sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 9:42

Text:

After tōn pisteuontōn ‘those who believe’ Textus Receptus and Kilpatrick add eis eme ‘in me,’ which is omitted by all other modern editions of the Greek text.

Exegesis:

skandalisē (cf. 4.17) ‘he should cause to stumble’ (Montgomery, Manson, O Novo Testamento de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo. Revisdo Autorizada); ‘cause to fall’ (Goodspeed, Translator’s New Testament ‘cause to fall away’; The Modern Speech New Testament ‘occasion the fall of’); ‘is a hindrance’ (Moffatt). ‘Cause to (fall into) sin’ (Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale, Revised Standard Version) is too specific a translation of skandalizō.

hena tōn mikrōn toutōn tōn pisteuontōn ‘one of these little ones who believe’: perhaps, ‘one of the least of these who believe.’ The Revised Standard Version addition ‘in me’ is not part of the genuine text, in the opinion of most editors of the Greek text.

kalon estin (cf. 4.8) ‘it is good’: the use of the absolute form ‘good’ for the comparative ‘better’ appears to be thoroughly Semitic.

mallon (cf. 5.26) ‘rather,’ ‘instead.’

ei perikeitai … kai beblētai ‘if it had been placed … and he had been thrown’: the two perfects (the verb perikeimai is itself a perfect, meaning ‘to have been placed’ – cf. Souter) are here used with the force of past perfects: it would be better if, before causing a little one to stumble, he had had a millstone hung around his neck and had been thrown into the sea.

mulos onikos (only here in Mark) ‘a large millstone’ i.e. the large upper millstone that required an ass to turn it, instead of being hand-turned, as in the case of the small mills.

Translation:

Clauses introduced by whoever must be shifted to conditional clauses in some languages, e.g. ‘if a man does … it would be better….’

Little ones is ‘little children,’ to be understood in this context as being a reference to the child of verses 36 and 37.

Though the better texts all have only ‘believe,’ it is necessary in many languages to have some object to the verb of believing, and hence ‘in me’ is a very natural addition (cf. Textus Receptus and the Revised Standard Version).

Causes … to stumble is only rarely translatable in a literal manner. In one instance this was done, and the people were utterly surprised that Jesus would speak of such a dire penalty for anyone playing a practical joke. In this particular language the translation had to be changed to read ‘to cause his heart to be spoiled,’ for only this type of expression would convey the idea of moral offense. In Tzeltal the appropriate equivalent is ‘to cause to go wrong’ and in Highland Totonac one must say ‘to show such little children the wrong road.’ In Tabasco Chontal the correct idiom is ‘to cause them to leave the way’; in Toraja-Sa’dan the translation is ‘whoever causes that one of these little ones come into misfortune through sin.’

Great millstone is more meaningfully translated in many languages than in English, for so few English speaking people really know from personal experience what millstones are. In Tzeltal the equivalent expression is ‘large metate’ (metate is the name for the indigenous type of grinding stone). In some languages however, grinding stones are not used, and hence one must say simply ‘a big rock’ (Barrow Eskimo). Toraja-Sa’dan must render ‘large stone which is placed under the piles on which the house rests,’ while Batak Toba has ‘stone block in which the rice is beaten’ (to remove the husks).

One must make certain that the stone is not literally ‘hung round his neck,’ for in one language the people were intrigued by this kind of stone, which could be put as a wreath around a person’s neck. An appropriate equivalent may be ‘tied round his neck’ or ‘tied to him, with a rope around his neck.’

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 9:42

Section 9:42–50

Jesus gave various warnings

In this section, Jesus warned his disciples about several things. A believer should not cause another person to sin (9:42). A believer should not allow causes of sin to remain in his own life (9:43–48). Jesus warned believers that they would suffer because they follow him (9:49).

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 warned his followers with various sayings
-or-
Various warnings
-or-
Temptations to Sin (Good News Bible)

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 18:6–9 and Luke 17:1–2.

Paragraph 9:42–48

The Greek text does not indicate how much time occurred between the previous paragraph and this one. Both paragraphs include things that Jesus said, but he may have said them on separate occasions. The Berean Standard Bible begins this section with the word “But.” If you need an expression to introduce this paragraph, you should use a general expression that does not indicate time. For example:

Jesus also said

9:42

This verse compares two terrible situations:

(a) death in the sea with a millstone tied around the neck, and

(b) causing a childlike believer to sin.

The verse indicates that option (b) is much worse than option (a). A person should prefer to drown rather than to cause a childlike believer to sin. This probably implies that the punishment for (b) is much worse than drowning. (The implied punishment or penalty is mentioned in several commentaries. For example, Lane (page 345) says, “In such an eventuality, Jesus implies, the punishment incurred will be so severe it would have been better for a man if he had been drowned before he could have committed so grievous an offense.”)

Languages can indicate this comparison in various ways. Some other ways are:

• One thing is bad. Another thing is worse. For example:

42bIt is bad punishment for someone to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck. 42aBut if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin he will receive a worse punishment.

• One thing is bad. The other is good in comparison. For example:

42aIf anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, that is very bad and the punishment will be severe. 42bIt is good in comparison to have a millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea.

You should translate this comparison in a way that is natural in your language.

9:42a

if anyone: The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as if anyone are the same as the words in 9:41. There the Berean Standard Bible translates these words as “if anyone” and the New American Standard Bible translates them as “whoever.” You may want to use the same expression here as in 9:41.

causes…to stumble: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as causes…to stumble is used with a figurative meaning.

This verb can be interpreted in two ways:

(1) The verb refers to causing a believer to sin. For example, the NET Bible says:

If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin

(Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, New Century Version, English Standard Version)

(2) The verb refers to causing a believer to stop believing. For example, the Good News Bible says:

If anyone should cause one of these little ones to lose faith in me

(Good News Bible, New Living Translation, 1996 edition, God’s Word)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

stumble: As mentioned above, the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible here translates as stumble is used in a figurative sense to refer to offending or disobeying God. A person can stumble by doing or thinking something that God does not approve of. He can sin by not doing what God wants him to do. It is helpful to translate the verb stumble with a general term that can include any offense against God.

these little ones who believe in Me: The phrase little ones literally refers to children. Here Jesus used the phrase these little ones who believe in Me figuratively. He referred to childlike believers. They are like children because they are innocent and weak in certain ways. They need protection and help. The expression these little ones can refer to people of any age, both children and adults.

If people in your area will think that the words these little ones only refer to literal children, you may want to:

• Include some implied information. For example:

one of these childlike believers
-or-
one of these innocent/vulnerable people who believes in me

• Include a footnote For example:

The phrase “one of these little ones who believe in me” refers to a childlike follower of Jesus (Mark 9:35–37, Matthew 18:4–5).

believe: To believe in Jesus means for a person “to entrust himself to Jesus,” that is, “to place himself in the complete care of Jesus.”

Here are some other ways to translate this:

rely/depend on
-or-
trust in
-or-
have faith in
-or-
have confidence in

Your language may use an idiom for this meaning. See also believe, Meaning 2, in the Glossary.

9:42b

it would be better for him: This is a comparison. The consequences for a person who causes a believer to sin (9:42a) are so bad that drowning in the sea (9:42b) is better. See some ways to translate this comparison at 9:42a–b above.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

it would be preferable for him
-or-
in comparison, it would be good for him

a large millstone: A millstone is a heavy stone used for grinding grain to make flour. The Greek words are literally “a donkey millstone.” This stone was probably over 200 kilograms (450 pounds) and circular with a hole in the middle. A donkey pushed a bar tied to the stone to cause it to rotate and grind the grain. The very large millstone pictured below probably weighed over 500 kilograms.

If people in your area do not use stones to grind grain, you may want to use a general term for a stone of this size.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

a heavy stone (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
a large stone (New Century Version)

hung around his neck: This clause is a passive. Someone tied the stone to the neck of the person before he was thrown into the sea. If a passive clause is not natural in your language, use an active clause with a general reference to a person or people doing the action. For example:

which someone tied around his neck
-or-
which they tied around his neck

Here is another way to translate this:

hung from his neck

If possible, keep the focus on the person who had the stone tied around his neck.

9:42c

to be thrown into the sea: The implied result of being thrown into the sea is that the person dies/drowns. For example:

be thrown into the sea and drown

This clause is passive. It is not stated who threw the person. Passive clauses are not natural in some languages. If that is true in your language, use an active clause with a general reference to a person or people doing the action. For example:

if someone threw him into the sea
-or-
if they threw him into the sea

If possible, keep the focus on the person being thrown.

be thrown: In Greek the form of the verb here probably indicates that being thrown into the sea was to happen before causing someone to sin. The person would die in the sea, and that would prevent him from causing the childlike believer to sin. For example:

he had been cast into the sea (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
he were thrown into the sea…so that he could not do that

General Comment on 9:42b–c

The event in 9:42c occurs before the event in 9:42b. It might be more natural in your language to have the event in 9:42c before the event in 9:42b in your translation. For example:

it would be better for him if someone were to 42cplace a large millstone around his neck and 42bthrow him into the sea

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