curtain

The Greek that is translated as “curtain” in English is translated in Shuar as “divider” (aource: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.) and in Copainalá Zoque as “cloth closure” (source: Bratcher / Nida).

Mark 15:33 - 41 in Mexican Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 15:33-41 into Mexican Sign Language with back-translations into Spanish and English underneath:


© La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)

A las doce de la tarde el cielo se transformó en oscuro y negro hasta las tres de la tarde. Jesús gritó en voz fuerte “¡Eloi Eloi lama sabactani!” que significa: ‘Dios mio, Dios mio, ¿porqué me has dejado?’

Las personas lo oyeron mal y dijeron: “Jesús está hablando y llamando a que venga Elías.”

Un hombre corrió y agarró una esponja y la mojó en vino corriente y la puso en un tubo y subió el tubo, y Jesús colgado en la cruz chupó.

Dijeron: “Dejalo, a ver si venga Elías a ayudar a Jesús y a bajarlo”, y todos estaban viendo. Jesús, colgado en la cruz, gritó en voz fuerte y bajó la cabeza y murió.

Allá en Jerusalén adentro del templo la cortina gruesa se rompió en dos partes al mismo tiempo.

Frente a la cruz un capitán de los soldados romanos vio todo con sus propios ojos, cuando el soldado vio que Jesús ya estaba muerto, (dijo): “Este hombre verdaderamente era el hijo de Dios.”

Allá había algunas mujeres que vieron Jesús en la cruz desde lejos, ellos recien antes habían acompañado a Jesús cuando fue a Jerusalén.

Las mismas mujeres que había allá eran: 1. María Magdalena, 2. Maria, 3. Salome. Los tres eran sus compañeras y juntas habían tratado a Jesús en Galilea.


At twelve o’clock in the afternoon the sky was transformed, it became dark and black until three o’clock in the afternoon. Jesus shouted loudly: “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means ‘My God, my God why have you left me?’

The people heard it wrong and said: “Jesus is talking and calling Elijah to come.”

A man ran and grabbed a sponge and dipped it in common wine and put it on a stick and held up the stick, and Jesus, hanging on the cross, sucked it up.

They said: “Leave him, let’s see if Elijah comes to help Jesus and carry him down”, and they were all watching. Jesus, hanging on the cross, shouted loudly and lowered his head and died.

Over there in Jerusalem, inside the temple, the thick curtain was torn in two at the same time.

Opposite the cross a captain of the Roman soldiers saw it all with his own eyes, when the soldier saw that Jesus was already dead (he said): “This man was really the son of God.”

Over there were some women who were watching Jesus on the cross from afar, they had recently accompanied Jesus when he went to Jerusalem.

The women who were there were: 1. Mary Magdalene, 2. Mary, 3. Salome. The three were his companions and together they had cared for Jesus in Galilee.

Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

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Mark 15:42-47 in Mexican Sign Language >>

Mark 15:33-47 in Russian Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 15:33-47 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:


Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество

At noon it became as dark as night over the whole land. The darkness lasted until three o’clock in the afternoon. Jesus on the cross cried out loudly:

— My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

There were people near the cross. Some people began to say that Jesus was probably calling the prophet Elijah to come. One man came up, took a sponge, soaked it in vinegar. He pierced it with a stick and brought it to Jesus’ face for Jesus to drink. This man said,

— Now let’s see if the prophet will come and take Jesus down from the cross.

Jesus on the cross cried out loudly and died. His head drooped. Inside the temple there is a curtain. And this curtain, at the moment Jesus died, was torn in two. Near the cross stood a Roman general, a commander over a hundred soldiers. He saw Jesus die. And this general said,

— Truly, Jesus was the son of God!

There were also many women standing there, looking at the cross and Jesus from afar. Among them were three women: Mary Magdalene, another Mary, who was the mother of James and Joses, and Salome. They had always followed Jesus before, served him, helped him when he was in Galilee. There were many other women. They had followed Jesus to Jerusalem before.

The evening was approaching. It was Friday. It was ending, and soon after that the Sabbath would begin. There was a man named Joseph, he lived in the city of Arimathea. And he was not an ordinary man, he was a member of the Supreme Court, and he himself was waiting for the imminent coming of the Kingdom of God. He gathered his courage and went to Pilate. Joseph decided to ask Pilate for permission to take the body of Jesus, wrap it in clothes, and bury it right now, before the Sabbath. Joseph came to Pilate and turned to him:

— Let me take the body of Jesus and bury it.

Pilate was very surprised:

— How? Jesus has already died?

Pilate called the Roman commander and asked:

— Has Jesus already died? When was that?

The commander answered:

— Yes, Jesus has already died.

Pilate gave permission to take the body. Joseph bought and prepared a large cloth for wrapping, came to the cross, took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it and carried it to the rock, inside which a tomb had been made. There he laid the body, and blocked the entrance with a large stone. Nearby were two women, Mary Magdalene and Mary, who was the mother of Joses. And they looked at everything and saw how they buried Jesus and where.

Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):

В полдень по всей земле стало темно, как ночью. Тьма продолжалась до трех часов дня. Иисус на кресте громко воскликнул: «Бог мой, Бог мой, почему ты меня оставил?» Возле креста были люди. Некоторые люди стали говорить, что, наверное, Иисус зовёт пророка Илию, чтобы он пришел. Один человек подошел, взял губку, намочил её в уксусе. Палкой проткнул ее и поднёс к лицу Иисусу, чтобы Иисус выпил. Этот человек сказал:

— Сейчас посмотрим, придет ли пророк и снимет ли Иисуса с креста?

Иисус на кресте громко вскрикнул и умер. Голова его поникла. В храме внутри есть завеса. И эта завеса, в тот момент, когда Иисус умер, разорвался на две части. Возле креста стоял один римский военачальник, командир над ста воинами. Он видел, как Иисус умер. И этот военачальник сказал:

— Воистину, Иисус он был сыном Божьим!

Также там стояло много женщин, которые издали смотрели на крест и Иисуса. Среди них были три женщины: Мария Магдалина, еще одна Мария, которая была мать Иакова и Иосета, а также Саломея. Они раньше всегда следовали за Иисусом, служили, помогали ему, когда он был в Галилее. Ещё были многие другие женщины. Они раньше последовали за Иисусом в Иерусалим.

Приближался вечер. Это была пятница. Она кончалась, скоро после этого начиналась суббота. Был один человек именем Иосиф, он жил в городе Аримафея. И он был непростым человеком, он был членом Верховного суда, и он сам ждал скорого наступления Царства Бога. Он набрался смелости пришел к Пилату. Иосиф решил попросить у Пилата разрешение забрать тело Иисуса, запеленать его, чтобы похоронить прямо сейчас, до наступления субботы. Иосиф пришел к Пилату и обратился к нему:

— Разреши мне забрать тело Иисуса и похоронить его.

Пилат очень удивился:

— Как? Иисус уже умер?

Пилат позвал римского военачальника и спросил:

— Что, Иисус уже умер? Когда это было?

Военачальник ответил:

— Да, Иисус уже умер.

Пилат разрешил забрать тело. Иосиф купил и приготовил большую ткань для пеленания, пришел к кресту, снял тело Иисуса, запеленал и отнес его к скале, внутри которой была сделана гробница. Там оно положил тело, а вход загородил большим камнем. Недалеко были две женщины, это Мария Магдалина и Мария, которая мать Иосета. И они на все смотрели и видели, как похоронили Иисуса и где.

Back-translation by Luka Manevich

<< Mark 15:16-32 in Russian Sign Language
Mark 16:1-8 in Russian Sign Language >>

synagogue, temple (inner), temple (outer)

In many English translations the Greek terms “hieron” (the whole “temple” in Jerusalem or specifically the outer courts open to worshippers) and “naos” (the inner “shrine” or “sanctuary”) are translated with only one word: “temple” (see also for instance “Tempel” in German [for exception see below] and “tempel” in Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans).

Other languages make a distinction: (Click or tap here to see more)

  • Navajo (Dinė): “house in which worship is carried out” (for naos)
  • Balinese: “inner part of the Great Temple” (“the term ‘inner part’ denoting the hindmost and holiest of the two or three courts that temples on Bali usually possess”) vs. “Great Temple”
  • Telugu: “womb (i.e. interior)-of-the-abode” vs. “abode”
  • Thai: a term denoting the main audience hall of a Buddhist temple compound vs. “environs-of-the-main-audience-hall”
  • Kituba: “place of holiness of house-God Lord” vs. “house-God Lord”
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “deep in God’s house” vs. “God’s house” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “inner court of the temple” (Tempelinnenhof) vs. “temple”

Languages that, like English, German, Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans, don’t make that distinction include:

  • Mandarin Chinese: “聖殿 Shèng diàn” (“holy palace”)
  • Loma: “the holy place”
  • Pular: “the sacred house” (source for this and the one above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Zarma: “God’s compound”
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “big church of the Jews”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “big house on top (i.e. most important)”
  • Toraja-Sa’dan: “house that is looked upon as holy, that is sacred, that is taboo and where one may not set foot” (lit. “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” — because taboo is violated — using a term that is also applied to a Muslim mosque) (source for this and the three above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Mairasi: Janav Enggwarjer Weso: “Great Above One’s (God’s) House” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Noongar: Maya-maya-Kooranyi: “Sacred House” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Huehuetla Tepehua: “the big church of the Israelites”
  • Aguaruna: “the house for talking to God” (source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
  • Guhu-Samane: “festival longhouse of God” (“The biiri, ‘festival longhouse’, being the religious and social center of the community, is a possible term for ‘temple’. It is not the ‘poro house’ as such. That would be too closely identified with the cult of poro. The physical features of the building, huge and sub-divided, lend it further favor for this consideration. By qualifying it as ‘God’s biiri’ the term has become meaningful and appropriate in the context of the Scriptures.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. )
  • Enga: “God’s restricted access house” (source: Adam Boyd on his blog )

Another distinction that tends to be overlooked in translations is that between hieron (“temple” in English) and sunagógé (“synagogue” in English). Euan Fry (in The Bible Translator 1987, p. 213ff. ) reports on this:

“Many older translations have simply used transliterations of ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ rather than trying to find equivalent terms or meaningful expressions in their own languages. This approach does keep the two terms separate; but it makes the readers depend on explanations given by pastors or teachers for their understanding of the text.

“Translators who have tried to find meaningful equivalents, for the two terms ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ have usually made a distinction between them in one of two ways (which focus on the contrasting components of meaning). One way takes the size and importance of the Temple to make a contrast, so that expressions such as ‘sacred meeting/ worship house of the Jews’ and ‘big sacred meeting/worship house of the Jews’ are used. The other way focuses on the different nature of the religious activity at each of the places, so that expressions such as ‘meeting/worship house of the Jews’ and ‘sacrifice/ceremony place of the Jews’ are used.

“It is not my purpose in this article to discuss how to arrive at the most precise equivalent to cover all the components of meaning of ‘temple’. That is something that each translator really has to work through for himself in the light of the present usage and possibilities in his own language. My chief concern here is that the basic term or terms chosen for ‘temple’ should give the reader of a translation a clear and correct picture of the location referred to in each passage. And I am afraid that in many cases where an equivalent like ‘house of God’ or ‘worship house’ has been chosen, the readers have quite the wrong picture of what going to the Temple or being in the Temple means. (This may be the case for the word ‘temple’ in English too, for many readers.)”

Here are some examples:

  • Bambara: “house of God” (or: “big house of worship”) vs. “worship house” (or: “small houses of worship”)
  • Toraja-Sa’dan: “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” (see above) vs. “meeting house for discussing matters concerning religious customs” (and “church” is “house where one meets on Sunday”)
  • Navajo (Dinė): “house in which worship is carried out” vs. “house of gathering” (source for all above: Bratcher / Nida)

    • Bangandu: “the great house of God” vs. “house of prayer” (Source: Ervais Fotso Noumsi in Le Sycomore, 16/1, 2022 )

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Herod’s temple (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Click or tap here to see a short video clip showing synagogues in New Testament times (source: Bible Lands 2012)

See also this devotion on YouVersion .

complete verse (Mark 15:38)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 15:38:

  • Uma: “At that time, the cloth middle-wall that was hung in the House of God was split in half from the top to the bottom.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Immediately the thick cloth that made a divider in the temple tore. It tore in two from top to bottom.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The very thick piece of cloth used for a curtain inside the House of God was torn in half from the top to the bottom.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Immediately-after the curtain of the Temple tore and split-in-two beginning at the top going-downward.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “At the same time as the breaking off of the life of Jesus, suddenly/unexpectedly the thick curtain in the Templo which screens the Holy of Holies (lit. Extremely Far From Ordinary Room of the Templo) was torn. It was torn from the top all the way down to the bottom.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 15:38

Exegesis:

to katapetasma tou naou ‘the veil of the sanctuary,’ ‘the curtain of the temple’: it is generally assumed that the katapetasma (only here in Mark) was the veil separating the holy place from the holy of holies. This curtain is described by Edersheim as being sixty feet long, thirty feet wide, and the thickness of the palm of a man’s hand.

naos (cf. 14.58) ‘sanctuary.’

eschisthē (cf. 1.10) ‘was rent,’ ‘was torn.’

ap’ anōthen heōs katō ‘from top to bottom.’

Translation:

Curtain is not always easily translated, since in many societies such objects are not known. In Copainalá Zoque the closest equivalent is ‘cloth-closure,’ literally equivalent to ‘cloth door.’ In a number of languages curtain has been rendered by a borrowed form. It is important, however, to avoid a literal translation of veil, since this may apply only to veils worn by women, and accordingly the veil of the temple would be quite meaningless.

Was torn is a passive construction without the mention of a specific agent; nor would it be justifiable to introduce a specific grammatical subject of a transitive expression, e.g. ‘God tore the curtain.’ Accordingly, it is best, in such instances, to shift the verb expression to an intransitive equivalent, e.g. ‘the curtain split into two pieces,’ or ‘divided into two parts.’

From top to bottom is a highly elliptical expression, requiring some fuller statement in some languages, e.g. ‘the curtain began to split first at the top and then continued to split to the bottom.’

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 15:38

15:38a–b

And: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And introduces what happened immediately after Jesus died. In some languages, it may be natural to use a time word or phrase here. For example:

At once (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Just then

the veil of the temple: The phrase the veil of the temple refers to the large, thick cloth that hung in the temple. It either hung at the entrance to the temple building or between two rooms in the temple building. (These two rooms are known as “The Holy Place” and “The Holy of Holies.” (In the commentaries there is much discussion of which of these two curtains is intended and with divided opinion. The outer curtain is favored by some because of its public aspect. The inner curtain is favored by others because of references to it in Hebrews (6:19, 9:3; 10:19–20) and because the Greek word used here is more consistently used of the inner curtain. In the end, the choice of curtain does not greatly effect the sense. The tearing of either curtain would speak of the destruction of the temple and Old Testament system and symbolically show that a new way has been opened for man to approach God.)) This curtain was possibly as much as twenty-five meters tall.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

cloth door of the temple
-or-
cloth divider of the temple
-or-
heavy cloth that separated two rooms in the temple

temple: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as temple here refers to the main temple building. This is the same word as in 14:58b and 15:29c–d. See temple, Meaning 2, in the Glossary for more information.

was torn in two from top to bottom: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as was torn in two means that the curtain was ripped/split into two pieces. (The same Greek verb is used in a figurative sense in 1:10b (“He saw the heavens breaking open”). If possible, use the same word you used there.)

If possible, use an expression that does not identify who (or what) caused the curtain to tear. For example:

the curtain tore/ripped in two
-or-
the curtain was torn/divided in two

If it is necessary in your language to identify who caused this to happen, you should say “God.” For example:

God tore the curtain in two.

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