Translation commentary on Mark 2:27 – 2:28

Exegesis:

dia ton anthrōpon ‘on account of man,’ ‘for the sake of man’: the preposition dia indicates here the reason for the institution of the sabbath.

egeneto ‘became,’ i.e. ‘was made,’ ‘was established.’

hōste (with the indicative, 10.8) ‘therefore,’ ‘consequently,’ ‘so,’ ‘accordingly.’

kurios ‘lord,’ ‘owner,’ ‘ruler,’ ‘master.’

ho huios tou anthrōpou ‘the Son of man’ (cf. 2.10).

kai tou sabbatou ‘even of the sabbath’ (for this use of kai ‘and’ see 1.27); the meaning could possibly be ‘also (i.e. in addition to being lord of other things) of the sabbath’: most translations and commentators, however, prefer the first meaning.

Translation:

Since Jesus is not only the one who asked the question beginning in verse 25, but who also made the statement in this and the succeeding verse, it is sometimes necessary to make this relationship explicit, frequently by repeating the noun subject, i.e. ‘Jesus.’ Them refers to the Pharisees and may be translated as such if there is danger of any other intervening third person plural referent being understood.

Such aphoristic expressions as occur in this verse are almost always difficult to translate because of (1) their shortness (much is left implicit), (2) the double meanings of words involved (it is one thing to speak of man being ‘made,’ but for ‘a sabbath to be made’ is often quite a different matter), and (3) the somewhat tenuous relationship to the context. In this instance the context assists materially in the understanding of the passage, but this is not always true, and even in this instance what is evident to the translator may not be equally clear to the reader.

For sabbath see 1.21.

In many languages one must use different verbs in speaking of instituting the sabbath and of creating man (in Greek and in English the verb ‘to make’ serves quite well). For example, in some instances one must say ‘the sabbath was set aside’ (or ‘ordained,’ ‘commanded’), or if an active rather than passive expression is required ‘God ordered the day of rest for the sake of people; he created people, but not just in order that they could keep the laws of the rest day.’ This expansion involves several matters: (1) the need of employing a fully generic term for man (in English and Greek we may use a singular for a generic, but in many languages a plural is necessary for the same meaning), (2) the necessity of placing a negative with the element negativized (e.g. one cannot say in some languages ‘he did not create men for the sabbath,’ for by placing the negative particle with the verb one would imply a negation of creation; the negative must go properly with the negativized element, namely, the purpose), and (3) the lack of parallelism in (a) the principal verbs (‘ordered’ and ‘created’) and (b) the expressions of ‘for,’ since something done for a person often requires quite a different type of expression than the fact of a person existing for the sake of a particular institution. This means that one must employ quite different descriptions of the relationships between the individuals and the institutions, depending upon the so-called actor-goal relationship. The complex relationships are expressed in a temporal context in Chicahuaxtla Triqui ‘God first made people, then the day of rest for the sake of people; he did not first make the day of rest and then make people for the day of rest.’ The relationship between the sabbath and man is defined somewhat more explicitly in Central Mazahua as ‘the day of rest was made to help people; people were not created to help the day of rest’; Batak Toba ‘the sabbath was instituted for man; man has not been formed for the sabbath.’

For Son of Man see 2.10.

Because of the third person reference to himself in this passage, it may be necessary to specify the relationship between the speaker and the subject by saying ‘I, the Son of man’ (cf. 2.10).

Lord of … is equivalent to ‘has the right to command’ (San Mateo del Mar Huave) or ‘has control over’ (Central Tarahumara), or ‘says what should be done on the rest day’ (Huastec).

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 2:28

2:28

Therefore: In this context the Greek word the Berean Standard Bible translates as Therefore introduces the result and conclusion of Jesus’ statement in 2:27. Use an appropriate connector in your language. The God’s Word translates it as:

For this reason

the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the Son of Man is Lord emphasizes the word Lord. Try to show this emphasis in a way that is natural in your language.

the Son of Man: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the Son of Man is literally “the Son of the human/person.” It is a title that Jesus often used to refer to himself. It implies that:

(a) he was a true human being, and he represented all people.

(b) he came from God and had authority from God.

Here are some other ways to translate this title:

the Man whom God Sent
-or-
the True Man from God/Heaven
-or-
the Representative of Mankind
-or-
The Older Brother of All People

Refer to the way you translated this title in 2:10a. In this context there is a special connection between the title Son of Man and the statement that “the Sabbath was made for man” in 2:27. You should try to keep that connection in your translation here.

In some languages it may be necessary to indicate explicitly that Jesus was referring to himself here. For example:

I, the Son of Man

Lord even of the Sabbath: The word Lord means “master,” or “the one who has authority.” See Lord, Context 1, in the Glossary. In this context the word Lord refers to Jesus’ authority over the Sabbath day. The word even emphasizes that Jesus’ authority was great. Although the Sabbath was given by God, Jesus had authority over it. There are various ways to express Jesus’ authority over the Sabbath. For example:

I, the Son of Man, am master even of the Sabbath! (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)
-or-
I, the Son of Man, have authority over the rest day.

There is implied information here. Jesus had authority over the Sabbath in the sense that he had the right to decide what people could or could not do on the Sabbath day. This meaning may be expressed in several ways. For example:

I, the one who became a person, have the right to decide what a person can do on the day for resting.
-or-
I, the older brother of all people, have the authority to say what people are allowed to do on the rest day.

Paragraph 3:1–6

Verse 3:1 provides the background for the story that is told in 3:2–6. It introduces the people in the story and the place where it happened.

3:1a

Once again: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Once again is literally “again.” This indicates that the story in 3:1–6 happened on a different occasion or day than the previous story did. The context indicates that it was another Sabbath day.

Several stories in Mark have happened on a Sabbath day. This is another story that happened on a Sabbath.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

On another Sabbath
-or-
One other Sabbath day

Translate “Sabbath” here in the same way you did in 1:21b.

the synagogue: A synagogue was a building where Jews gathered to pray, read scripture, teach their beliefs, and worship. The Jews also gathered there for cultural activities. There was only one temple (in Jerusalem), but each Jewish community had a synagogue. In this context the phrase the synagogue probably refers to the synagogue in Capernaum that was mentioned in 1:21.

Here are some other ways to translate the synagogue:

the prayer-house of the Jews
-or-
the meeting-place of the Jews
-or-
the worship building
-or-
the house for gathering together

If you make explicit a phrase such as “of the Jews,” be sure that it does not imply that Jesus was not a Jew.

If the word synagogue is already known in your area, you may write it according to the sounds of your language. You may want to include a word or phrase to explain the meaning. For example:

the sinagog house/building

See how you translated synagogue in 1:21b. You should translate synagogue consistently wherever it occurs. See also synagogue in the Glossary.

3:1b

a withered hand: The phrase a withered hand refers to a hand that is shriveled and small because it is paralyzed or crippled. Some languages would say that this man’s hand was “dead” or “dried.”

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

paralyzed hand (Good News Bible)
-or-
crippled hand (Contemporary English Version)

hand: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hand includes the fingers, palm, wrist, and forearm. The Greek text does not specify how much of the man’s hand was paralyzed. Probably the whole area from the fingers to the forearm was included.

Each language divides the body differently. If you have a specific term that refers to the area from the forearm to the fingers, you could use that term here. Otherwise, you can use a general term for the hand and arm. If your language requires you to specify which hand, you should say the right hand, as in Luke 6:6.

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