Scriptures Plain & Simple (Mark 6:30-44)

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 6:30-44:

One day, Jesus and his closest followers
were surrounded by so many spectators
       that they didn’t even have a chance to eat.
Jesus said, “Let’s leave here and find a place
       where we can be alone and get some rest.”

So they jumped in a boat and rowed away,
but people found out and walked there
       before the boat arrived.

As Jesus stepped ashore, he noticed the crowd —
it was like a scattering of sheep without a shepherd.
       He felt sorry for the people and started teaching them.

That evening his followers came to him and said,
       “It’s getting dark in this desert-like place.
Stop teaching and release the crowds,
       so they can start searching for somewhere to buy food.”

“You give them something to eat,” replied Jesus

“Don’t you know,” they questioned, “a year’s wages
       would barely be enough to feed this crowd?”

“Find out how much bread is available,” commanded Jesus.

They found out and reported,
       “Five small loaves and two little fish.”

Jesus instructed his followers to tell the people to
sit down on the green grass
       in groups of a hundred and in groups of fifty.

Looking up toward heaven, Jesus blessed
       both the bread and the fish.
Then he broke the bread and handed it to his followers,
       who distributed it among the crowd.
He also divided the fish, so everyone could have some.
After everyone had eaten and was satisfied,
the followers of Jesus gathered enough leftovers
       to fill twelve large baskets.

Translation commentary on Mark 6:30

Exegesis:

kai sunagontai hoi apostoloi ‘and the apostles come together.’

sunagō (cf. 2.2) ‘gather,’ ‘come together.’

hoi apostoloi (unless in 3.14 also, only here in Mark) ‘the apostles,’ i.e. the Twelve whom Jesus sent out (apostellein 6.7) in pairs on a preaching and healing ministry.

apēggeilan (cf. 5.14) ‘they announced,’ ‘they related,’ ‘they told.’

Translation:

The use of section headings helps to bridge the abrupt transition from verses 29 to 30 (see list of section headings in the Appendix).

Apostles is rendered primarily in two ways: (1) a word or phrase meaning ‘the sent ones’ (Eastern Highland Otomi, Tzeltal, Conob, Western Highland Purepecha, Navajo, Copainalá Zoque, Chol) and ‘messengers’ (Kituba, Pamona, Mezquital Otomi, Central Pame). In some languages there are certain special adaptations: ‘word carriers,’ practically equivalent to ‘messengers’ (Ngäbere), ‘those commanded to carry the message’ (Southern Subanen), ‘witnesses to God,’ meaning ‘those who speak up and out for God’ (San Blas Kuna). A still further method of dealing with the word apostles is to borrow the term used in the prestige language of the area. Unless, however, there is a rather extensive Christian tradition, transliteration of a borrowed word is not recommended.

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 6:30

Section 6:30–44

Jesus did a miracle to feed more than five thousand people

Here Mark resumed the story about Jesus and his twelve apostles. In this section the twelve apostles came back to Jesus and told him about their mission in the Jewish villages. Then Jesus and the apostles went away to find a quiet place to rest. But crowds of people came there to see Jesus. Jesus taught the crowds of people and then did a miracle in order to give them all food to eat.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand (New International Version)
-or-
The Feeding of the Five Thousand (NET Bible)
-or-
Jesus fed five thousand people in a miraculous way

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 14:13–21; Luke 9:10–17; John 6:1–14. See also a similar story, where Jesus fed four thousand people, in Matthew 15:32–39 and Mark 8:1–10.

Paragraph 6:30–32

In 6:6b–13 Jesus sent out his twelve apostles in groups of two to preach, to expel demons, and to heal sick people. Here in 6:30–32, the apostles returned from their mission and told Jesus what had happened. Then Jesus invited them to a quiet place away from the crowds so that they could rest.

6:30a

The events in 6:30–32 began sometime after Jesus sent the twelve apostles out in 6:6b–13. The Greek text does not indicate how much time passed between the time the disciples went out and the time they came back to report to Jesus in 6:30. Also, Mark interrupted the story about Jesus and the twelve apostles to tell a different story (about John the Baptist and Herod).

Your language may have a particular way to show that a story is starting again after an interruption to tell about something else. If so, you could use it here. One way to do this in English is:

When Jesus’ apostles returned from the villages, they…

Meanwhile, the apostles gathered around Jesus: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the apostles gathered around Jesus implies that they first returned to Jesus. In some languages, it may be natural to make this explicit. For example, the Good News Bible says:

the apostles returned and met with Jesus

apostles: The Greek word that English versions translate as apostles means “those who are sent.” Here it refers to the people whom Jesus sent with authority to accomplish a mission or a particular task.

Some ways to translate “apostles” are:

• Translate the meaning of the Greek word apostles. For example:

people sent to speak/act for him
-or-
special messengers
-or-
representatives
-or-
men with authority from Jesus

• Indicate the role or function of apostles. For example:

chief leaders of Jesus’ work
-or-
people who are in charge of Jesus’ work

Be careful to choose different terms for “apostle,” “angel,” “elder,” and “prophet.”

This is the second time in Mark that the twelve disciples are called apostles. (The first time is in 3:14b.) See also apostle in the Glossary.

Mark usually referred to Jesus’ twelve closest followers as “disciples” rather than apostles. He may have chosen the word apostles here since they had returned from the mission that Jesus sent them on in 6:7.

gathered around Jesus: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as gathered around also means “assembled” or “met.” The twelve apostles had been apart from each other and from Jesus. They had gone in groups of two to many villages. Now they came back together again.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

rejoined Jesus (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
returned and met with Jesus (Good News Bible)

6:30b

and brought Him news of all they had done and taught: In 6:12–13 Mark told what the twelve men did after Jesus sent them out. Here in 6:30b they came back and told Jesus about all these things.

all they had done: The general phrase all they had done includes expelling demons and healing sick people.

all they had…taught: In 6:12 it says that they “preached that the people should repent.” Here in 6:30b, Mark says that they taught, that is, they instructed or directed people. Preaching and teaching are similar, but if you have two different verbs, you should use a different one here from the one you used for “preached.”

If you need to say whom the disciples taught, you can say:

all that they had taught to the people

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