Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("do/reckon")

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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, s-are-ru (される) or “do/reckon” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Mark 5:18

Exegesis:

embainontos autou eis to ploion ‘as he was embarking’: the present participle is to be thus translated.

embainō (cf. 4.1) ‘enter,’ ‘go into.’

parekalei auton ho daimonistheis ‘he who had been demon-possessed begged him’: the aorist participle describes the past condition of the man.

hina met’ autou ē ‘that he might stay with him’: i.e. accompany Jesus about as a disciple (cf. 3.14).

hina ‘that’: describes the content of the request, not the purpose of it.

Translation:

Getting into the boat may be described in various ways: ‘climbing into…,’ ‘going down into…,’ ‘jumping into….’ One should employ the typical manner of describing the boarding of this type of small craft.

Begged him that he might be with him may result in obscurity unless some of the pronouns are made more specific, e.g. ‘Begged Jesus that he could remain with him.’ For languages in which this type of expression must be in direct discourse, the following pattern may be followed: ‘begged Jesus, I want to stay with you.’

In a number of translations it has been found that the last clause of verse 18 was understood as a request by the former demoniac that Jesus would remain there in the land of the Gerasenes, a not unusual type of interpretation, but one which should be carefully avoided.

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 5:18

5:18a

As He was getting into the boat: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as As He was getting into the boat introduces the event in the next part of the verse. This event happened while Jesus was getting into the boat to go back across the lake. Indicate this in a natural way in your language.

He: The pronoun He refers to Jesus.

5:18b

the man who had been possessed by the demons begged to go with Him: In some languages it may be more natural to use direct speech here. For example:

…the man who had had the unclean spirits begged Jesus, “Please let me be with you all the time.”
-or-
…the man who had been controlled by unclean spirits pleaded with him, “Please, may I go with you wherever you go?”

the man who had been possessed by the demons: This expression is similar to the one in 5:15b–c. Refer to the note on 5:15b–c and to how you translated the expression there. If your expression is long, it may be more natural to use a shorter way to refer to the man here. For example:

the man
-or-
the healed/freed man

begged: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as begged means to request or plead for something. In this context it indicates that the man earnestly desired to go with Jesus. The same word was used in 5:10, 5:12a, and 5:17. See the note on 5:10.

to go with Him: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to go with Him is more literally “to be with him.” Almost the same Greek phrase is used in 3:14 to describe the purpose for which Jesus chose his twelve disciples.

The man who was delivered from the unclean spirits begged Jesus to allow him to stay with him as the twelve disciples did. Consider how to express this meaning in your language.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

to be with him
-or-
to stay with him

Him: The pronoun Him refers here to Jesus.

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