Translation commentary on Mark 9:39

Exegesis:

oudeis gar estin hos poiēsei … kai dunēsetai literally ‘for there is no one who will do … and will be able’: instead of one verb in the present tense and the other in the future tense (as in Revised Standard Version), it is preferable to have them both in the present tense, or in the future tense (American Standard Version, Goodspeed, Translator’s New Testament, Manson; The Modern Speech New Testament ‘who will perform a miracle … and be able’).

poiēsei dunamin (cf. 5.30) ‘will do a mighty work,’ ‘will perform a miracle.’

epi tō onomati mou (cf. v. 37) ‘in my name’: it would be hazardous to try to establish a hard and fast distinction between en tō onomati ‘in the name’ and epi tō onomati ‘on the basis of the name’ in these passages.

tachu (only here in Mark) ‘soon afterward,’ ‘quickly,’ ‘suddenly’: cf. Manson ‘in the same breath,’ Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale en même temps.

kakologēsai (cf. 7.10) ‘to speak evil of,’ ‘to revile.’

Translation:

Do not forbid may be translated as ‘Do not tell him he should not’ or ‘Do not say to him, You must not’ (San Mateo del Mar Huave).

Some languages may require the shift of the negative from the person to the capacity to speak against Jesus, e.g. ‘anyone who does … will not be able to…’ or ‘if a person does … he will not be able to….’ In both instances the verb forms should indicate the most general circumstances. In certain languages, this type of tense-aspect would be expressed by essentially tenseless forms of the verbs.

For mighty work see miracles 6.2. In many instances this type of context leads to the choice of words expressing the response of the viewer, e.g. ‘things people are astonished at’ (Tzotzil) and ‘big things, not (customarily) seen’ (San Blas Kuna).

In my name should be translated the same as in the preceding verse.

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 9:39

9:39a

There is a contrast between what the disciples did in 9:38 and what Jesus said in 9:39. Some versions such as the Revised Standard Version show this contrast with the word “But.” Translate the contrast in a natural way in your language.

Do not stop him: The command Do not stop is in the present tense in the Greek. In this context, this tense indicates a general principle: “Do not be stopping (people like) him.” You should translate this as a general principle. For example:

Do not stop people like him.

stop him: As in 9:38c, it may be necessary to say explicitly what action was stopped. Use an expression that is similar to the expression in 9:38c. For example:

stop him from doing that
-or-
try to prevent him from driving out demons

Jesus replied: In some languages it might be more natural to translate the phrase Jesus replied as “Jesus answered.” Jesus responded to what John said.

In Greek, these words occur at the beginning of 9:38 (as in the Revised Standard Version). The Berean Standard Bible places the words Jesus replied in the middle of Jesus’ response. Place the words Jesus replied where it is natural in your language.

9:39b–c

For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For means “because.” This conjunction introduces the reason for not stopping the man. For example:

because no one… (Good News Bible)

See the General Comment on 9:39a–c below for an example of how to change the order of this verse.

no one who performs a miracle in My name can turn around and speak evil of Me: Another way to say this is:

Anyone who does a miracle in my name will not be able to say anything bad about me soon afterward.

miracle: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as miracle is literally “power.” A miracle is an action which requires great power to accomplish. When a human being does a miracle, he must use greater power than human beings normally have. The disciples used God’s power to do miracles, and these miracles demonstrated that God was working through them.

Here are some other ways to translate miracle:

mighty work
-or-
amazing act done with/by God’s power
-or-
wonderful action that only God can do

The plural form of this word occurs in 6:2f.

in My name: The phrase in My name has the same meaning as the similar phrase “in your name” in 9:38b. It refers to using the power or authority of Jesus to do something. Translate it in a similar way as you did there.

can turn around: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as can turn around is literally “quickly.”

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

readily (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
soon afterward (Good News Bible)
-or-
in the next moment (New International Version, 2011 edition)

speak evil of Me: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as speak evil of means “revile,” “insult,” or “say something bad about.” For example:

speak evil of me (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
say evil things about me (Good News Bible)
-or-
say anything against me (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
insult me

General Comment on 9:39a–c

In some languages, it will be more natural to put 9:39b–c before 9:39a. For example:

39bA person who does a miracle in my name 39ccannot in the next moment say anything bad about me. 39aSo, do not stop him.

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