Balinese: “put on a new behavior” (compare “repentance“: “to put on a new mind”)
Tzeltal: “cause one’s heart to return to God” (compare “repentance”: “to cause one’s heart to return because of one’s sin”)
Pedi: “retrace one’s step” (compare “repentance”: “to become untwisted”)
Uab Meto: “return” (compare “repentance”: “to turn the heart upside down”)
Northwestern Dinka: “turn oneself” (compare “repentance”: “to turn the heart”) (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
Central Mazahua: “change the heart” (compare “repentance”: “turn back the heart”) (source: Nida 1952, p. 40)
In Elhomwe, the same term is used for “conversion” and “repentance” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Western Kanjobal: “molt” (like a butterfly) (source: Nida 1952, p. 136)
Latvian: atgriezties (verb) / atgriešanās (noun) (“turn around / return”) which is also the same term being used for “repentance” (source: Katie Roth)
Isthmus Mixe: “look away from the teaching of one’s ancestors and follow the teachings of God”
Highland Popoluca: “leave one’s old beliefs to believe in Jesus” (source for thsi and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)
Los doce discípulos y algunas (otras) personas dijeron: “Jesús, la historia, el ejemplo que nos explicaste antes, ¿qué significa? Nosotros no entendemos.”
Jesús (dijo): “¿Uds no entienden? Ay, si yo les explico historias y ejemplos pero uds no entienden, lo mismo va a continuar en adelante. ¿Cómo puede ser?
Oigan, ahora Dios les da la gracia de que uds pueden entender y descubrir el significado de lo que yo les expliqué hace rato.
El hombre que siembra semillas ¿qué representa? Él es como un hombre que explica y predica la palabra de Dios.
Oigan, miren, el camino con la tierra dura en donde caen las semillas y los pájaros los acaban todas, eso representa cuando él explica y predica la palabra de Dios y algunos personas lo ven pero inmediatamente satanás se lo quita y las personas lo olvidan.
La otra parte con las piedras y poco tierra donde caen las semillas y las plantas crecen rápidamente pero los raíces no pueden profundizar y las plantas marchitan, eso representa cuando él explica y predica la palabra de Dios y algunas personas lo ven y están contentos, pero después al continuar hay problemas y la gente los insulta y están en contra de ellos y ya no continuan a prestar atención a la palabra de Dios, y desvian.
La otra parte donde hay la mala hierba que cubre la tierra y cuando las semillas caen las plantas crecen pero no maduran, eso representa cuando él explica y predica la palabra de Dios y algunas personas lo ven pero en sus mentes están soñando y preocupados con problemas, piensan de dinero y cosas que les gustan y ya no siguen a poner atención a la palabra de Dios, sino desvian. Sus vidas no cambian nada sino quedan lo mismo.
La otra area donde la tierra es buena y cuando las semillas caen las plantas crecen y maduran y hay treinta plantas, y otras plantas maduran y hay sesenta plantas, y otras plantas maduran y hay cien, eso representa cuando él explica y predica la palabra de Dios y algunas personas lo ven y entienden y son transformados, sus vidas cambian para bien.
Y al continuar otras personas lo ven y entienden y son transformados y cambian sus vidas para bien, y otras personas lo ven y entienden y son transformados y cambian sus vidas para bien, y otras personas ven el buen testimonio.”
Jesús dijo: “A las personas afuera yo sólo doy historias breves para que ellos vean y oigan, pero no entiendan nada del significado, porque las personas pueden arrepentirse y Dios les perdonará y borrará (sus pecados) pero ellos no quieren, por eso.”
The twelve disciples and some (other) people said: “Jesus, the story that you just told us, what does it mean? We don’t understand it.”
Jesus (said): “You don’t understand? If I tell you stories and examples and you don’t understand the same will happen in the future. How can that be?
“Listen, now God will give you the grace that you can understand and figure out what I have just told you.
“The man who sows seeds, what does he represent? He is like a man who explains and preached the word of God.
“Hey, look, the road with the hard ground on which the seeds fall and the birds eat them all up, that represents when he explains and preaches the word of God and some people see it, but immediately Satan takes it away and the people forget it.
“The other part with the stones and very little soil where the seeds fall and the plants grow rapidly but the roots cannot get deeper and the plants whither, that represents when he explains and teaches the word of God and some people see it and are happy, but afterwards there are problems and the people insult them and are against them and they do not continue to pay attention to the word of God, but turn aside.
“The other part where there are weeds that cover the ground and when the seeds fall the plants grow but do not ripen, that represents when he explains and preaches the word of God and some people see it but in their minds they are dreaming and preoccupied with problems, they set their minds on money and things that they like and they do not continue to pay attention to the word of God. They turn aside and their lives do not change at all but stay the same.
“The other area where the soil is good and when the seeds fall the plants grow and ripen and there are thirty plants and other plants ripen and there are sixty plants and others ripen and there are 100, that represents when he explains and preaches the word of God and some people see it and understand it and are transformed, their lives change for the better.
“And then other people see it and understand and are transformed and change their lives for the better, and other people see it and understand and are transformed and change their lives for the better, and other people see the good testimony.”
Jesus said: “To the people out there I only give brief stories so that they see and hear but do not understand the meaning, because the people can repent and God will forgive them and wipe out (their sins) but they do not want to, that’s why.”
When Jesus had finished teaching and the crowd had left, the twelve closest disciples and the other disciples remained with him. The disciples looked at each other in confusion, then turned to Jesus:
— We do not understand. You teach much, but we cannot understand the meaning of your parables.
Jesus said:
— You are my disciples. God will reveal to you the mystery of his kingdom. You will understand. I have strangers flocking to me. I teach them, tell them parables, examples, images, explain to them. But they don’t understand. They look, but as if their eyes were closed. They have ears, they listen, but they miss everything. If they would turn their eyes to God, if they would change their lives, then they would understand. And then God would forgive their sins.
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
Когда Иисус закончил учить и народ разошелся, с ним остались двенадцать ближайших учеников, а также другие ученики. Ученики переглядывались друг с другом в недоумении, потом обратились к Иисусу:
— Нам непонятно. Ты много учишь, но мы не можем понять смысл Твоих притчей.
Иисус сказал:
— Вы — мои ученики. Бог откроет вам тайну своего Царства. Вы поймете. Ко мне стекаются посторонние люди. Я учу их, рассказываю им притчи, примеры, образы, объясняю им. Но они не понимают. Они смотрят, но так, как будто глаза у них закрыты. У них есть уши, они слушают, но все пропускают мимо ушей. Если бы они обратили свой взгляд на Бога, если бы они изменили свою жизнь, тогда бы они поняли. И тогда бы Бог простил их грехи.
Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “cover over” (a figure of speech which is also employed in Hebrew, but which in many languages is not acceptable, because it implies “hiding” or “concealment”)
Warao: “not being concerned with him clean your obonja.” Obonja is a term that “includes the concepts of consciousness, will, attitude, attention and a few other miscellaneous notions” (source: Henry Osborn in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 74ff. See other occurrences of Obojona in the Warao New Testament.)
Martu Wangka: “throw out badness” (source: Carl Gross)
Kyaka: “burn the jaw bones” — This goes back to the pre-Christian custom of hanging the jaw bones of murdered relatives on ones door frame until the time of revenge. Christians symbolically burned those bones to show forgiveness which in turn became the word for “forgiveness” (source: Eugene Nida, according to this blog )
Koonzime: “remove the bad deed-counters” (“The Koonzime lay out the deeds symbolically — usually strips of banana leaf — and rehearse their grievances with the person addressed.”) (Source: Keith and Mary Beavon in Notes on Translation 3/1996, p. 16)
Ngbaka: ele: “forgive and forget” (Margaret Hill [in Holzhausen & Ridere 2010, p. 8f.] recalls that originally there were two different words used in Ngbaka, one for God (ɛlɛ) and one for people (mbɔkɔ — excuse something) since it was felt that people might well forgive but, unlike God, can’t forget. See also this lectionary in The Christian Century.
Amahuaca: “erase” / “smooth over” (“It was an expression the people used for smoothing over dirt when marks or drawings had been made in it. It meant wiping off dust in which marks had been made, or wiping off writing on the blackboard. To wipe off the slate, to erase, to take completely away — it has a very wide meaning and applies very well to God’s wiping away sins, removing them from the record, taking them away.”) (Source: Robert Russel, quoted in Walls / Bennett 1959, p. 193)
Gonja / Dangme: “lend / loan” (in the words of one Dangme scholar: “When you sin and you are forgiven, you forget that you have been forgiven, and continue to sin. But when you see the forgiveness as a debt/loan which you will pay for, you do not continue to sin, else you have more debts to pay” — quoted in Jonathan E.T. Kuwornu-Adjaottor in Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies 17/2 2010, p. 67ff. )
Kwere: kulekelela, meaning literally “to allow for.” Derived from the root leka which means “to leave.” In other words, forgiveness is leaving behind the offense in relationship to the person. It is also used in contexts of setting someone free. (Source: Megan Barton)
Merina Malagasy: mamela or “leave / let go (of sin / mistakes)” (source: Brigitte Rabarijaona)
Mauwake: “take away one’s heaviness” (compare sin as “heavy”) (source: Kwan Poh San in this article )
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 4:12:
Uma: “so that the words of the Holy Book come to pass that say: ‘They can hear, but they do not know the meaning. They can see, but it is like they never see [it] clearly So, they will never return to God, And their sins will not be forgiven.’ ‘” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “in order that they are as is written in the holy-book, saying, ‘They really look but they cannot see. They really hear/listen but they cannot understand. For if they would see and understand perhaps they would return to God, and/so that God would forgive them.’ ‘” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “For then they will carefully look but they will not be able to see, which is to say, they will listen, but it is as if they never heard because they don’t understand. For if they could understand, they would give up their bad doings, and God would forgive them.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “so that even though they are seeing, they will not recognize, and even though they are hearing they will not understand lest they turn-to-face me in-order-that I heal them.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “It’s like this so that even though they will look directly, they won’t recognize what they are looking at. And even though they keep listening, they won’t be able to understand. For if it wasn’t like that, maybe they would repent and be forgiven by God.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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®).
After aphethē autois ‘it be forgiven them’ Textus Receptus adds ta hamartēmata ‘the sins,’ which is omitted by all modern editions of the Greek text.
Exegesis:
This verse poses great difficulties to the interpreter; to the translator, however, there are somewhat fewer complications, for despite the difficulties in understanding, it should be rendered in a simple, straightforward manner.
hina ‘in order that’ expresses purpose. As the commentators note, with special reference to the divine will, purpose and result in Jewish thought are united into one. The words which follow are a free paraphrase of Isa. 6.9-10.
blepontes blepōsin … akouontes akouōsin ‘seeing they may see … hearing they may hear’: a Semitic way of intensive statement: ‘that they may look and look … that they may listen and listen.’
kai mē idōsin … kai mē suniōsin ‘and not see … and not understand,’ i.e. ‘yet not really see … yet not understand at all.’
mēpote epistrepsōsin ‘lest they should turn,’ ‘so that they should not turn.’
mēpote ‘lest’: denotes purpose ‘in order that … not’: cf. O Novo Testamento de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo. Revisdo Autorizadapara que não; Zürcher Bibeldamit … nicht etwa.
epistrephō (5.30; 8.33; 13.16) ‘turn,’ ‘return’: in the spiritual sense of repent (cf. Acts 3.19, 26.20). The equivalent of the O.T. shuv ‘turn’: cf. 1.4 on metanoia ‘repentance.’
kai aphethē autois ‘and it be forgiven them’: that is, ‘and God should forgive them.’ Cf. aphiēmi ‘forgive’ in 2.5, and aphesis ‘forgiveness’ 1.4.
Translation:
It is not always easy to relate the purpose clause of verse 12 to the preceding expression in verse 11. In some languages one may insert a transitional element ‘this happens in order that….’
Despite those who would assume some sort of result clause at this point, rather than purpose, it seems quite certain that Mark meant to express the purpose of God’s way of revealing the mystery, an aspect of the providence of God which is almost incomprehensible to man, but which is as much a part of the Biblical perspective as any other (cf. God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart). To try to “water down” or alter this essential meaning which Mark evidently intended at this point is to do violence to one’s commission as a translator.
These clauses pose a problem in some languages because of the positive-negative sequence within the purpose clause itself. In other words there are two purposes, one that people may see, but at the same time not perceive (the parallel is that they may hear, but at the same time do not understand). The first of these must be considered as a kind of concessive clause in some languages, and placed after the primary purpose (in this case the negative purpose), e.g. ‘in order that it may not reach the heart (i.e. perceive), even though the people look and look at; and in order that they may not understand it, even though they listen and listen’ (Tzeltal). In other languages the order of the Greek may be retained, and the concessive clause preposed, e.g. ‘it is for this reason that though they look and look they do not see….’ (Yaka).
To turn again is the translation of the Greek word traditionally rendered as ‘to be converted.’ This type of expression is translated in a number of ways in different languages, e.g. ‘to change completely’ (Barrow Eskimo), ‘to turn around’ (Western Highland Purepecha), ‘to have one’s life changed’ (Highland Totonac), ‘to make pass over bounds within’ (Huautla Mazatec), ‘turn the heart toward God’ (San Blas Kuna), ‘the heart turns itself back’ (Chol), ‘self-heart change’ (Highland Puebla Nahuatl), ‘to turn away from, unlearn something’ (Pamona), ‘to turn around from the breast’ (Tepeuxila Cuicatec), and ‘to return’ (Luvale). One of the difficult distinctions to be made in translating is the difference between repentance and conversion, words which in some contexts are not perceptively different in areas of meaning. Both are closely related spiritual experiences, but the one is generally described as preceding the other and the second as being a more complete transformation than the former. The following contrasting sets are illustrative: (see table|fig:Table_MRK4-12.htm)
The final clause introduced by lest in English is an expression of negative purpose, which is dependent, not upon the immediately preceding clause, but upon the final clause of verse 11. Because of the grammatical distance involved in this relationship, one must introduce in some languages a further transitional element, ‘this has happened in order that….’
For forgiveness see 1.4.
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 .
All the words inside the single quote marks are from Isaiah 6:9–10. If you usually introduce Old Testament Scripture in a particular way, you may want to do so here. An example is:
…so that (as the Scriptures say), “they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!”
4:12a
so that: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as so that indicates purpose. Jesus spoke in parables so that those on the outside would not understand. (In Hebrew thought, the distinction between purpose and result is blurred, since everything that happens is under God’s control. The difficult statement that Jesus used parables in order that outsiders would not understand probably needs to be understood in light of other passages in both the NT and OT that speak of God hardening the hearts of people who had already shown their unwillingness to listen and obey. As Edwards (page 133) points out, this quotation from Isaiah occurs six times in the NT, always in contexts of unbelief and hardness of heart.) The New Revised Standard Version says:
in order that
In some languages it may be clearer or more natural to start a new sentence here. For example:
I do this in order that -or- My purpose/reason for doing this is so that
they may be ever seeing but never perceiving: The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they may be ever seeing but never perceiving are literally “seeing they may see but not perceive” (The wording is different than the parallel verse in Matthew and Luke which have: “seeing, they do/may not see.” But the meaning is similar in all three.) (as in the New American Standard Bible). This clause is a quotation from the book of Isaiah. Jesus implied that the people who did not believe in him were like the people to whom Isaiah spoke. They would see what he did, but they would not understand the meaning of what they saw.
Most English versions use the word but to indicate the unexpected contrast between seeing and never perceiving. In some languages it may be more natural to express this contrast in other ways. For example:
although they are seeing, they are not understanding -or-
they will not understand even though they see
Some languages may require an object for verbs like “see” and “understand.” Since this is a quotation from the Old Testament, it is good to make the object general. For example:
they may see and see proof of the truth, but never understand it
they may be ever seeing: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they may be ever seeing refers to seeing the same thing many times. The people saw the things that Jesus did on many occasions over a period of time.
This meaning may be expressed in different ways. For example:
they may look and look (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
they may indeed see (Revised Standard Version)
never perceiving: In this context, the phrase never perceiving means that people did not understand the significance of what they had seen with their eyes.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
they do not understand -or-
they will learn nothing (New Living Translation)
4:12b
ever hearing but never understanding: The expression ever hearing but never understanding is similar in both form and meaning to 4:12a. The difference is that 4:12a focuses on seeing, whereas this clause focuses on hearing. (4:12a–b is an example of Hebrew poetry (from Isaiah). An important feature of Hebrew poetry is parallelism, stating similar ideas but using different words. In this case, the words “seeing” and “hearing” in the first half of lines a and b both refer literally to ways in which a person receives information; that is, with his eyes and ears. The words “perceiving” and “understanding” in the second half of lines a and b both refer to the way a person processes that information with his mind.)
Here are some other ways to translate this expression:
may indeed hear but not understand (Revised Standard Version) -or-
although they hear, they do/will not understand what they hear
In languages that require an object for the verb “hear,” the implied object is the truth. For example:
they hear the truth, but they do not understand it
General Comment on 4:12a–b
When you translate the similar ideas in 4:12a and 4:12b, use words in your language that fit naturally together. Some languages may need to use the same expression to translate “perceiving” and “understanding.”
In other languages, it may sound redundant to use the same word. If there is no other word that fits the context, the ideas in these two lines may be combined. For example:
they see and hear, but they do not understand anything
4:12c
otherwise: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as otherwise expresses another negative purpose for teaching in parables. (The New Jerusalem Bible takes this to refer to the people’s purpose in not paying attention: “to avoid changing their ways.”) In English this negative purpose can be expressed in various ways. For example:
so that they may not turn again (New Revised Standard Version) -or-
lest they should turn again (Revised Standard Version) -or-
otherwise they might turn (Revised English Bible)
This negative purpose is closely related to people fulfilling the preceding purposes in 4:12a–b. One way to express this relationship in English is with an “if” clause. For example:
If they did, they would turn to God (Contemporary English Version) -or-
If they did learn and understand, they would come back to me
turn: In this context, the verb turn means “repent.” It refers to turning from sin and toward God.
Here are some other ways to translate this verb:
turn to God (Good News Bible) -or-
turn from their sins (New Living Translation, 1996 edition) -or-
return to me (God’s Word) (The God’s Word translates this expression with God speaking, which is the correct context in Isaiah.) -or-
repent (NET Bible)
and be forgiven: The phrase and be forgiven expresses the result of the verb “turn.” The phrase is passive. If your language must say who forgives, you should say “God.”
Here is another way to translate the phrase in this context:
and God would forgive them
In this context the verb be forgiven means that God would choose not to punish the people for the evil/bad things that they had done, said, and thought. He would cancel their guilt and treat them as though they had not offended him.
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.
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