The Greek that is translated in English with “basket” or “bushel” or “measure” is translated into Avaric with an existing term: “sah.” “To the European reader it is not clear how a lamp can be put under a measure, since such a reader has only a vague idea what this “measure” (modios in the original Greek) must look like. For the Avar, again, there is no problem here: everybody knows the word sah, which means exactly the same as the Greek modios.” (Source: Magomed-Kamil Gimbatov and Yakov Testelets in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 434ff.)
Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket (...) and not on the lampstand?
The Greek that is transated as “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket (…) and not on the lampstand?” or similar in English is translated in Bahnar as “Do I ever bring in a lamp…? Don’t I put it on a lamp stand?” because in Bahnar illustrative metaphors occur in first person singular. (Source: Larson 1998, p. 250)
In Seri, the first part is translated as “A lamp is not lighted and … placed under an inverted basket.” Here, the implication that the lamp is lit had to be made explicit, as did the fact that the basket was inverted before placing it over the lamp. (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
lamp
The Greek that is translated as “lamp” in English is translated in Noongar as karla-maat or “firestick” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
bed
put a lamp under a bushel basket
The now commonly-used German idiom ein Licht unter den Scheffel, which means to be excessively humble (literally “put a light under the bushel”), was made popular in 1522 in the German New Testament translation by Martin Luther. (Source: Günther 2017, p. 85)
Since the German term Scheffel (“bushel”) is outdated and not widely known anymore, it was replaced in a 1975 revision of the Luther New Testament with Eimer (“bucket”). In the public reception this was seen as such an egregious error of judgment that that whole version was referred to mockingly as the Eimertestament (“bucket testament”) and withdrawn two years after its release. This choice of wording was not the only reason why that particular revision did not succeed. The revision was done mostly by linguists rather than theologians and aimed to have a highly communicative and modern style, which resulted in a loss of the specific style of the Luther Bible, something that the German church and public were not willing to accept. A more conservative revision followed in 1984 and the last revision was published in 2017. The 2017 edition actually restored some of Luther’s phrasing and terminology that had been replaced by earlier versions as long as they still reflected the meaning of the original Greek or Hebrew text.
For other idioms or terms in German that were coined by Bible translation, see here.
complete verse (Mark 4:21)
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 4:21:
- Uma: “Yesus also said: ‘Would any of us take a lamp into a house and cover it with a pot or put it under a bed? Of course not. A lamp is put in its place so that it shines all over.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “So-then Isa said to them, ‘If you use-a-lamp, do you cover the lamp with a basin or do you place it under the bedstead? No. Instead you place it on it’s lampstand.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Jesus spoke to them again, he said, ‘If a person lights a lamp, it cannot be that he will put it inside an upside-down basket or that he puts it underneath a bed, because he puts it on a holder.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “Jesus also said parabling, ‘Do-you-suppose there is someone who lights a lamp in-order-to then cover it with a basin or to put it underneath a bed? He sets-it-on-top (of something) indeed!” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “Jesus continued speaking. He said, ‘Do you (sing.) light a lamp just so that you will cover it with a ganta measure or hide it under the bed? Surely not. Of course where it will be placed is on a proper stand/resting-place so that all will be made bright/clear.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- San Mateo Del Mar Huave: “Also Jesus told another story. He told them, Who will close up a kerosene lamp in a big jar, or who would put a lamp under a bed if he wants to light up the inside of the house well? No, that lamp needs to be put up high to light the house well.” (In this culture lamps are sometimes placed under beds so the wind coming in through the roof won’t blow them out. Because of this, the purpose, “to light up the inside of the house well” had to be made explicit.) (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
Translation commentary on Mark 4:21
Text:
Instead of tethē ‘put’ (after luchnian ‘lampstand’) of all modern editions of the Greek text, Textus Receptus has epitethē ‘put upon.’
Exegesis:
The verse contains three questions, the first two of which expect a negative answer, and the last a positive answer. A translation should make this clear.
mēti erchetai ‘does it come (to be put under a bushel)? (No!)’: the verb erchetai ‘come’ is here used with the meaning ‘is brought.’
luchnos (only here in Mark) ‘lamp’: this is an oil-burning wick lamp, the wick lying in a shallow bowl filled with oil.
hina hupo ton modion tethē ‘in order that it be placed under the bushel.’
modios (only here in Mark) ‘bushel’: a dry measure of about two gallons; in this passage as Lagrange points out, the reference is probably to a large bowl used to hold (and measure) the grain, under which the lamp would be placed at bedtime. Cf. Translator’s New Testament “measuring-vessel.”
tithēmi ‘place,’ ‘put’: in Mark used in the passive here and 15.47; in the active, 4.30; 6.29, 56; 8.25; 10.16; 12.36; 15.19, 46; 16.6.
klinēn (7.30) ‘bed,’ ‘couch’: perhaps the couch that went with the table at which they reclined for meals. Not to be confused with the krabatos ‘pallet’ of 2.4.
luchnian (only here in Mark) ‘lampstand’: “candle” and “candlestick” (King James Version) are not, of course, an accurate translation of the Greek words.
Translation:
Said must be translated as ‘asked’ in some languages because of the questions which follow.
Since two of the questions imply negative answers and one a positive one, some languages require that these be split, e.g. ‘People do not bring a lamp in and put it under a bushel or under a bed, do they? Don’t they bring it in and put it on a stand?’
As noted above, the lamp in this context is a kind of oil lamp, not a candle or a torch.
The equivalent of ‘measuring vessel’ may be in some languages ‘bucket,’ ‘pail,’ or ‘vessel.’ In some instances there are a number of terms, each denoting a special shape and size of container. In so far as possible the most general object of the approximate equivalent size should be chosen, provided that it is not of material which would immediately ignite (as was done in one language in which the name of a small loosely woven basket was used).
In some instances people do not have an indigenous word for bed, since they sleep either on skins or mats on the floor or in hammocks. In such instances one may use ‘benches for sleeping’ or ‘wide shelf for sleeping’ (Central Tarahumara). Since most Toraja-Sa’dans still sleep on a mat on the floor the expression is here translated ‘in the space under the house’ (the house being built on piles).
The stand may be described as ‘the elevated (or high) place for the lamp.’
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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