in Lingala where “many hours were spent on a single letter difference” (source: Ellington, p. 401).
In Literary and Mandarin Chinese where transliterations of proper names between the Catholic and Protestant versions typically differ vastly, the Chinese name of Jesus (Yēsū 耶稣) remarkably was never brought into question between and by those two confessions, likely due to its ingenious choice. (Click or tap here to see more).
The proper name of God in the Old Testament, Yahweh (YHWH), is rendered in most Chinese Bible translations as Yēhéhuá 耶和華 — Jehovah. According to Chinese naming conventions, Yēhéhuá could be interpreted as Yē Héhuá, in which Yē would be the family name and Héhuá — “harmonic and radiant” — the given name. In the same manner, Yē 耶 would be the family name of Jesus and Sū 稣 would be his given name. Because in China the children inherit the family name from the father, the sonship of Jesus to God the Father, Jehovah, would be illustrated through this. Though this line of argumentation sounds theologically unsound, it is indeed used effectively in the Chinese church (see Wright 1953, p. 298).
Moreover, the “given name” of Sū 稣 carries the meaning ‘to revive, to rise again’ and seems to point to the resurrected Jesus. (Source: J. Zetzsche in Malek 2002, p. 141ff., see also tetragrammaton (YHWH))
There are different ways that Bible translators have chosen historically and today in how to translate the name of Jesus in predominantly Muslim areas: with a form of the Arabic Isa (عيسى) (which is used for “Jesus” in the Qur’an), the Greek Iēsous, or, like major 20th century Bible translations into Standard Arabic, the Aramaic Yēšūaʿ: Yasua (يَسُوعَ). (Click or tap here to see more.)
Following are languages and language groups that use a form of Isa include the following (note that this list is not complete):
In Indonesian, while most Bible translations had already used Yesus Kristus rather than Isa al Masih, three public holidays used to be described using the term Isa Al Masih. From 2024 on the government is using Yesus Kristus in those holiday names instead (see this article in Christianity Today ).
Some languages have additional “TAZI” editions (TAZI stands for “Tawrat, Anbiya, Zabur, and Injil” the “Torah, Prophets, Psalms and Gospel”) of the New Testament that are geared towards Muslim readers where there is also a translation in the same language for non-Muslims. In those editions, Isa is typically used as well (for example, the Khmer TAZI edition uses Isa (អ៊ីសា) rather than the commonly used Yesaou (យេស៊ូ), the Thai edition uses Isa (อีซา) rather than Yesu (เยซู), the Chinese edition uses Ěrsā (尔撒) vs. Yēsū (耶稣), and the English edition also has Isa rather than Jesus.)
In German the name Jesus (pronounced: /ˈjeːzʊs/) is distinguished by its grammatical forms. Into the 20th century the grammatical rules prescribed a unique Greek-Latin declination: Jesus (nominative), Jesu (genitive, dative, vocative), Jesum (accusative), from which today only the genitive case “Jesu” is still in active use. Likewise, in Seediq (Taroko), the morphological treatment of “Jesus” also occupies a special category by not falling under the normal rule of experiencing a vowel reduction when the object-specific suffix an is added “since it was felt that the readers might resent that the name has been changed that drastically.” (Compare Msian for “Moses” (Mosi) as an object, but Yisuan for “Jesus” (Yisu).) (Source: Covell 1998. p. 249)
In Lamba the name ŵaYesu consists of a transliteration Yesu and the prefix ŵa, a plural form for “proper names when addressing and referring to persons in any position of seniority or honor.” While this was avoided in early translations to avoid possible misunderstandings of more than one Jesus, once the church was established it was felt that it was both “safe” and respectful to use the honorific (pl.) prefix. (Source C. M. Doke in The Bible Translator 1958, p. 57ff. )
In virtually all sign languages, “Jesus” is signed with the middle finger of each hand pointing to the palm (or wrist) of the other in succession (signing the nails of the cross). In the context of Bible translation this has been pointed out as theologically problematic since the “semantic connections of the original name Jesus do point towards ‘salvation,’ they do not naturally lead to crucifixion.” (Source: Phil King in Journal of Translation 1 (2020), p. 33ff.)
Following is the oldest remaining Ethiopian Orthodox icon of Jesus from the 14th or possibly 13th century (found in the Church of the Saviour of the World in Gurji, Ethiopia). As in many Orthodox icons, Jesus’ right hand forms the Greek letters I-C-X-C for IHCOYCXPICTOC or “Jesus Christ.” Another interpretation of the right hand is that it shows three fingers pointing to the Trinity, while the two other fingers point to Jesus’ two natures.
Orthodox icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
The following is the so-called “Wales Window for Alabama.” It is a stained-glass window by the artist John Petts from Carmarthenshire, Wales, created in response to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing which took place in 1963:
Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )
The style of the following drawing of Jesus by Annie Vallotton is described by the artist as this: “By using few lines the readers fill in the outlines with their imagination and freedom. That is when the drawings begin to communicate.” (see here ; see also We All are One in Christ)
Illustration by Annie Vallotton, copyright by Donald and Patricia Griggs of Griggs Educational Service.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
aphete autēn (cf. 2.5) ‘leave her alone’: Arndt & Gingrich suggest ‘let go,’ ‘tolerate,’ while Lagrange prefers the meaning ‘let her do it.’ In light of the context, however, the Revised Standard Version is to be preferred (cf. Swete).
ti autē kopous parechete; ‘why are you causing her trouble?’ ‘why are you giving her difficulty?’: Moulton & Milligan give examples from the papyri of the use of this phrase meaning ‘cause trouble,’ ‘bother.’
kopos (only here in Mark) ‘trouble,’ ‘difficulty,’ ‘toil.’
parechō (only here in Mark) ‘to present,’ ‘to furnish,’ ‘to cause.’
kalon ergon ‘a good work,’ ‘a beautiful deed,’ ‘a noble thing’: the adjective here indicates “what is morally good, with a nuance of nobility and beauty” (Lagrange).
kalos (cf. 4.8) ‘beautiful,’ ‘fine,’ ‘fitting.’
ergon (cf. 13.34) ‘deed,’ ‘task,’ ‘action.’
ērgasato (only here in Mark) ‘she worked,’ ‘she performed,’ ‘she accomplished.’
en emoi ‘to me’: the preposition here indicates the object to whom something is done.
Translation:
Let her alone is sometimes translated rather concretely, e.g. ‘do not touch her’ (Cashibo-Cacataibo), an expression which implies avoidance of molestation or disturbance.
Beautiful thing requires recasting in some languages, e.g. ‘what she has done to me is beautiful’ or ‘it is very good what she has done to me.’
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 .
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