32yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
The Greek and Hebrew phrases that are often translated as “birds of the air” in English “refer to the undomesticated song birds or wild birds, to be distinguished in a number of languages from domesticated fowl. In Tzeltal these former are ‘field birds’.” (source: Bratcher / Nida)
Q’anjob’al also uses an established term for non-domesticated birds. Newberry and Kittie Cox (in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 91ff. ) explain: “Qʼanjobʼal has two distinct terms, one to identify domesticated birds and the other non-domesticated birds. The additional descriptive phrase ‘of the air’ seemed entirely misleading, for Qʼanjobʼal speakers had never heard of such creatures. Actually, of course, all that was necessary was the term for non-domesticated birds, for that is precisely the meaning of the Biblical expression.”
The Greek that is translated as “the greatest of all shrubs” or similar in English is translated in Chuj as “larger than all the plants we plant each year,” and in Shuar as “larger than all weeds” (Some “weeds” grow to over ten feet.) (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 4:32:
Uma: “Those seeds are very tiny, smaller than all the seeds that are in the world. But when it is planted and grows, it is bigger than other vegetables. Its branches are branched and long, to the point that birds make-nests-in-them and they are used-for-shade.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “But when it has been planted already, it grows and it becomes bigger than all the plants. Its branches become big, therefore the birds can make their nests there and be in its shade there.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “It sprouts and grows larger and becomes the largest of all the plants. It has large branches and the birds can nest there.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “But if/when it is planted, it grows to become the tallest of all vegetables. It grows-long -branches and the birds can nest in its shaded branches.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “But when it has taken-root/been-planted, on sprouting it will grow, becoming bigger than the other vegetables. It will spread large branches. Without anything further, it will then be a nested in by birds.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
kai ‘and’ (the first word): here with the meaning ‘but,’ ‘yet.’
anabainei (cf. 4.7) ‘it grows.’
meizon pantōn tōn lachanōn ‘bigger than all the shrubs’: as in the previous verse the comparative ‘bigger than’ is used with the meaning ‘biggest of.’ The neuter meizon ‘bigger’ is due either to sperma ‘the seed is bigger’ implied in the statement, or to tōn lachanōn ‘of the shrubs’ which follows.
lachanōn (only here in Mark) ‘vegetable,’ ‘edible garden herb’ .
poiei kladous megalous ‘it makes large branches.’
poieō here means ‘produce,’ ‘send out.’
klados (13.28) ‘branch,’ ‘limb.’
hōste dunasthai … kataskēnoun (for the construction see 1.27) ‘so that they (the birds) are able to live.’
kataskēnoō (only here in Mark) ‘live,’ ‘dwell,’ ‘settle’: of birds, ‘nest.’ The saying about the birds nesting in the shade reflects O.T. passages such as Dan. 4.12 (cf. Ezek. 17.23; 31.6; Ps. 104.12).
tēn skian autou ‘its shade,’ i.e. of the grown mustard plant.
skia (only here in Mark) ‘shadow,’ ‘shade.’
Translation:
The Greek term translated here as shrubs refers primarily to large annuals. One should not render this as ‘trees of the forest’ (as in some translations, merely in order to emphasize the extent of growth of the plant). Where a language possesses a generic term for annuals (a not infrequent classification), one can make ready use of this word. In some instances, however, in order to use some relatively satisfactory equivalent, translators have used ‘plants that grow for a year’ (Highland Totonac).
For birds of the air see 4.4. A literal translation of this expression can be quite misleading. In one language in Latin America this phrase was taken to refer to the Holy Spirit, for it was understood to mean ‘doves from heaven,’ and since the dove is employed in Roman Catholic ritual as a symbol for the Holy Spirit, the meaning of the passage was entirely misconstrued. The meaning here is simply ‘field birds,’ ‘birds of the forest,’ or ‘undomesticated fowl.’
Nests in its shade must in some instances be more precise, i.e. ‘nests in its branches under its shade,’ or the use of ‘shade’ would imply nests on the ground beneath the plant.
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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