complete verse (Mark 16:11)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 16:11:

  • 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 when Mary told them that she had seen Jesus because he was raised from the dead, they wouldn’t believe it.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But when they heard what she said, they didn’t believe it.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But they didn’t believe what Maria said that Jesus was alive again, and had come-to-see/meet her.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 16:11

Exegesis:

kakeinoi (= kai ekeinoi; cf. v. 10) ‘and they.’

etheathē (not in Mark; cf. v. 14) ‘he had been seen.’

ēpistēsan (not in Mark; cf. v. 16) ‘they were unbelieving,’ ‘they disbelieved (it).’ Cf. apistia in Mk. 6.6.

Translation:

Had been seen by her may be transposed into an active form as ‘she had seen him.’

He was alive must be very carefully rendered, for in some translations the form of this phrase has been such as to deny that Jesus ever died. To avoid such a misinterpretation the rendering in Copainalá Zoque is ‘that Jesus just existing one,’ thus avoiding the use of the verb ‘to live’ which would imply continued living and that Jesus had merely suffered a coma when he was put into the tomb.

Not believe it may be equivalent to saying ‘they doubted it.’

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 .