Translation commentary on Mark 4:33 – 4:34

Exegesis:

toiautais parabolais pollais ‘with many parables such as these.’

toioutos (6.2; 7.13; 9.37; 10.14; 13.19) ‘such,’ ‘of this kind,’ ‘of this sort.’

elalei autois ‘he was speaking to them (all)’: autois ‘them’ includes the crowd (4.1) and the disciples; only to the disciples was the explanation given (cf. parallel Mt. 13.34).

kathōs ēdunanto akouein ‘as they were able to hear,’ ‘in proportion to their ability to hear’ (cf. Jn. 16.12, 1 Cor. 3.2).

chōris (only here in Mark) ‘apart from,’ ‘without.’

kat’ idian (6.31, 32; 7.33; 9.2, 28; 13.3) ‘privately,’ ‘alone.’

tois idiois mathētais ‘to his disciples’: although idios is properly ‘one’s own’ (as distinct from ‘another’s own’) it is often used simply as a synonym of the possessive pronoun ‘his’ – and that would appear to be its meaning in this passage.

epeluen (only here in Mark) ‘he interpreted,’ ‘he explained.’

Translation:

For parables see 3.23.

Spoke the word is the equivalent of ‘to preach,’ ‘to announce,’ or ‘to tell them the message.’ For preach see 1.4.

Because of the double reference in this verse, first to the people in general, identified as them, and later to the disciples, it may be necessary in some languages to translate as ‘Jesus told the good news to the people by means of many likeness-stories such as these.’ In Central Tarahumara this passage is rendered as ‘when he spoke … he only told them stories.’

As they were able to hear involves a rather complex type of proportion, rendered in Tzeltal as ‘as much as they could put in their hearts,’ in Inupiaqas ‘just as long as they could understand,’ and in Indonesian ‘according as they could understand.’

The double negative not … without must in some languages be rendered in a positive form: ‘he only spoke to them with parables.’

Privately is translatable as ‘when he was alone with his disciples.’

Explained everything maybe translated as ‘he told them what the stories meant.’

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 4:34

4:34a

He did not tell them anything without using a parable: This clause refers only to the times when Jesus was teaching the crowds.

There are two negative words here: not and without. It may be more natural in your language to use positive words.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

Whenever he spoke to them about God, he used parables.
-or-
He taught the crowds using only parables.
-or-
In fact, in his public teaching he taught only with parables (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)

parable: In this context the word parable is used in a general way to describe any of the types of wise speech that Jesus used in this chapter. See the note on 4:33a, and translate in a similar way here.

4:34b

But privately He explained everything to His own disciples: The words privately…to His own disciples indicates that the crowds had left and only Jesus and his disciples were present. For example:

when they were by themselves (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
privately to his own disciples (Revised Standard Version)

everything: In this context, the word everything refers to all the parables. It may be more natural in your language to refer in a different way to all the parables. For example:

all of them
-or-
every parable

disciples: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as disciples means “learners” who are in a relationship with a teacher. The learners commit themselves to their teacher in order to learn from him and live according to his teaching and example. In the New Testament disciples often lived with their teacher and followed him wherever he went.

Some ways to translate disciples are:

• Use a term that refers to people who learn from a teacher or an expert. It is helpful if the term also implies that the learners are often with their teacher. For example:

learners/students
-or-
apprentices

Be careful not to use a term that would refer only to a student in a school or classroom.

• Use a term that refers to people who follow a teacher or leader by obeying his teaching. It is helpful if this term also implies learning from the teacher and actually following the teacher wherever he goes. For example:

followers
-or-
those who are committed/faithful (to a teacher/leader)

See how you translated this term at 3:9. See also disciple in the Glossary.

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