Translation commentary on Mark 9:9

Exegesis:

katabainontōn autōn ‘while they were coming down’ (cf. embainontos autou ‘as he was entering’ 5.18).

For katabainō ‘come down’ cf. 1.10; diastellō … hina ‘command … that’ cf. 5.43; diēgeomai ‘narrate,’ ‘relate’ cf. 5.16; ek nekrōn ‘from the dead’ cf. 6.14; anistēmi ‘rise’ cf. 8.31.

ei mē hotan ‘except when’: in this context the meaning is ‘until after.’ As Arndt & Gingrich point out, in such a construction as this the action of the subordinate clause (in this case anastē ‘should rise’) precedes that of the verb of the main clause (here diēgēsōntai ‘they should say’): therefore, not until after the Son of man should rise from the dead were they to narrate what they had seen on the mountain.

ei mē ‘except’: introduces a condition, or exception, to a statement or command.

hotan (cf. 2.20) ‘when.’ For a similar construction cf. 12.25 hotan gar ek nekrōn anastōsin ‘for when they rise from the dead.’

Translation:

The pronominal referents of they, them and they must be made clear. The first they refers to Jesus and the disciples, while the following them and they denote the disciples. In many languages it is not necessary to be so careful about pronominal reference, as would seem to be implied in this and other notes with regard to pronouns, since the context seems to “sort out” the referents adequately. However, in some languages one may be completely misled by inexact pronominal elements, since the language requires very specific identification in any potentially ambiguous situation.

Charged them to tell must be shifted into direct discourse in many languages, e.g. ‘commanded them, Do not tell anyone….’

Some languages do not have a syntactic construction corresponding closely to the negative exception implied in the relationship no one … until. This can only be rendered by a paraphrastic construction, e.g. ‘he commanded them not to tell anyone what they had seen, but he said they could tell when he, the Son of man, had risen from the dead’ (Kekchi).

Rise from the dead is in Greek literally ‘arise from among the dead.’ A literal rendering is not always possible, for it might very well imply (as it has in some translations), ‘to stand up in the cemetery.’ The idea is of course ‘come back to life,’ ‘live again after being dead,’ or ‘to regain life.’

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 9:9

9:9a

As they were coming down the mountain: This clause links this paragraph to the previous paragraph (9:5–8). It also indicates that Jesus, Peter, James, and John were part way down the mountain when they had the following conversation.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

On their way down the mountain (God’s Word)
-or-
While they descended the mountain
-or-
As Jesus and his disciples were coming down the mountain (Contemporary English Version)

they: The pronoun they refers to Jesus, Peter, James, and John.

mountain: The word mountain refers to the same mountain as in 9:2b. See how you translated this word in 9:2b.

9:9b–c

9:9b–c has an indirect quote. See the General Comment on 9:9b–c at the end of 9:9c for examples of how to translate this as a direct quotation.

9:9b

Jesus admonished them: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as admonished means “commanded” or “ordered.” Jesus said something to the disciples and expected them to obey. For example:

Jesus commanded them (New Century Version)
-or-
Jesus ordered them (Good News Bible)
-or-
he warned them (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

not to tell anyone: In some languages it might be more natural to use a positive expression here. For example:

to be silent about

what they had seen: The phrase what they had seen refers to what the disciples had seen when Jesus was transfigured (9:2–8).

Another way to translate this is:

the miraculous/marvelous things that they had just seen on the mountain

9:9c

until: The word until indicates that after Jesus died and had risen from the dead, the disciples could tell what they had seen.

In some languages, it may be more natural to begin a new sentence here. For example, the God’s Word says:

They were to wait until the Son of Man had come back to life.

the Son of Man: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the Son of Man is literally “the Son of the human/person.” Jesus used this title to imply that:

(a) he was a true human being, and he represented all people.

(b) he came from God and had authority from God.

Try to use an expression that implies both meanings.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

the Man whom God Sent
-or-
the True Man from God/Heaven
-or-
the Representative of Mankind
-or-
The Older Brother of All People

In some cases, an unusual title may correctly suggest a deeper meaning. For example:

the Child of a Person
-or-
the One who was Born as a Human

Translators have also used expressions that are more literal. These more literal expressions may be appropriate where readers are familiar with a literal title in another version.

In some languages it may be necessary to use an appropriate form to indicate that Jesus was referring to himself. For example:

He told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until he, the Son of Man, had been raised from death.
-or-
“Do not tell anyone what you have seen until I, the Son of Man, have risen from death.”

had risen from the dead: The phrase had risen from the dead refers to a future event when God would cause Jesus to live again. This phrase implies that Jesus would die first.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

until the Son of Man came back to life
-or-
until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead (New Revised Standard Version)

General Comment on 9:9b–c

The Berean Standard Bible has translated 9:9b–c as an indirect quotation. In some languages it may be more natural to use a direct quote here. For example, the Good News Bible says:

Jesus ordered them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has risen from death.”

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