complete verse (Mark 16:10)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 16:10:

  • Uma: “Maria went to Yesus followers, she found them weeping and with sad [lit., hurting] hearts. She said to them: ‘The Lord has come back alive, I just saw him!’ But they didn’t believe anything [lit., all] of what Maria said.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then Mariyam went to the disciples of Isa while they were there sad and weeping. Mariyam told them that Isa was alive and that she had seen him, but they did not believe it.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And this Mary, she went to the disciples of Jesus. they were weeping and grieving because of his death.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then Maria went to the location of the mourning and crying disciples of Jesus, and she told them that she had seen Jesus.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Maria went there to the disciples of Jesus who were still really grieving, still keeping on with their crying. She related to them that Jesus had come-to-see/meet her.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 16:10

Exegesis:

ekeinē ‘that one,’ i.e. ‘she’: the demonstrative pronoun is used here and in vv. 11, 13, 20, in a way different from that in which it is used in Mark, who never uses it to refer to the disciples.

poreutheisa (vv. 12, 15) ‘going,’ ‘proceeding’: this verb is not used by Mark.

apēggeilen tois met’ autou genomenois ‘she announced (it) to those who had been with him.’ For the verb apaggellō cf. Mk. 5.14.

hoi met’ autou genomenoi ‘those who had been with him’: this description of the disciples, which is not used by Mark, is translated by Arndt & Gingrich ‘his intimate friends’; Goodspeed translates ‘his old companions.’

penthousi kai klaiousin ‘while they were mourning and weeping’: the two present participles describe the state the disciples were in.

pentheō (not in Mark) ‘be sad,’ ‘grieve,’ ‘mourn.’

klaiō (cf. Mk. 5.38) ‘cry,’ ‘weep.’

Translation:

Told requires in some receptor languages not only an object specifying what was said, but also an object indicating who was addressed, e.g. ‘told those who had been with him what had happened,’ or ‘told the news to those who had been with him.’ On the other hand, it is often possible to choose a verb of speaking which requires only an indication of those spoken to, e.g. ‘spoke to those who had been with 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 .