The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin that is translated as “soul” in English is translated in Chol with a term that refers to the invisible aspects of human beings (source: Robert Bascom).
The Mandarin Chineselínghún (靈魂 / 灵魂), literally “spirit-soul,” is often used for “soul” (along with xīn [心] or “heart”). This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32, see also Clara Ho-yan Chan in this article )
Kim Ki-chang (pen name: Unbo) had been deaf and partially mute since the age of 7. He painted a series of 30 paintings for the “Life of Christ” cycle in 1952 during the Korean War. Kim portrayed Jesus as a seonbi / 선비, or a Joseon Period (1392-1910) gentleman scholar, wearing a gat / 갓 (hat) and dopo / 도포 (robe). For other images of Kim Ki-chang art works in TIPs, see here.
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 14:34:
Uma: “He said to them: ‘My heart is so sad, I feel like I’m about to die. You stay here for now and keep-watch!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “So-then he said to them, ‘My liver is very grieved, it almost kills me. Stay/remain here and keep-watch (jaga).'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “and he said to them, ‘My breath is very painful. It’s as if I were about to die. You stay here and don’t go to sleep.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “and he said to them, ‘My sadness is excessive. It’s as if this will be my death. You stay here and don’t go to sleep.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “He said to those three, ‘I am really very sad/troubled like it would kill me. I ask you please to wait here and don’t go to sleep. Just stay awake.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
hē psuchē mou (cf. 3.4) ‘my soul’: here either the equivalent of ‘myself,’ ‘my whole being,’ or, in a more specialized sense, the ‘soul’ as the center of the ‘inner life,’ the seat of the emotions. Inasmuch as the phrase is Biblical, it would appear that the first meaning prevails here.
heōs thanatou ‘unto death,’ ‘to the point of dying’: the phrase recalls the Septuagint of Jonah 4.9, “I am exceedingly sorrowful, unto death” (heōs thanatou). As Swete says, it is “a sorrow which well-nigh kills.”
meinate (cf. 6.10) ‘you are to stay’: the definite act.
grēgoreite (cf. 13.34) ‘you must keep on watching’: the abiding attitude (cf. Lagrange, Taylor).
Translation:
It may be quite impossible to translate soul without doing violence to the meaning of this passage. In many languages, of course, one can render soul as ‘heart,’ ‘liver,’ or ‘stomach,’ depending upon what may be the psychological center of the personality. However, in other instances one may employ simply ‘I.’ The danger in using a term which designates the part of the personality which lives on after death (the meaning of soul, as often understood in English) is that people may assume that Jesus was already dying in his soul and that the crucifixion was relatively meaningless.
For sorrowful see 10.22.
Even to death poses real problems for the translator, since this expression must be understood in a strictly figurative way. This may be clearly indicated in several ways; ‘as if I would die’ (Copainalá Zoque), ‘my soul has gone over it so that it is like that it kills me’ (Navajo), and ‘I am very much counting my heart; I die because of it, it seems’ (Tzotzil).
Watch must not be translated in such a way as to imply that the disciples were to watch Jesus pray (a not infrequent mistake). Their task was to remain awake in order to watch out for anyone who might be coming with hostile intent.
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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