The Greek that is translated in English as “courtier” or “high officials” is translated in Paasaal as “little kings.” (Source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
Herod (Antipas)
The Greek that is transliterated as “Herod (Antipas)” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for king and and a sign depicting cutting off the head (of John the Baptist), referring to Matthew 14:10 et al. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
“Herod” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Herod Antipas .
Mark 6:17-29 in Mexican Sign Language
Following is the translation of Mark 6:17-29 into Mexican Sign Language with back-translations into Spanish and English underneath (note that verses 14-16 are placed at the end of this episode in Mexican Sign Language):
© La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios
Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)
¿Recuerdan a Juan el Bautista? Él fue encarcelado. ¿Porqué fue?
Miren, la esposa del hermano de Rey Herodes, Felipe, era Herodías. El Rey Herodes había robado y casado Herodías.
Juan el Bautista lo había insultado (diciendo): “Es la esposa de tu hermana, es ocupada, no debes robarla y casarla, la Ley de Dios lo prohibe, lo dice una y otra vez.”
El rey había mandado a soldados para arrestar a Juan el Bautista, lo habían atado con cadenas de hierro y lo habían metido en el cárcel.
Después, por un tiempo Juan el Bautista explicaba sobre Dios y el Rey Herodes lo oía: Huy interesante. Siento miedo viendolo, ¿qué tipo de hombre es? En verdad, es justo y santo. ¿Lo acepto? Estoy dudando.
Herodías lo odiaba a Juan el Bautista quería que fue matado: ¡Qué estorbo que mi esposo conserva y protege a Juan el Bautista! Y ella esperaba.
Después, un día, por fin….. En el cumpleaños del Rey Herodes, en el mismo lugar en Galilea invitaban a gobernadores, líderes militares, y hombres superiores. Una multitud se congregaba en la casa del Rey Herodes por una fiesta, un banquete.
Mientras estaban comiendo la hija de Herodías, una jóven, vino a bailar, y todos la vieron y les gustó mucho.
El Rey Herodes lo miraba y dijo: “Tu pideme lo que quieras y te lo doy, en verdad, lo prometo. Si tú quieres parto el reino entre nosotros dos y te doy la mitad, dime lo que quieras.”
La mujer:: ‘espera un tantito’ y caminó (hacia su madre) y dijo: “Mamá, ¿cuál cosa le pido que me dé? La mamá fue: bueno, y dijo: “Dile (que quieres) Juan el Bautista decapitado.”
La mujer caminó (hacia el rey) y dijo: “Quiero pedir que Juan el Bautista sea decapitado y que me traigan su cabeza en un plato, ahorita.”
El rey se sentía angustiado y dijo a si mismo: Caray, ya dije que lo prometí de verdad, qué estorbo, y todos me vieron.
Dijo a un soldado: “Vete decapita a Juan el Bautista, pon su cabeza en un plato y traemelo.”
El soldado fue y entró el cárcel y decapitó a Juan el Bautista, puso su cabeza en un plato y lo llevó. La mujer tomó el plato y lo llevó a su mamá.
Después las personas lo chismearon hasta lejos y advertieron los discípulos de Juan el Bautista que ya había muerto y los discípulos fueron y trajeron el cuerpo de Juan el Bautista y lo enterraron.
Do you remember John the Baptist. He was put in prison. Why?
Look, the wife of the brother of King Herod, Philip, was Herodias. King Herod had stolen and married Herodias.
John the Baptist had insulted him (by saying): “She is taken as the wide of your brother, you must not steal her and marry her, the Law of God prohibits it, it says so again and again.”
The king had ordered soldiers to arrest John the Baptist and they had chained him with iron chains and had put him in prison.
Afterwards for a while John the Baptist would explain about God and King Herod would hear him: Wow, interesting, I feel afraid when I see him. What kind of man is he? Truly, he is upright and holy. Shall I accept (what he says). I am in doubt.
Herodias hated John the Baptist and wanted him killed: What a nuisance that my husband preserves and protects John the Baptist! She waited.
Afterwards, one day, finally….For King Herod’s birthday, in Galilee itself, they invited governors, military leaders and high-ranking men. A multitude came together in the house of King Herod for a feast, a banquet.
While they were eating the daughter of Herodias, a young woman, came to dance and they all watched her and liked it very much.
King Herod looked at her and said: “Ask me whatever you want and I’ll give it to you, really, I promise. If you want we will share the kingdom, I will give you half, tell me what you want.”
The woman went: ‘wait just a moment’ and she walked over (to her mother) and said: “Mother, what shall I ask that he give me?” The mother went ‘good’, and said: “You tell him (you want) John the Baptist beheaded.”
The woman walked over (to the king) and said: “I want to ask that John the Baptist is beheaded and that they bring me his head on a plate, right now.”
The king was distressed and said to himself: Ay, it’s happened, I said that I really promised, what a nuisance, everyone saw me.
He said to a soldier: “Go, and behead John the Baptist, put his head on a plate and bring it to me.”
The soldier went and entered the prison, beheaded John the Baptist, put his head on a plate and took it over. The woman received the plate and took it to her mother.
Afterwards people passed on the news far and wide and they warned the disciples of John the Baptist that he had died, and the disciples went and brought back the body of John the Baptist and buried it.
Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios
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Mark 6:14-29 in Russian Sign Language
Following is the translation of Mark 6:14-29 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:
Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество
The region of Galilee. King Herod ruled there. Earlier he had captured and imprisoned the messenger John. For what reason? King Herod had a brother named Philip. Philip had a wife named Herodias. Herod stole his brother’s wife and married Herodias. The messenger John rebuked Herod directly and said, “What have you done?”
King Herod did not like this, and he put John in prison. Herodias, the king’s wife, hated John and wanted to kill him. But she could not do it because the king feared John. The king saw that John was righteous. So the king did not want to kill him, even though he put him in prison. Although John rebuked the king directly, yet the king liked to listen to John.
Some time later it was Herod’s birthday. The king had gathered many guests, men of nobility and wealth, people famous in Galilee, and military leaders. They were all feasting at the table.
The daughter of Herodias, Herod’s wife, came. She danced very beautifully. All the guests admired, and the king himself admired. The king said:
— Ask of me whatever you wish! I’ll give you everything. I promise to give you half of my kingdom.
Herodias’ daughter went to her mother and asked her:
— The king has promised me half of the kingdom. What shall I ask of him?
Herodias said:
— I want John’s head cut off. Go and demand of King Herod that John’s head be brought on a platter.
The girl went and demanded of the king:
— Bring me the head of John the messenger on a platter!
Herod was saddened. He thought:
— I wanted to preserve John’s life. But I promised before many witnesses, and I cannot cancel my promise. So the king ordered the soldiers to cut off John’s head and bring the head on a platter. The soldiers obeyed and went to the prison and cut off John’s head and brought the head on a platter. The daughter took the platter with the head and carried it to her mother.
The disciples who used to follow John the messenger heard that his head had been cut off. They came and asked for John’s body, took the body, wrapped it and buried it. After a while, King Herod heard about Jesus, because the name Jesus became known all over the neighborhood, because Jesus worked miracles, healed people, made them well. Some people said:
— This is John the messenger, who died and now is risen.
And others said:
— This is the prophet Elijah.
And others said:
— No, this is a different prophet.
They all said different things. But King Herod thought:
— I am sure that Jesus is John the messenger, whom I had executed, and now he has risen again.
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
Область Галилея. Там правил царь Ирод. Ранее он схватил и посадил в тюрьму вестника Иоанна. По какой причине? У царя Ирода есть брат по имени Филипп. У Филиппа была жена по имени Иродиада. Ирод увел у брата жену и женился на Иродиаде. Вестник Иоанн прямо обличал Ирода и говорил: «Что ты сделал?!»
Царю Ироду это не нравилось, и он посадил Иоанна в тюрьму. Жена царя Иродиада ненавидела Иоанна и хотела его убить. Но это у нее не получалось, потому что царь опасался Иоанна. Царь видел, что Иоанн был праведным. Поэтому царь не хотел его убивать, хотя и посадил в тюрьму. Хотя Иоанн обличал царя прямо, однако царю нравилось слушать Иоанна.
Через какое-то время был день рождения Ирода. Царь собрал множество гостей, людей знатных и богатых, известных в Галилее, военачальников. Они все пировали за столом.
Пришла дочь Иродиады, жены Ирода. Она очень красиво танцевала. Все гости восхищались, и сам царь восхищался. Царь сказал:
— Проси у меня, что пожелаешь! Я тебе все дам. Обещаю, что подарю тебе половину моего царства.
Дочь Иродиады пошла к своей матери и спросила у нее:
— Царь обещал мне половину царства. Что мне попросить у него?
Иродиада сказала:
— Я хочу, чтобы Иоанну отрубили голову. Иди и требуй у царя Ирода, чтобы голову Иоанна принесли на блюде.
Девушка пошла и потребовала от царя:
— Принесите мне голову Иоанна-вестника на блюде!
Ирод опечалился. Он подумал:
— Я хотел сохранить жизнь Иоанна. Но я обещал перед многими свидетелями, и отменить свое обещание я не могу. И царь приказал солдатам отрубить Иоанну голову и принести голову на блюде. Солдаты повиновались, пошли в тюрьму и отрубили голову Иоанну и принесли на блюде голову. Дочь взяла блюдо с головой и понесла матери.
Ученики, которые раньше следовали за Иоанном-вестником, услышали, что ему отрубили голову. Они пришли и попросили тело Иоанна, забрали тело, запеленали и похоронили. Спустя какое-то время, царь Ирод услыхал об Иисусе, потому что имя Иисус стало известно по всей округе, ведь Иисус творил чудеса, исцелял людей, делал их здоровыми. Некоторые говорили:
— Это Иоанн-вестник, который умер, а теперь воскрес.
А другие говорили:
— Это пророк Илия.
А третьи говорили:
— Нет, это другой пророк.
Все говорили по-разному. Но царь Ирод подумал:
— Я уверен, что Иисус — это Иоанн-вестник, которого я казнил, а теперь он воскрес.
Back-translation by Luka Manevich
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complete verse (Mark 6:21)
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 6:21:
- Uma: “On the day of remembering the birth of King Herodes, Herodias got her opportunity. On that day, King Herodes made a feast to remember the day of his birth. He called many nobles, war chiefs and leaders from the land of Galilea.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “So-then one day the wish of Herodiyas was fulfilled. When the day came for remembering the birth of King Herod, Herod made a feast for the officials in his kingdom and for the captains of his soldiers, and for the important people in that land Jalil.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “But the time came for celebrating the day of Herod’s birth, and then Herodias at last found a way that she might have John killed. King Herod held a great feast, and he invited the leaders and chiefs of soldiers and the rich people in the province of Galilee.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “When Herod’s birthday (lit. day of Herod’s birth) arrived, he caused-to-be-invited the officials and leaders of the soldiers and those who had status (lit. something-to-be-acknowledged) in Galilea so that they would celebrate-with (lit. be-happy-with) him. And that was Herodias’ chance to have-Juan -killed.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “But there was a time when Herodias had an opportunity, when it was the birthday of Herodes. Herodes invited to a feast his officials/aids, the officers of the soldiers and people who had high/important blood there in Galilea.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Scriptures Plain & Simple (Mark 6:14-29)
Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Mark 6:14-29:
Jesus became so famous that some people claimed,
“He’s John Dipper come back to life.” Others disagreed,
“No, he’s one of the ancient prophets now returned.”
Governor Herod had previously executed John Dipper,
but still Herod thought Jesus was John
alive and kicking once again. So the
Here’s the story: Herod had earlier married Herodias,
the wife of his brother Philip,
but John had vigorously and publicly objected.
Herod wanted to make Herodias happy,
so he had John thrown in prison.
However, Herodias wasn’t finished with John,
but she was absolutely helpless —
Although Herod was afraid of John,
he often went to him for advice,
but always returned frustrated and confused.
At last, Herodias got her big chance,
when her daughter danced
at the birthday party Herod had thrown for himself.
His public officials and military officers had been invited,
and her dancing pleased them so much
that Herod promised her whatever she wanted.
She was a momma’s girl and hurried off to Herodias,
who told her to ask for delivery on a platter
the head of John Dipper.
When Herod was informed, he immediately performed
and ordered John Dipper to be decapitated.
Then his head was displayed on a platter.
When John’s followers learned of his fate,
they took his body and placed it in a tomb.
Sung version of Mark 6
Translation commentary on Mark 6:21
Exegesis:
genomenēs hēmeras eukairou ‘an opportune day arriving’: for the use of the participial genitive clause to express time, cf. 6.2, genomenou sabbatou ‘when the Sabbath came.’
eukairos (only here in Mark) ‘timely,’ ‘opportune,’ ‘suitable’: so most translations; some, however, hold that the meaning here is ‘a festal (day)’ (cf. Moulton & Milligan) – Moffatt and Goodspeed give it this meaning.
tois genesiois autou (only here in Mark) ‘on his birthday’: properly the dative of the neuter plural of the adjective genesios ‘relating to (one’s) birth,’ with the meaning ‘birthday celebration’ (for the use of the plural cf. ta sabbata ‘Sabbath’ in 1.21).
deipnon epoiēsen ‘he gave a banquet.’
deipnon (12.39) ‘a formal meal,’ ‘a banquet,’ ‘a dinner.’
poieō ‘do,’ ‘make’: for its use in the sense of giving a banquet.
tois megistasin (only here in Mark) ‘chief men,’ ‘nobles.’
tois chiliarchois (only here in Mark) ‘high-ranking military officers’: the chiliarchos, leader of 1000 soldiers, was equivalent to the Roman tribunus militum, commander of a cohort (about 600 men). The word is used here in the general sense of high-ranking officers.
kai tois prōtois ‘and the most prominent men (of Galilee)’: cf. Lagrange, ‘the aristocracy of the country.’
prōtos (9.35; 10.31, 44; 12.20, 28, 29; 14.12; 16.9) ‘first.’
Translation:
Opportunity is ‘the right time’ or ‘a special time,’ but to make sense one must sometimes specify for whom such an occasion was opportune. Obviously, the proper person would be Herodias, viz, ‘a day for Herodias’ (Southern Subanen).
Birthday must usually not be translated literally, as has been done in some languages. For this was not the day of Herod’s birth, but the day on which he celebrated his birth. (As the result of one translation the people were very much amazed at the precocious nature of the baby Herod, for according to the Scriptures he apparently put on a banquet on the very day of his birth and was much impressed by the dancing of Herodias’ daughter.) Equivalents of birthday are quite varied: ‘day he was remembering his birth’ (Yaka), ‘when day of his birth comes up again’ (Chicahuaxtla Triqui), ‘day when he completed another year’ (Eastern Highland Otomi), and ‘day of his year’ (Chol).
Gave a banquet may be rendered as ‘provided much food’ or ‘caused to get together to eat’ (Copainalá Zoque). The giving of a feast is such a widespread custom in so many societies that there are usually no special problems in finding a satisfactory equivalent,
Courtiers and officers and the leading men of Galilee represent three classes of people: (1) the civil government, officials, (2) the military officers, and (3) the leading citizens of the realm, i.e. members of influential, rich families. This phrase can be rendered as ‘his under-rulers (i.e. those beneath him), and the rulers of his soldiers, and the wealthy people in Galilee.’ (Wealth and social prestige were as much equated in Biblical times as they are today.) In some languages leading men are ‘the chiefs’ or ‘the headmen’ (Navajo).
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 .
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