The Greek in Mark 4:24 that is translated in English as “pay attention” or “take heed” is translated in Q’anjob’al with “hear dying.” Newberry and Kittie Cox (in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 91ff. ) explain: “The use of the word ‘dying’ makes any action important and serious, that is to say, somewhat similar to he English phrase ‘a matter of life and death,’ when it refers to the seriousness of the occasion.”
Mark 4:21-25 in Mexican Sign Language
Following is the translation of Mark 4:21-25 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)
Jesús dijo”: “Otro ejemplo, una lámpara de aceite, ¿pondrías una tapa encima de ella? o ¿la ocultas abajo de la cama? No, la pones encima y la luz se difunde para que la gente pueda ver.
Eso es como algo que es un secreto ahora, pero después la gente lo descubre y entiende.
Uds necesitan intentar a descubrirlo, yo les advierto: algunas personas ponen poca atención y entienden poco, otras personas ponen atención y entienden y Dios les da más entendimiento. De otras personas que adentro no entienden, pero hacen como si entienden, Dios les quitará el entendimiento y no aumenta nada porque no entienden nada.”
Jesus said: “Another example, an oil lamp, would you put a cover on it or hide it underneath a bed? No, you put it high for the light to shine so that the people can see.
“This is like something that is a secret now but later the people will find it out and understand.
“You need to try to figure it out, I warn you: some people pay little attention and understand little, other people pay attention and understand, and God gives them more understanding. From other people who inside don’t understand but act as if they understand God will take away any growth in understanding, because they understand nothing.”
Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios
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Mark 4:24-25 in Russian Sign Language
Following is the translation of Mark 4:24-25 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:
Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество
Jesus turned to the disciples and said to them:
— Look carefully. As you treat people, God will treat you in the same way, only more so. If a person meditates on God’s teaching, God will reveal more to that person. If a person does not want to meditate on God’s teachings, God will take away what little understanding he has.
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
Иисус обратился к ученикам, сказал им:
— Посмотрите внимательно. Как вы будете относиться к людям, так же и Бог, только в еще большей мере, будет относиться к вам. Если человек размышляет об учении Бога, то Бог откроет такому человеку еще больше. А если человек не хочет размышлять об учении Бога, то Бог заберет у такого человека то немногое понимание, которое у него есть.
Back-translation by Luka Manevich
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Mark 4:26-29 in Russian Sign Language >>
complete verse (Mark 4:24)
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 4:24:
- Uma: “Yesus said further: ‘Really pay attention to what you are hearing here. For the more of God’s Word that you share/divide with others, the more also God will explain to you–or even more than that.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “Isa said also, ‘Pay very good attention to whatever you hear. For if your paying-attention is good, what you get/receive will also be good and you will receive/get more.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus spoke again, ‘Carefully listen to my teaching, for according to how you carefully listen, God will give you understanding, however, he will cause you to understand much more.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “Then Jesus continued, saying, ‘Be-diligent then in listening to what I am saying, because if you do that, you will also understand much, and there will be moreover that which God will add to your understanding.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “Jesus added on, saying, ‘It’s necessary that you try-to-understand well this teaching of mine which you are hearing. For whatever your judgment/decision is, to follow/obey well or just to disregard it, that’s what God will use to judge you, or much more.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- Tsafiki: “… If you give a little bit of hearing you will get a little bit of knowledge. If you give good hearing, you will get lots of knowledge. God will cause those who listen well to learn even more.”
- Ocotlán Zapotec: “… If you hear well, you will benefit well, and God will cause you to hear more.” (Source for this and one above: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("say")
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people
Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.
As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.
Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.
In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.
formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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