mustard seed

The Greek that is translated in English as “mustard seed” is translated in Muna as “wonolita seed.” René van den Berg explains: “The mustard plant rarely exceeds 50 cm in height. A wonolita is a big forest tree growing from a tiny seed.”

In the Bislama and Uripiv translations it is translated as “banyan.” “The banyan tree is one of the biggest in the islands, and it grows from a tiny seed. We (Uripiv) added a footnote to explain to more advanced readers what we had done: ‘Here Matthew compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed, but since mustard doesn’t grow here, we put banyan, so that Matthew’s meaning will be clear.’” (source: Ross McKerras)

In Gbaya is is translated with the ideophone (a word that expresses what is perceived by the five senses) kɛ̧́ɛ̧́ which “denotes a very tiny and barely visible object. (…) The Gbaya team applied it to faith instead of referring to a mustard seed which is unknown to Gbaya readers.” (Source: Philip Noss in The Bible Translator 1985, p. 423ff. )

complete verse (Mark 4:31)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 4:31:

  • Uma: “There is a person who planted hawi seed [mustard greens] in the ground.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The ruling of God over his people,’ said Isa, ‘is figuratively like one kind of a very small seed. When it is planted this seed is very tiny.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The growing bigger of the rule of God is like a plant with a very small seed which is planted on the earth.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “It can be compared to a mustard seed which is the smallest of all seeds on the surface of the earth.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “It’s like a seed of mustasa’, which is the smallest of all which are cultivated.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 4:31

Exegesis:

kokkō sinapeōs (only here in Mark) ‘grain (seed) of mustard’: the plant is identified as the sinapsis nigra (cf. Lagrange). The mustard grows wild in Palestine: it is an annual plant, growing from seed, and, especially when cultivated, may reach a height of 10 to 12 feet. A garden herb (cf. lachanon ‘herb’ next verse), it is, not quite accurately, called a ‘tree’ (Lk. 13.19), due to its large size.

mikroteron on ‘being smaller (than)’: as is common, the comparative ‘smaller than’ is used for the superlative ‘smallest of.’ The neuter tense of the adjective and participle is probably due to the neuter spermatōn ‘seeds’ which follows.

on ‘being’: the participle is concessive ‘though it is.’

spermatōn (12.19, 20, 21, 22) ‘seeds’ (notice sporos ‘seed’ in v. 27, and kokkos ‘grain,’ ‘seed’ in this verse).

Translation:

It must be translated so as to refer to ‘the kingdom of God.’

Grain of mustard seed may be rendered as ‘a seed of a plant called mustard,’ employing a word borrowed from the dominant prestige language of the area (Central Tarahumara, Eastern Highland Otomi). Frequently, one can find a type of local mustard plant, which, though somewhat different, can still be used as a basis for the translation, e.g. ‘a seed of a kind of … plant’ (in which the appropriate close equivalent can be used; cf. Taungthu). Toraja-Sa’dan, Indonesian and Javanese use sawi, a sort of mustard plant (Brassica rubosa), the leaves of which are eaten as vegetables.

The constructions introduced by which, when are such that they frequently require some radical readjustments, e.g. ‘it is like the grains of a plant called mustard; when these seeds are sown in the earth, they are the smallest….’ In this rendering we have suggested the plural for singular since in a number of languages such generic statements must be regularly in the plural form. However, for the sake of the following verse, it is preferable, if at all possible, to employ the singular throughout. Note also the change of sown upon to ‘sown in,’ as in a number of languages.

Despite the fact that the statement smallest of all the seeds on earth cannot be taken in any absolute sense, one should nevertheless translate the text as it is.

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 .