Translation commentary on Mark 3:11 – 3:12

Exegesis:

hotan auton etheōroun, prosepipton autō kai ekrazon ‘whenever they saw him, they fell before him and shouted.’

hotan ‘whenever,’ ‘at the time,’ ‘when’: with the three verbs in the imperfect tense, the action is portrayed as being repeated (cf. 11.19).

theōreō (5.15, 38; 12.41; 15.40, 47; 16.4) ‘look (upon),’ ‘gaze,’ ‘behold.’

prospiptō (5.33; 7.25) ‘fall before,’ ‘fall at the feet of.’

krazō (11 times in Mark) ‘call,’ ‘call out’: of evil spirits, ‘shriek,’ ‘scream.’

polla (cf. 1.45) used adverbially ‘strongly,’ ‘insistently’: it does not mean here ‘many times,’ ‘often’; cf. Vulgate vehementer, Lagrange enjoignant fortement, Translator’s New Testament ‘warned strongly.’

epetima (cf. 1.25) ‘he commanded,’ ‘he warned.’

hina ‘that’: as in v. 9 hina denotes here the content of the order, not purpose ‘in order that.’

phaneron poiēsōsin ‘they should make known,’ ‘they should reveal’ (cf. Mt. 12.16): the meaning is ‘reveal the identity of (someone),’ cf. 1.34.

Translation:

There is a tendency for translators to render this passage as ‘whenever people who had unclean spirits looked at Jesus, they fell…’ despite the fact that this may seem to make better sense, it is advisable not to depart from the original in this regard. Even though passages which speak of evil spirits seem to involve certain confusion between the action of the demonic spirits and the men in whom they dwelt, this very confusion is a highly significant factor (see 1.24).

For unclean spirits see 1.26, 32.

Not to make him known may be translated in some languages as ‘not to say who he was.’ If this must be adapted to the requirements of direct discourse the form would be ‘he strictly ordered them: You must not say: He is the Son of God’ (or as may be necessary in some instances ‘You are the Son of God,’ using the expression of verse 11). Such a series of included direct discourse is not uncommon.

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 3:11

3:11a

the unclean spirits: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as unclean spirits refers to spirits that are evil and can control people’s actions. It does not imply that the spirits are literally dirty. The phrase unclean spirits refers to the same type of spirit as the Greek terms that are often translated as “demons” and “evil spirits.”

Here are some other ways to translate unclean spirits:

• Use a general term in your language that refers to spirits that are evil and can control people. If there is one word with this meaning, you may not need a separate word like “evil.” For example:

demons

• Use a specific term in your language that refers to a certain type of spirit. This spirit should be able to do what is described in this context. Do not use a term that refers to the spirit of a dead person.

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

evil spirits
-or-
bad spirits

Be sure that an expression like “unclean spirits” does not imply that the spirits are literally dirty.

See the note on “unclean spirit” in 1:23a. See also evil spirit in the Glossary.

3:11b

they fell down before Him: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they fell down before Him indicates that the unclean spirits were causing the people to kneel or lie face down before Jesus. It does not mean that the people stumbled and fell. The unclean spirits did this because Jesus had authority over them.

they: The pronoun they refers grammatically to the unclean spirits. However, the action of lying face down on the ground refers to the people who were possessed by the unclean spirits. For example, the God’s Word says:

Whenever people with evil spirits saw him, they would fall down

The Good News Bible and New Living Translation are similar.

In some languages it may be more natural to express this meaning with a causative verb. For example:

Whenever the evil spirits saw Jesus, they caused the people whom they possessed to kneel down in front of him

Use a natural way in your language to describe this action.

cried out: The phrase cried out means “shouted loudly.” It introduces what the unclean spirits shouted to Jesus. The unclean spirits recognized who Jesus really was, and they caused the people whom they controlled to shout to him, “You are the Son of God!”

3:11c

the Son of God: The Bible uses the title Son of God to express the fact that Jesus has the same nature as God and that he comes from God. God does not have a physical body, and he did not create/produce Jesus the way a human father produces a son. Jesus existed eternally as the Son with his Father.

For further information, see the note on 1:1.

God: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as God refers here to the eternal spirit who created everything. He is more powerful than any other spirit, and he is perfectly good and wise. He deserves to be worshiped. Here are some ways to translate God:

• Use a name or title for God that people in your culture already use.

• Use a descriptive term that fits the truth about God that is revealed in the Bible. For example:

Creator
-or-
Great Spirit
-or-
Ruler of the universe

See how you translated God in 1:1. For more detailed information, see God in the Glossary.

General Comment on 3:11c

The Berean Standard Bible has translated this as a direct quote. In some languages it will be more natural to translate this as an indirect quote. For example:

They shouted to Jesus that he was the Son of God.

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