Translation commentary on Mark 6:51

Text:

At the end of the verse Textus Receptus adds kai ethaumazon ‘and they marveled,’ which is omitted by all modern editions of the Greek text.

Exegesis:

anebē pros autous eis to ploion ‘he went up to them into the boat’; The Modern Speech New Testament ‘went up to them and entered the boat.’

anabainō (cf. 1.10) ‘come up,’ ‘go up’: of boats, ‘embark,’ ‘get into.’

ekopasen (cf. 4.39) ‘abated,’ ‘ceased,’ ‘died down’ (of the wind).

lian (cf. 1.35) ‘very,’ ‘exceedingly.’

ek perissou (only here in Mark) ‘beyond measure,’ ‘exceeding the usual (number or size).’ The true force of this prepositional phrase may be appreciated by comparing the cognate words in Mark: verb, perisseuō (12.44), noun, perisseuma (8.8), comparative adjective, perissoteros (7.36; 12.33, 40), adverb, perissōs (10.26; 15.14).

en heautois existanto ‘they were astounded within themselves’ (cf. Lagrange ils étaient tous extrêmement stupéfaits en eux-mêmes).

existēmi (cf. 2.12) ‘be baffled,’ ‘be astounded,’ ‘be puzzled.’

Translation:

The wind ceased may be rendered quite metaphorically in some languages, e.g. ‘the wind healed’ (South Bolivian Quechua) or ‘the wind died.’ In Tabasco Chontal the expression is somewhat more “scientific”: ‘the wind passed by.’

For astounded see 1.22, 27. At this point Tzeltal has ‘their spirits went straight,’ implying the kind of astonishment which accompanies emotional relief.

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 6:51

6:51a

Then: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then (and the Revised Standard Version as “And”) here introduces what happened next in the story.

climbed into the boat: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as climbed into the boat means that Jesus “got into the boat.” For example, the New Century Version says:

Then he got into the boat with them

Use an expression in your language that is usually used for stepping into a boat.

6:51b

the wind died down: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a figure of speech the wind died down is literally “the wind stopped.” This means that the wind stopped blowing. The New Century Version has another way to translate this:

the wind became calm

Use an expression that is natural in your language.

6:51c

utterly astounded: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as utterly astounded means “extremely surprised” or “completely amazed.” This is a very emphatic phrase. It also includes the idea that the disciples were “very confused.” They were not able to think clearly.

It is recommended that you emphasize that the disciples were very amazed with an appropriate expression in your language. For example:

greatly amazed (New Century Version)
-or-
utterly astounded (Revised English Bible)

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