In Highland Puebla Nahuatl there is no immediate equivalent for the Greek that is translated with the English term “heir.” So here an expression is used that means “someone who will receive the property (or: things).” (Source: Nida 1947, p. 200f.) Likewise, in Chimborazo Highland Quichua the translation is “those who receive what belongs to their father” (source: Julia Woodward in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 140ff. ) and in Sayula Popoluca “will receive all that God has for us” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.).
Mark 1:21-28 in Russian Sign Language
Following is the translation of Mark 1:21-28 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:
Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество
Jesus and the four disciples came to the town of Capernaum. There is a house of prayer there. It was where the Jews gathered together every Sabbath to pray, to teach, to listen. It was the Sabbath day. Jesus went in there. He began to teach. The people listened attentively. They wondered:
— How is he teaching? There used to be teachers of the law, but here he was different; it was as if God had given him authority.
The people marveled. Suddenly some man jumped up. Satan was in him. He began to shout fearfully:
— You, Jesus of Nazareth! Why have you come here to us? You are planning to destroy us! I know you! God has chosen you!
Jesus looked at him and said:
— Be quiet! The demon in this man, get out!
The demon inside the man began to scream and thrash and jumped out, and the man fell down. The people around marveled, people began to say:
— How can this be? Jesus has the power to command Satan and Satan obeys.
The rumor of this miracle spread everywhere.
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
Иисус вместе с четырьмя учениками прибыли в город Капернаум. Там есть дом молитвы. Туда каждую субботу собирались иудеи вместе, чтобы молиться, учить, слушать. Был день суббота. Иисус зашел туда. Начал учить. Народ слушал внимательно. Все удивлялись:
— Как это он учит? Раньше ходили учителя закона, но вот он совсем другой; как будто бы Бог дал ему власть.
Народ удивлялся. Вдруг вскочил какой-то человек. Сатана был в нем. Он начал страшно кричать:
— Ты, Иисус из Назарета! Ты зачем пришел сюда к нам? Ты задумал нас истребить! Я знаю тебя! Бог избрал тебя!
Иисус посмотрел на него и сказал:
— Замолчи! Бес в этом человеке, выйди вон!
Бес внутри человека стал кричать, биться и выскочил вон, а человек упал. Народ вокруг изумился, люди начали говорить:
— Как же это?! Иисус имеет власть приказывать сатане и сатана слушается.
Слух об этом чуде стал распространяться повсюду.
Back-translation by Luka Manevich
inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Matt. 21:38 / Mark 12:7 / Luke 20:14)
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including vine-growers to each other).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
complete verse (Mark 12:7)
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 12:7:
- Uma: “‘But in fact, the ones who were taking care of the field, they took-counsel, they said: ‘There comes his child, he’s the one who will become the owner of this field. Let’s kill him, so that we will own this field.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “But when the caretakers of the garden saw that son of his, they planned/conferred. They said, ‘He is hep the heir. Come, let us (incl.) kill (him) so that this garden will be ours (incl.).'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “However when the son of the owner arrived, those who were in charge said, ‘At last, this is his son. Come on, let’s kill him so that we might inherit this grape orchard!'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “‘But on the arrival of his child, the joint-farmers said, ‘This is the heir (lit. inheritance owner) of this farm. Let’s kill him to take-over his inheritance!'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “Whereas those ones left in charge were saying, ‘Expletive, there’s that heir! Come on now. Let’s kill him, so that this ubas plantation which he will inherit will be ours.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Translation commentary on Mark 12:7
Exegesis:
klēronomos (only here in Mark; cf. klēronomeō 10.17) ‘heir.’
deute (cf. 1.17) ‘come!’
klēronomia (only here in Mark) ‘inheritance.’
Translation:
Heir is a term which corresponds to widespread cultural patterns and so is usually quite easily translated. However, the practice of passing on inheritance is not known in some societies, and hence a descriptive expression may be necessary, e.g. ‘this one will eventually be the owner’ (Shipibo-Conibo) or ‘he will receive his father’s land’ (Cashibo-Cacataibo).
Come as an exhortation for group activity may be more idiomatically rendered as ‘let’s get together’ or ‘let’s unite,’ for this is not the ‘come’ of travel, but of cooperation.
The inheritance may be literally ‘what he would receive’ or ‘what he will later own’; or one may use a more generic phrase, e.g. ‘the property’ or ‘this planted land.’
Will be ours may require transposition, e.g. ‘we will possess what he would get.’
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 .
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