Sabbath

The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “Sabbath” in English is rendered as “day we rest” in Tzotzil, in Mairasi as “Jew’s Rest Day,” in Quiotepec Chinantec as “day when people of Israel rested,” in Shilluk as “day of God,” in Obolo as Usen Mbuban or “Holy Day,” and in Mandarin Chinese as ānxírì (安息日) or “rest day” (literally: “peace – rest – day”). (Sources: Tzotzil: Marion Cowan in Notes on Translation with Drill, p. 169ff; Mairasi: Enggavoter 2004; Quiotepec Chinantec: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.; Shilluk: Nida 1964, p. 237; Obolo: Enene Enene; Chinese: Jost Zetzsche)

In Matumbi it is translated as Sabato ya Ayahudi or “Sabbath of the Jews,” to distinguish it from the Islamic Sabbath (which is Friday) or the Christian Sabbath (which is Sunday). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

In the old Khmer version as well as in the first new translation this term was rendered as “day of rest” (Thngai Chhup Somrak / ​ថ្ងៃ​ឈប់​សំរាក). Considered inadequate to convey its religious meaning (not only about cessation of work, but also in honor of Yahweh as the Creator), the committee for the Today’s Khmer Version (publ. 2005) decided to keep the Hebrew word and use its transliterated form Thgnai Sabath (​ថ្ងៃ​សប្ប័ទ). “The Buddhist word Thngai Seil ‘day of merits’ used by some Catholics was once under consideration but was rejected because it did not receive unanimous support.” (Source: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 233ff. )

In Spanish, the translation is either día de reposo (“day of rest”) or sábado (usually: “Saturday,” derived from the Greek and Hebrew original). Nida (1947, p. 239f.) explains that problem for Spanish and other languages in its sphere of influence: “In translation ‘Sabbath’ into various aboriginal languages of Latin America, a considerable number of translators have used the Spanish sábado, ‘Saturday,’ because it is derived from the Hebrew sabbath and seems to correspond to English usage as well. The difficulty is that sábado means only ‘Saturday’ for most people. There is no religious significance about this word as the is with ‘Sabbath’ in English. Accordingly the [readers] cannot understand the significance of the persecution of Jesus because he worked on ‘Saturday.’ It has been found quite advantageous to use the translation ‘day of rest,’ for this accurately translated the Hebrew meaning of the term and resolves the problem in connection with the prohibitions placed upon some types of activities.”

In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts closing of the blinds of a store:


“Sabbath” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Sabbath .

Mark 15:42 - 47 in Mexican Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 15:42-47 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)

Segun el costumbre de los judíos el sábado era el día de descanso y las persona siempre lo preparaban antes, el viernes en la tarde.

Un hombre, José, un anciano y líder superior del lugar de Arimatea, creía, deseaba y esperaba que viniera el reino de Dios.

El viernes en la tarde este mismo hombre, José de Arimatea en fe fue ante el gobernador romano y dijo a Pilato: “¿Puedo obtener permiso para llevar el cuerpo de Jesús?”

Pilato estaba sorprendido que Jesús ya estaría muerto. (Dijo): “Un momento” y llamó a que viniera el capitán romano. Cuando se había acercado (preguntó): “¿Jesús ya está muerto?” El capitán (dijo): “Si está muerto.”

Pilato (dijo): “Sí, tienes permiso, vete” y José de Arimateo se fue a comprar sábanas finas y después fue a Jesús, colgado en la cruz, y José tendió las sábanas y bajó el cuerpo de Jesús y lo envolvió en las sábanas y lo llevó.

Allá antes había un acantilado y habían cavado uns entrada para una tumba.

José de Arimatea, cargando el cuerpo, entró y tendió el cuerpo y salió y rodó una piedra grande tapando (la entrada de la tumba).

Ambas las mujeres María Magdalena y María lo vieron.


According to the custom of the Jews Saturday was a day of rest and the people always prepared before, Friday afternoon.

A man, Joseph, an elder and prominent leader from the place of Arimathea, believed in, and desired and waited for the coming of the kingdom of God.

On Friday afternoon this same man, Joseph of Arimathea, in faith went before the roman governor and said to Pilate: “Could I have permission to take the body of Jesus?”

Pilate was surprised that Jesus would already be dead. (He said): “Just a moment” and called the roman captain to him. When he had approached him (he asked): “Is Jesus already dead?” and the captain (said): “Yes, he is dead.”

Pilate (said): “Yes, you have permission, off you go” and Joseph of Arimathea went to buy fine sheets and afterwards went to Jesus hanging on the cross, and Joseph spread out the sheets and took down the body of Jesus and wrapped it in the sheets and carried it away.

There was a rock there into which they had dug an entrance for a tomb.

Joseph of Arimathea, carrying the body, went int and lay down the body and went out, and he rolled a big stone covering (the entrance to the tomb).

Both women, Mary of Magdalene and Mary, saw it.

Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

<< Mark 15:33-41 in Mexican Sign Language
Mark 16:1-9 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 >>

start of sections in Mark with the Greek καὶ

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.

complete verse (Mark 15:42)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 15:42:

  • Uma: “The day Yesus was crucified was the preparing day, that means the day before the worship day, and according to the Yahudi custom beginning that evening it was taboo to work. So, when it was almost sundown,” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “It was the Preparation day, that means, it was the day before the day of-no-work. When it was the afternoon of that day, Yusup arrived there.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “,” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When it was late-afternoon on that day which was when-the Jews -prepared for the day for-resting,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “That day was called the Preparing. Well, for the reason that when the sun set the Day of Rest would begin, that’s why when it was late-afternoon,” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 15:42

Exegesis:

ēdē opsias genomenēs ‘evening having already arrived,’ ‘when evening had now come’: ordinarily the phrase opsias genomenēs in Mark (cf. the references in 4.35) would indicate sunset or after, especially with the addition of ēdē (cf. 6.35; 11.11) ‘already,’ ‘by now.’ Here, however, it seems that all that Joseph of Arimathea did took place between the ninth hour (3:00 P.M.), when Jesus died, and sunset, which would mark the beginning of the sabbath (cf. Lagrange). Jeremias points out that Mark has a habit of using a second time reference precisely to define the first one, and refers to 1.32; 1.35; 4.35; 13.24; 14.12; 14.30; 16.2: here, therefore, evening is approaching, but it is still the day of Preparation, before sabbath begins at 6:00 P.M.

epei (only here in Mark) ‘since,’ ‘because.’

paraskeuē (only here in Mark; cf. Mt. 27.62, Lk. 23.54, Jn. 19.14) ‘day of preparation’ (from paraskeuazō ‘prepare’), i.e. Friday, the day the Jews made preparation for the sabbath. Josephus indicates that the preparation for the sabbath usually began after the ninth hour (3:00 P.M.) on Friday afternoon.

prosabbaton (only here in the N.T.) ‘before the sabbath.’

Translation:

Evening had come is probably best translated as ‘late in the afternoon’ or ‘becoming dusk.’

Day of preparation may be ‘day of preparing,’ but if the verb ‘preparing’ is only transitive, one may need to add ‘the feast,’ i.e. ‘day for preparing the feast.’

For sabbath see 1.21.

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 15:42

Section 15:42–47

Joseph buried Jesus

After someone died on a cross, his body was normally left on the cross to rot. Sometimes the Romans threw the body in a group grave and buried it without any honor. But for the Jews, a proper burial was important. It was their custom to bury the body on the same day that a person died.

Joseph was determined to give Jesus a proper burial. So he bravely went to Pilate and asked permission to do this. When he did this, he risked being punished. Pilate might have thought that since he was a friend of Jesus, he was also rebelling against Rome.

The Sabbath day began just a few hours after Jesus died. On the Sabbath, it was forbidden to move a dead body. So Joseph had to act very quickly in all that he did.

In this section, Mark emphasized two important facts that help readers understand that Jesus truly rose from the dead. First, he showed that Jesus was really dead. Second, he said that the women in 15:47 observed and noted carefully the location of the tomb where Jesus was laid. They did not mistakenly go to the wrong tomb later.

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

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Joseph put/laid the body of Jesus in a tomb
-or-
Jesus was placed in a burial cave.
-or-
The burial of Jesus

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 27:57–61, Luke 23:50–55, and John 19:38–42.

Paragraph 15:42–47

In Jewish culture, a new day started at sunset. Jesus had died sometime during the middle of the afternoon. The Sabbath day would begin in a few hours. On the Sabbath day, a dead body could be washed and prepared for burial, but it could not be moved. This explains why Joseph had to hurry to bury Jesus’ body.

15:42–43

See the General Comment on 15:42–43 at the end of 15:43e for suggestions about how to change the order of these verses.

15:42a

it was already evening: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as it was already evening is literally “evening had already come.” In this context, this phrase indicates “late afternoon” or “before sunset.” Jesus died in the middle of the afternoon. So Joseph had to get the body and bury it before sunset when the Sabbath would begin. Indicate the time between late afternoon and sunset in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

it was becoming dusk
-or-
late in the afternoon
-or-
as evening approached (New International Version)
-or-
It was toward evening (Good News Bible)

In some languages, it will be helpful to put a footnote here. For example:

At sunset, the Sabbath would begin. The religious law of the Jews did not permit them to move a dead body on the Sabbath day.

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