The Greek terms that are translated as “five thousand” and “four thousand” in these verses have to be translated descriptively in some languages, such as “ant heap” (Shona) or “large/uncountable number” (Chichewa, Yao).
See also numbers in Kombai.
complete verse (Mark 8:20)
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 8:20:
- Uma: “Yesus asked further: ‘And the seven [loaves of] bread that I fed the four thousand with, how many baskets of leftovers did you gather?’ They said: ‘Seven.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “‘And don’t you remember the seven breads that I divided among the four thousand people? How many baskets full of left-overs did you gather?’ They said, ‘Seven.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus said again, ‘And when I broke the seven pieces of bread to feed the four thousand people, how many baskets did you fill of leftover pieces?’ And they answered, ‘Seven.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “‘And the seven breads that sufficed for the over four thousand people, how many baskets did you fill with left-overs?’ ‘Seven,’ they said.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “‘Well when I also broke up the seven breads with which to feed the four thousand, well how many large-baskets did you put into which you filled with what was in excess?’ ‘Seven large-baskets,’ was the reply of those disciples.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people
Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.
As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff.), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.
Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.
In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.