amazed (Luang)

The Greek that is often translated as “amazed” in English has the option of various terms in Luang with different shades of meaning.

For Acts 3:10 and 9:7, ema rtaplelleltarga (“as if they could not speak”) was chosen. This is used for “surprise causing introspection about the meaning of what has occurred and what effect it will have.”

For Mark 16:5, hnedu (“surprised”) was chosen. This is used for “surprise causing a physical jerk of the body.”

Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.

complete verse (Mark 16:5)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 16:5:

  • Uma: “Upon entering the grave, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in white clothes. The women were amazed to see him.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “They entered the cave. They saw there a young man dressed in white sitting towards the right. They were really startled.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And they went in to the door of the grave, and they saw sitting on their right a young person dressed in white cloth, and then their breaths were startled.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then they entered the cave and saw a young-man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right. And they were startled.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “On their arriving, they entered where Jesus was laid out. There was a young man they saw, who was sitting there at the right side of where (Jesus) had been laid out, dressed in white. When those women saw, they were afraid.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 16:5

Exegesis:

eiselthousai eis to mnēmeion (cf. 5.2) ‘going into the tomb’: cf. 15.46, and see Lagrange for a description of the tomb as it probably was.

eidon neaniskon kathēmenon en tois dexiois peribeblēmenon stolēn leukēn ‘they saw a young man sitting on the right, wearing a white robe’: the description and the circumstances would imply that the ‘young man’ was, in fact, an angel, and Lagrange refers to 2 Macc. 3.26, 33 for a similar description. A translation should have, however, ‘young man,’ and not ‘angel.’ For neaniskos ‘young man’ cf. 14.51; kathēmai ‘sit’ cf. 2.6; en tois dexiois ‘on the right (side)’ cf. 10.27 (elsewhere in Mark always ek dexiōn); periballō ‘to clothe,’ ‘wear’ (cf. 14.51); stolē ‘robe’ cf. 12.38; leukē ‘white’ cf. 9.3.

exethambēthēsan (cf. 9.15) ‘they were astonished’; perhaps ‘they were alarmed.’ It should be noticed that this compound verb, indicating strong emotion, is used only by Mark in the New Testament.

Translation:

Entering the tomb may be treated as a dependent clause of time, e.g. ‘when they had entered the tomb, they saw…’ or as a coordinate event in prior sequence, e.g. ‘they entered the tomb and saw….’

Saw a young man sitting is a type of construction which requires two clauses in many languages, e.g. ‘saw a young man; he was sitting.’

On the right side must be related to the orientation of the tomb or to the position of the women, not to the right side of Jesus, as some translations have implied, thus giving the impression that Jesus was still in the tomb, though unseen.

Dressed in a white robe would imply a garment which was both long and white, e.g. ‘wearing clothing, long and white’ (Copainalá Zoque).

For amazed see 1.22, 27.

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 .