Exegesis:

kalōs (7.9, 37; 12.28, 32; 16.18) ‘fittingly,’ ‘rightly’: here used ironically. Translator’s New Testament ‘Well … men!’

eprophēteusen Ēsaias ‘Isaiah prophesied’ (cf. 1.2).

prophēteuō (14.65) ‘prophesy’: here used in the sense of ‘predict,’ ‘foretell.’

hupokritōn (only here in Mark) ‘hypocrites,’ ‘dissemblers’: an extension of the original meaning ‘stage actors.’

hōs gegraptai (cf. 1.2) ‘as it stands written.’ The passage quoted is from Isaiah 29.13, the Septuagint version (which differs significantly from the Hebrew text).

laos (14.2) ‘people’: here in the special sense of the people of God, Israel.

tois cheilesin me tima ‘with the lips they honor me.’

cheilos (only here in Mark) ‘lip’: by which outward profession is meant, in contrast with the inward thoughts and purposes of the ‘heart.’

timaō (7.10; 10.19) ‘honor,’ ‘revere.’

hē de kardia autōn porrō apechei ap’ emou ‘but their heart is far removed from me.’

kardia (cf. 2.6) ‘heart’ as the center of intellectual activity.

porrō (only here in Mark) adverb ‘far away,’ ‘distant from.’

apechō (14.41) here ‘to be away,’ ‘to be distant.’

matēn de sebontai me ‘in vain do they worship me.’

matēn (only here in Mark) adverb ‘in vain,’ ‘to no purpose,’ ‘to no end.’

sebomai (only here in Mark) ‘worship (as God).’

didaskontes didaskalias entalmata anthrōpōn ‘teaching as (divine) teachings the precepts of men.’

didaskalia (only here in Mark) in the passive sense of ‘teaching,’ ‘instruction.’

entalma (only here in Mark) ‘precept,’ ‘ordinance.’

Translation:

For prophesy see prophet, 1.2. But in this context prophesy may need to be taken in quite a special sense, e.g. ‘long ago speak the truth about’ or ‘to declare God’s words about’ (if prophesy is to be understood in the sense of speaking to the people on behalf of God).

You hypocrites is an appositional expression, rendered in some languages as ‘about you; and you are hypocrites’; ‘about you, as hypocrites,’ or ‘about the hypocrites that you are.’

Hypocrites is one of those metaphorically fascinating terms which exhibits about as wide a variety of different possibilities as exist for any term. Such people exist in all societies and there seems to be no lack of ways in which these persons may be described. However, the different expressions may be classified principally into (1) those which employ some concept of ‘two’ or ‘double,’ e.g. ‘two faced’ (Highland Totonac, Huautla Mazatec, Lacandon, Tepeuxila Cuicatec, Highland Puebla Nahuatl), ‘two hearts’ (Tzeltal, Chol), ‘two mouths’ (Central Pame), ‘two heads’ (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), ‘two sides’ (Kekchi), ‘double (or ‘forked’) tongue’ (Shipibo-Conibo), ‘double talk’ (Eastern Highland Otomi); (2) those which make use of some expression of ‘mouth’ or ‘speaking’ e.g. ‘to talk false’ (Huehuetla Tepehua), ‘to lie-act’ (Copainalá Zoque), ‘to lie’ (Kituba, Amganad Ifugao, Trukese), ‘someone whose lips are fair’ (i.e. gracious) (Toraja-Sa’dan), ‘to have a sweet mouth’ (Mossi ), ‘to have a swollen mouth,’ from too much speaking (Central Mazahua), and ‘to have a straight mouth and a crooked heart’ (Tai Dam); (3) those which are based upon some special cultural feature, e.g. ‘the bitterness of white’ an idiom based on the fact that white-wash looks nice but tastes bitter (Kongo), ‘to spread a clean carpet,’ an expression used in Madagascar to describe one who covers up the dirt of an unswept floor just before the arrival of guests (Malagasy), and ‘to be a priest-heron,’ based on a fable of a heron who deceived fish into thinking that he was their protector, while actually he was devouring them (Balinese); and (4) those which employ a non-metaphorical phrase, e.g. ‘those who make themselves out to be good’ (Zanaki) and ‘those who deceive’ (Tetelcingo Nahuatl).

As it is written may be in the active form ‘as Isaiah wrote.’ Some languages, however, may employ ‘as the words are written.’

Honors is here often translated as ‘praises,’ e.g. ‘say my name’ (Huehuetla Tepehua), ‘make me great’ (Highland Totonac), ‘good what is said about me’ (Tzeltal), ‘speak well of me’ (Western Highland Purepecha), ‘lift up my name’ (San Blas Kuna, Kpelle).

In English we may use lips as a figurative substitute for ‘voice’ or ‘speech.’ However, in other languages this may not be meaningful. For example, ‘mouth’ is required in Huautla Mazatec and South Bolivian Quechua, ‘words’ (literally, ‘they love me with words’) is used in Chol, and ‘so they say’ is the equivalent in Tzeltal.

As in so many instances heart may not be rendered literally in many translations. For example, in Sayula Popoluca the heart is only ‘a blood bowl,’ and has absolutely no metaphorical significance or usage. One must use in this type of context a borrowing from Spanish anima, which is the well-recognized and often-used term for the focus of the personality.

Their heart is far from me is essentially a figurative expression, and may require considerable adaptations: (1) modifications in the word for heart, e.g. liver, abdomen, stomach (see 2.6), (2) shifts from singular to plural, i.e. ‘their hearts are…,’ since each person has a heart, and (3) alteration of the perspective, e.g. ‘I have not arrived in their hearts’ (Tzeltal).

Terms for worship are quite involved. Words for ‘worship’ can usually be classified under the following divisions: (1) those based on the physical activity involved in the position assumed in worship, e.g. ‘to prostrate oneself before’ (Javanese), ‘to kneel and bow the head’ (Malay), ‘to kneel before’ (Kaqchikel), ‘to drop oneself beneath God’s foot’ (Loma (Liberia)), ‘to cut oneself down before’ (Ngäbere), ‘to wag the tail before God,’ using a verb which with an animal subject means ‘to wag the tail,’ but with a human subject means ‘to worship’ (Tepeuxila Cuicatec), ‘to join to’ (Tzotzil), (2) those which incorporate some element of ‘speaking’ or ‘declaring,’ e.g. ‘to raise up a blessing to God’ (Kpelle), ‘to praise as your God’ (Kekchi), ‘to say one is important’ (Cashibo-Cacataibo), and (3) those which specify some type of mental activity (whether or not later expressed in words), e.g. ‘to think of God with the heart’ (San Blas Kuna), ‘to have one’s heart go out to God’ (Rincon Zapotec), and ‘to holy-remember’ (Tabasco Chontal).

In vain is a phrase giving rise to a number of problems, since it so frequently requires a complete descriptive phrase or clause in order to convey a corresponding meaning, e.g. ‘say I am important, but they do not believe it’ (Cashibo-Cacataibo), ‘has no meaning when they praise me’ (Kekchi), ‘uselessly’ (Toraja-Sa’dan, Pamona), ‘uselessly they remember’ (Copainalá Zoque), ‘their religion is their mouth’ (Farefare), ‘their worship has no meaning’ (Southern Subanen), ‘they say they love me, but this means nothing’ (Tzotzil), ‘they worship me but they do not mean what they say’ (Southern Bobo Madaré), ‘it is of no value that they honor me’ (Central Mazahua), and ‘their thinking is not in their hearts’ (San Blas Kuna).

Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men must often be recast since doctrines and precepts more often than not correspond to verb expressions, not nouns. When this modification occurs certain expansions are required in order to identify the participants and the relationships between the processes, e.g. ‘teach what men say as though it were what God has said’ (San Mateo del Mar Huave), ‘teach men’s commandments as true teachings,’ in which ‘true teachings’ is the regular expression for doctrines (Tzeltal), ‘teach as God’s words what men have said’ (Southern Bobo Madaré), ‘teach rules, which are merely the regulations of men’ (Pamona), ‘teach what men have commanded as though it is true’ (Amganad Ifugao), and ‘teach men’s commands as though they were the very words of God’ (Eastern Highland Otomi).

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 .