parable

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The Greek that is usually translated as “parable” in English is translated in other languages in a number of ways:

In British Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines the signs for “tell-a-story” and “compare.” (Source: Anna Smith)


“Parable” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

Scot McKnight (in The Second Testament, publ. 2023) translates it into English as analogy because “the Greek word has the sense of tossing down something alongside something else. Hence an analogy.”

See also image and figures of speech.

complete verse (Mark 12:12)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 12:12:

  • Uma: “When the Yahudi leaders heard Yesus’ words, they wanted to catch him, for they knew that they were the ones that he was aiming at with his parable. But they didn’t dare to catch him, for they feared the crowds. So they left him.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then, those leaders of the Yahudi wanted already to seize Isa, because they understood that he was implying them in the parable about that garden. But they did not seize him because they were afraid of the crowds. Therefore they left him there and they went away.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then those leaders of the Jews understood that they were the ones meant in the parable. They thought they would like to seize Jesus, but they could not because they were afraid of the many people. And then they left Jesus alone and left.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then those leaders of the Jews wanted to arrest Jesus, because they knew that they were the ones the parable was talking-about. But they were afraid of the many-people, so they left-him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Without anything further, the chiefs of the priests wanted to arrest Jesus, for they understood that they were the ones alluded to in that which was illustrated. But they were indeed afraid of the crowd of people, therefore they didn’t dare. They then went off.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 12:12

Exegesis:

The words in this verse have already been dealt with: for zēteō ‘seek,’ here meaning ‘attempt,’ ‘try’ cf. 3.32; krateō ‘seize,’ ‘arrest’ cf. 1.31; ephobēthēsan tōn ochlon ‘they feared the crowd’ cf. 11.32; aphiēmi ‘leave,’ ‘forsake’ cf. 2.5.

egnōsan ‘they knew’ here means ‘they perceived,’ ‘they understood.’

pros ‘with reference to’; in the context, almost ‘against.’

Translation:

They is obscure, for it refers back to the ‘chief priests and the scribes and the elders’ of 11.27. However, rather than repeat this expression one can remove the ambiguity (in which the pronouns might refer to the tenants, referred to in the preceding parable, or to the people in general), by saying ‘those to whom Jesus addressed his words’ or ‘those to whom Jesus was speaking.’ In Tzotzil one may say ‘his opponents’ to distinguish this group.

Arrest may require an indirect causative in some languages ‘cause him to be seized,’ since the authorities would not themselves take him in hand but would order soldiers to do it.

Against them must refer back to the authorities.

The relationship of ideas in this verse may require in some languages a recasting of the order, since the causal introduced by for does not give the reason for the immediately preceding event, namely, ‘the fearing of the multitude’ but for the desire on the part of the authorities to arrest Jesus. The Greek order of clauses, 1, 2, 3, 4 is shifted for example in Navajo to 3, 1, 2, 4, e.g. ‘perceiving that he was speaking against them, they sought to…; but because they feared the multitude, they left him….’

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 .