1As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.
The chief priests, elders, and scribes were judges, and they deliberated. Early in the morning, when it was light, they made a decision. What was it? They had to bring Jesus to Pilate. That was what they decided among themselves. Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea. They took Jesus, tied his hands, and led him to where Pilate was. The chief priests were gathered there. Jesus stood before them. Pilate asked Jesus:
— Are you the king of the Jews?
Jesus answered:
— You yourself say that I am the king of the Jews.
The chief priests began to get angry. They began to accuse Jesus of crimes. Pilate, after listening, asked Jesus again:
— Why are you silent, why don’t you say anything? Look how many accusations there are against you.
But Jesus said nothing, he simply remained silent. Pilate was very surprised.
This was the beginning of the Passover holiday. According to tradition, every year at this time the people could ask Pilate to release one prisoner. At this time, there was a man named Bar-Abba in prison, as well as accomplices in his crimes. Earlier, Bar-Abba had rebelled against the Romans and committed murder. Therefore, he was put in prison. The people, according to tradition, came and began to ask Pilate to release Bar-Abba. Pilate realized that this was what the high priests had ordered. They had handed Jesus over to trial out of envy. Pilate realized this and said to the people:
— Here is Jesus, who is the king of the Jews, perhaps you want me to release him?
But the high priests began to incite the people to ask specifically for the release of Bar-Abba. Pilate said:
— And Jesus, whom you call the king of the Jews, what do you want me to do with him? And the people began to shout that Jesus should be crucified.
Pilate said:
— What did Jesus do wrong?
But the people began to shout even louder that Jesus must be crucified. And then Pilate ordered that Bar-Abba be released, and that Jesus be beaten with whips and crucified on the cross.
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
Первосвященники, старейшины, а также книжники были судьями, они совещались. Ранним утром, когда рассвело, они приняли решение. Какое это было решение? Нужно привести Иисуса к Пилату. Так они между собой решили. Пилат был римский правитель Иудеи. Они взяли Иисуса, связали ему руки и повел его туда, где был Пилат. Там же собрались первосвященники. Перед ними стоял Иисус. Пилат спросил Иисуса:
— Ты царь иудеев?
Иисус ответил:
— Это ты сам так говоришь, что я царь иудеев.
Первосвященники начали злиться. Начали обвинять Иисуса в преступлениях. Пилат, выслушав, повторно спросил Иисуса:
— Почему ты молчишь, ничего не говоришь? Посмотри, сколько обвинений против тебя.
Но Иисус ничего не говорил, просто молчал. Пилат был очень сильно удивлён.
Это время было началом праздника Пасхи. По традиции, каждый год в это время народ мог попросить у Пилата, чтобы он отпустил одного заключенного. В это время в тюрьме был человек по имени Бар-Абба, а также соучастники в его преступлениях. Ранее Бар-Абба поднял бунт против римлян и совершил убийство. Поэтому его посадили в тюрьму. Народ по традиции пришел и стал просить Пилата, чтобы он отпустил Бар-Аббу. Пилат понял, что так велели первосвященники. Они из зависти отдали Иисуса на суд. Это понял Пилат и сказал народу:
— Вот Иисус, который царь иудейский, может быть, вы хотите, чтобы я его отпустил?
Но первосвященники начали подговаривать народ, чтобы они просили именно отпустить Бар-Аббу. Пилат сказал:
— А Иисус, которого вы называете царем иудеев, что вы хотите, чтобы я с ним сделал? И люди начали кричать, что Иисуса нужно распять. Пилат сказал:
— Что Иисус сделал плохого?
Но народ ещё сильнее начал кричать, что Иисус должен быть распят. И тогда Пилат приказал, чтобы Бар-Аббу отпустили, а Иисуса избили бичами и распяли на кресте.
One of the distinctions of the gospel of Mark is a breathlessness of telling the story of Jesus. One way that is achieved is by using the Greek kai, normally “and” in English, at the beginning of sections. Different versions and languages have found their own ways of translating it, but the German translation by Walter Jens (publ. 1990, 1998) is unique by consistently using Und ich erzähle or “And I’m telling (you)” for every such occurrence of kai.
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 15:1:
Uma: “Very early in the morning, all the religion judges [sitters] with the leading priests and the religion teachers and other Yahudi elders, they made-plans. They bound Yesus, the took him [and] brought him before ]lit., brought up] Gubernur Pilatus.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When it was morning, the leaders of the priests and the elders and the teachers of the religious law gathered. They were the council members that judged. They planned/conferred as to what/how-they-should-do to Isa. So-then when they had finished planning, they bound (lit. roped) Isa and took him to hand him over to Pilatus.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “When morning came, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and elders of the Jews, and all of the judges, they agreed as to what they would do with Jesus. They tied him up and took him to the Roman governor Pilate.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “In the early-morning (lit. its getting-light), the leaders of the priests, elders, teachers of the law and all who had authority to judge-cases met-together, and they agreed-together as to what they would do to Jesus. After-that they bound him and they went and handed-(him)-over to Gobernador (Governor) Pilato.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “At dawn, the chiefs of the priests, the important tribal leaders, the explainers of law and others too who were members of the Sanedrin had already reached an agreement. They caused Jesus to be bound and then taken to the governor who was Pilato.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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, Īhu, 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, ọYẹsọ, Sesi, Sisa, Sísa, Sisas, Sises, Sīsū, Sizi, Txesusu, uJesu, Ujísɔ̄si, ŵaYesu, Xesosi, ´Xesús, Xesús, Yasu, Ya:su, yasuɛ, 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®).
Instead of sumboulion hetoimasantes ‘reaching a decision’ of Tischendorf, Nestle, Soden, Kilpatrick, and Merk, the majority of editions of the Greek text have sumboulion poiēsantes ‘holding a counsel,’ which is the text of Revised Standard Version. The external evidence does not seem decisive either way (some mss. and versions have epoiēsan); internal evidence would prefer poiēsantes as the “harder” reading, more likely, therefore, to be original.
Exegesis:
prōi (cf. 1.35) ‘early,’ ‘in the morning’: apparently it is meant to indicate here the sunrise.
sumboulion poiēsantes ‘holding a counsel,’ ‘holding a consultation’: so the majority of the Greek texts (see Text, above). The Nestle reading sumboulion hetoimasantes means ‘reaching a decision,’ ‘formulating a plan.’
sumboulion (cf. 3.6) ‘counsel,’ ‘consultation.’
hoi archiereis meta tōn presbuterōn kai grammateōn (cf. 8.31) ‘the chief priests with the elders and scribes.’
dēsantes … apēnegkan ‘binding … they took away,’ ‘they bound … and took away.’
deō (cf. 3.27) ‘bind,’ ‘tie,’ ‘fasten.’
apopherō (only here in Mark; cf. pherō 1.31) ‘lead away,’ ‘take away’: Moulton & Milligan cite the use of the verb in the papyri of forcible removal.
paredōkan Pilatō ‘they delivered (him) to Pilate’: for paradidōmi ‘hand over,’ ‘deliver’ cf. 1.14. Pontius Pilate was the Roman procurator of Judea. A.D. 25/6–36, governing under the legatus of Syria. His official residence was in Caesarea, on the sea coast.
Translation:
Translation notes are to be found on several of the key words: chief priests (2.26; 8.31, and 14.47), elders (8.31), and scribes (1.22).
And the whole council may constitute a problem in some languages since the use of and in the meaning of ‘with’ or ‘in company with’ may imply that the chief priest, elders, and scribes were not themselves members of the council. To correct this meaning of the conjunction, one may translate as ‘and all the rest of the members of the council.’
Council is not usually difficult to translate since such institutions exist in almost all societies. Some typical renderings are ‘officials who gather together’ (Tzeltal), ‘those who think together’ (Copainalá Zoque), and ‘those who take charge of the affairs’ (Amganad Ifugao).
Held a consultation may be either ‘thought about the matter together’ or ‘talked about the matter.’
Delivered him may be equivalent to ‘turned him over to’ or ‘put him in the custody of.’
Led him away must be translated in such a manner as to be applicable to prisoners, and not as in some translations connoting the leading of children.
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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