20And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.]]
The Greek terms that are translated into English as “preach” or “proclaim” are regularly rendered into Aari as “speaking the word of salvation.” (Source: Loren Bliese)
Other languages (back-) translate it in the following manner:
Tzeltal: “he explains, they hear” (“the goal of all preachers”)
Copainalá Zoque: “a preacher is ‘one who speaks-scatters'” (a figure based on the scattering of seed in the process of sowing) (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
Shilluk: “declare the word of of God” (source: Nida 1964, p. 237)
In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning:
For Acts 9:20, 10:42: nakotnohora: “talk about” (“The generic term for preaching.”)
For Acts 8:4, 8:5, 8:25: rodkiota-ralde’etnohora — “bring words, give news about.” (“This term is used when the preacher is moving from place to place to preach.”)
Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.
Aari: “the day our Savior comes” (in Rom 13:11) (source: Loren Bliese)
in Mairasi its is translated as “life fruit” or “life fruit all mashed out.” Lloyd Peckham explains: “In secret stories, not knowable to women nor children, there was a magical fruit of life. If referred to vaguely, without specifying the specific ‘fruit,’ it can be an expression for eternity.” And for “all masked out” he explains: “Bark cloth required pounding. It got longer and wider as it got pounded. Similarly, life gets pounded or mashed to lengthen it into infinity. Tubers also get mashed into the standard way of serving the staple food, like the fufu of Uganda, or like poi of Hawaii. It spreads out into infinity.” (See also eternity / forever)
In Lisu a poetic construct is used for this term. Arrington (2020, p. 58f.) explains: “A four-word couplet uses Lisu poetic forms to bridge the abstract concrete divide, an essential divide to cross if Christian theology is to be understood by those with oral thought patterns. Each couplet uses three concrete nouns or verbs to express an abstract term. An example of this is the word for salvation, a quite abstract term essential to understanding Christian theology. To coin this new word, the missionary translators used a four-word couplet: ℲO., CYU. W: CYU (person … save … person … save). In this particular case, the word for person was not the ordinary word (ʁ) but rather the combination of ℲO., and W: used in oral poetry. The word for ‘save’ also had to be coined; in this case, it was borrowed from Chinese [from jiù / 救]. These aspects of Lisu poetry, originally based on animism, likely would have been lost as Lisu society encountered communism and modernization. Yet they are now codified in the Lisu Bible as well as the hymnbook.”
The Greek that is typically translated as “eternity,” “forever,” or “forever and ever” in English are translated in Mairasi as “mashed out infinitely.” Lloyd Peckham explains: “Bark cloth required pounding. It got longer and wider as it got pounded. Similarly, life gets pounded or mashed to lengthen it into infinity. Tubers also get mashed into the standard way of serving the staple food, like the fufu of Uganda, or like poi of Hawaii. It spreads out into infinity.” (Source: Lloyd Peckham)
In Lisu the phrase “forever and ever” is translated as ꓕꓲꓽ ꓞꓲꓼ ꓕꓲ ꓑ — thi tsi thi pa, verbatim translated as “one – lifetime – one – world.” This construction follows a traditional four-couplet construct in oral Lisu poetry that is usually in the form ABAC or ABCB. (Source: Arrington 2020, p. 57f.)
The Greek that is typically translated in English as “sign” is translated in Huehuetla Tepehua as “thing to be marveled at” (source: Larson 1889, p. 279) and in Mairasi as “big work” (source: Enggavoter 2004).
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 16:20:
Uma: “From there, his followers went to spread the Good News everywhere. The Lord worked together with them, and he gave them authority to do amazing signs in order to strengthen [i.e., confirm] the truth of the news they carried.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “So-then his disciples went to proclaim in all the places/countries. And they were given by the Lord power to do powerful deeds, in order that the people would know that their teaching was true.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then the disciples of the Lord Jesus traveled out, and they preached the good news everywhere, and the power of God helped them for they were able to do miracles so that people might believe what they were preaching.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Then his disciples went to preach the good news in all-the-various-towns. The Lord Jesus was helping them and confirming the truth of what they were preaching because-of/by-means-of the amazing signs that he was causing-them -to-do.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “The disciples truly did go all over, for they taught in every place. They were really being helped indeed by the Lord in that work. He was testifying to the word which the disciples were teaching through the means/ability to do amazing things, which he granted to them.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.
In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.
In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:
referring to “God,” especially in Old Testament quotations,
meaning “master” or “owner,” especially in parables, etc.,
as a form of address (see for instance John 4:11: “Sir, you have no bucket”),
or, most often, referring to Jesus
In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.
Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”
When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).
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Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):
Iyansi: Mwol. Mwol is traditionally used for the “chief of a group of communities and villages” with legal, temporal, and spiritual authority (versus the “mfum [the term used in other Bantu languages] which is used for the chief of one community of people in one village”). Mwol is also used for twins who are “treated as special children, highly honored, and taken care of like kings and queens.” (Source: Kividi Kikama in Greed / Kruger, p. 396ff.)
Binumarien: Karaambaia: “fight-leader” (Source: Oates 1995, p. 255)
Warlpiri: Warlaljamarri (owner or possessor of something — for more information tap or click here)
We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.
New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.
Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )
Mairasi: Onggoao Nem (“Throated One” — “Leader,” “Elder”) or Enggavot Nan (“Above-One”) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Obolo: Okaan̄-ene (“Owner of person(s)”) (source: Enene Enene)
Lotha Naga: Opvui (“owner of house / field / cattle”) — since both “Lord” and YHWH are translated as Opvui there is an understanding that “Opvui Jesus is the same as the Opvui of the Old Testament”
Seediq: Tholang, loan word from Min Nan Chinese (the majority language in Taiwan) thâu-lâng (頭儂): “Master” (source: Covell 1998, p. 248)
Thai: phra’ phu pen cao (พระผู้เป็นเจ้า) (divine person who is lord) or ong(kh) cao nay (องค์เจ้านาย) (<divine classifier>-lord-boss) (source: Stephen Pattemore)
Arabic often uses different terms for adonai or kurios referring to God (al-rabb الرب) and kurios referring to Jesus (al-sayyid الـسـيـد). Al-rabb is also the term traditionally used in Arabic Christian-idiom translations for YHWH, and al-sayyid is an honorary term, similar to English “lord” or “sir” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
Tamil also uses different terms for adonai/kurios when referring to God and kurios when referring to Jesus. The former is Karttar கர்த்தர், a Sanskrit-derived term with the original meaning of “creator,” and the latter in Āṇṭavar ஆண்டவர், a Tamil term originally meaning “govern” or “reign” (source: Natarajan Subramani).
Burunge: Looimoo: “owner who owns everything” (in the Burunge Bible translation, this term is only used as a reference to Jesus and was originally used to refer to the traditional highest deity — source: Michael Endl in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 48)
Aguacateco: Ajcaw ske’j: “the one to whom we belong and who is above us” (source: Rita Peterson in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 49)
Konkomba: Tidindaan: “He who is the owner of the land and reigns over the people” (source: Lidorio 2007, p. 66)
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient GreekSeptuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”
Amēn ‘Amen’ is included by Textus Receptus, Souter (and Revised Standard Version), but omitted by the great majority of modern editions of the Greek text.
Exegesis:
ekeinoi (cf. v. 11) ‘they,’ i.e. the disciples.
exelthontes ‘going out,’ ‘leaving’: presumably, from Jerusalem.
pantachou (cf. Mk. 1.28) ‘everywhere.’
tou kuriou sunergountos kai … bebaiountos ‘as the Lord worked with (them) and confirmed’: ‘the Lord’ here refers to the ascended and reigning Lord Jesus.
sunergeō (not in Mark) ‘work with,’ ‘cooperate.’
bebaioō (not in Mark) ‘make firm,’ ‘establish,’ ‘confirm.’
ton logon (cf. Mk. 2.2) ‘the (Christian) message,’ ‘the Word.’
dia tōn epakolouthountōn sēmeiōn ‘by means of the accompanying signs’: for sēmeia ‘signs’ cf. v. 17. It is to be presumed that the signs referred to here are those described in vv. 17-18.
epakoloutheō (not in Mark) ‘follow after’: it is probable that the force of the verb here is ‘authenticate,’ a meaning which has been found in the papyri. The signs not only accompanied the preaching of the message, but authenticated it. Cf. Moffatt, ‘by the miracles that endorsed it.’
Translation:
They can usually be translated by a pronoun if in the preceding verse the noun ‘disciples’ has been employed.
For preached see 1.4 and for signs see 8.11.
While is used in a somewhat unusual manner in this verse, for the meaning is not that they preached merely while the Lord was working. Rather, while implies ‘and at the same time,’ a rendering which must be employed in a number of languages.
Worked with them is in some languages equivalent to ‘helped them.’
Confirmed the message may be ‘made the message strong,’ or, as is more often the case, ‘showed that what they said was true.’ In Tzeltal this expression is idiomatically rendered as ‘the signs done by them became a mate for the words.’
There are difficulties in a literal translation of attended, for often people cannot speak of ‘signs attending’ anything. On the other hand, one may be able to say ‘by means of the signs which were shown at that time’ or ‘by the signs which God caused to be done then.’
Amen may be either transliterated (a very common practice) or translated into a form of expression which is closely parallel and customarily used in such contexts, e.g. ‘that is just the way it is’ (Huichol), ‘that’s it’ (Shilluk), ‘may it be thus’ (Tzeltal), or ‘and so it was.’
Another Old Ending: The shorter ending
The passage that follows is found after Mark 16.8 (and before the Longer Ending, except in the Old Latin manuscript k) in the following manuscripts: the Greek Uncial manuscripts (8th century), Ψ (8th or 9th century), 099 (7th century) and 0112 (7th century); the Greek Minuscule manuscripts 274 (marginal reading; 10th century) and 579 (13th century); the Old Latin manuscript k (4th or 5th century); in the margin of the Harclean Syriac version (7th century); and in several codices of the Sahidic, Bohairic and Ethiopic versions.
Unlike the Longer Ending, this one was written expressly to provide a suitable ending to the Gospel. It is dated in the 2nd century.
But they reported briefly to Peter and those with him all that they had been told.
Exegesis:
panta de ta parēggelmena ‘and all (things) that they had been ordered.’
paraggellō (cf. Mk. 6.8) ‘command,’ ‘order.’
tois peri ton Petron ‘to Peter and his companions’: for similar phrases cf. Mk. 4.10, Acts 13.13.
suntomōs (not in Mark) ‘briefly,’ ‘concisely’; Arndt & Gingrich prefer here the meaning ‘promptly,’ ‘readily.’
exēggeilan (not in Mark) ‘they reported,’ ‘they proclaimed.’
Translation:
They must refer to the women of 16.1, referred to by pronouns in verse 8.
Briefly may be translated as ‘with few words,’ but the likely meaning of ‘promptly’ would suggest a better rendering such as ‘right away,’ ‘soon,’ or ‘immediately.’
Had been told may be changed to an active form, e.g. ‘the young man had told them.’
And after this, Jesus himself sent out by means of them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.
Exegesis:
meta de tauta (not in Mark; cf. Longer Ending v. 12) ‘and after this.’
apo anatolēs kai achri duseōs ‘from the East as far as the West,’ i.e. ‘throughout the whole world’ (cf. the similar ‘the four winds’ in Mk. 13.27). See ‘from the east and west’ in Mt. 8.11//Lk. 13.29.
anatolē (not in Mark; cf. anatellō Mk. 4.6) ‘the rising (of the sun),’ ‘the East.’
achri (not in Mark) ‘as far as.’
dusmē (not in Mark) ‘the going down (of the sun),’ ‘the West.’
exapesteilen (not in Mark) ‘he sent out,’ ‘he sent forth.’
to hieron kai aphtharton kērugma ‘the sacred and incorruptible message.’
hieros (not in Mark; for the substantive to hieron ‘the Temple,’ cf. Mk. 11.11) ‘sacred,’ ‘holy.’
aphthartos (not in Mark) ‘incorruptible,’ i.e. ‘imperishable,’ ‘immortal.’
kērugma (not in Mark; cf. kērussō Mk. 1.4) ‘message,’ ‘proclamation.’
tēs aiōniou sōtērias ‘of the eternal salvation.’
aiōnios (cf. Mk. 3.29) ‘eternal.’
sōtēria (not in Mark) ‘salvation,’ ‘redemption.’
Translation:
By means of them must refer to the disciples, not to the women who are the subject of the preceding verse, and might be assumed to be the persons referred to here.
From east to west cannot be translated literally in most languages, for it would mean ‘starting from the east and going to the west.’ A more accurate rendering in most languages is ‘everywhere (or ‘all places’) both east and west.’
Sent out … the … proclamation is impossible in some languages, since only persons may be sent out ‘to proclaim words.’ An added problem occurs in this verse, namely, in the adjectives sacred and imperishable which are attributive to proclamation. The only manner in which this may be translated in some languages is ‘utter words which are holy and which never will fail.’
Of eternal salvation must be in an objective relationship to ‘proclamation’ or ‘word,’ e.g. ‘word about being saved.’ Salvation (see 10.26 for save) must quite often be rendered as a verb, e.g. ‘be saved,’ ‘be rescued,’ or ‘be restored to health,’ but the addition of the adjective eternal tends to create certain problems, since the meaning of eternal must be expressed by some adverbial expression, often a phrase, e.g. ‘being saved for ever’ or ‘being saved for time that will not end.’
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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