complete verse (Mark 6:26)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 6:26:

  • Uma: “Hearing that request, the King’s heart was so regretful. But he could no longer withdraw his words to the young woman, for he had sworn and the guests had heard.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The king really regretted, but he did not want to go-back-on (dapat) his word because he had sworn in the presence of his visitors.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then Herod was very sad, but because his promise was very strong which was heard also by the people who had come to the feast, he would lose face if he did not fulfill his promise.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Herod was extremely sad (lit. thoughts hurt) when he heard that, but because he had sworn in-front-of the many he-had-invited, he was ashamed not to fulfill what he had-promised to her.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When the king heard, he was really grieved. But because of his oath in the hearing of those he had invited, he didn’t refuse that girl.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

king

Click here to view graphically

Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:

(Click or tap here to see details)

  • Piro: “a great one”
  • Highland Totonac: “the big boss”
  • Huichol: “the one who commanded” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Ekari: “the one who holds the country” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Una: weik sienyi: “big headman” (source: Kroneman 2004, p. 407)
  • Pass Valley Yali: “Big Man” (source: Daud Soesilo)
  • Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
  • Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))

Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo was determined:

“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”

(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )

Translation commentary on Mark 6:26

Exegesis:

perilupos (14.34) ‘very sad,’ ‘deeply grieved’; possibly ‘greatly annoyed’ (Manson), ‘very vexed’ (Moffatt).

orkous (only here in Mark) ‘oaths,’ ‘vows.’

anakeimenous (14.18; 16.14) ‘(the men) reclining at (the table),’ i.e. ‘the guests.’ Most translators take ‘because of his oaths and his guests’ with what follows (as does Revised Standard Version); Translator’s New Testament, however, takes it with what precedes: ‘The king was deeply distressed on account of his oaths and those dining with him.’

ouk ēthelēsen athetēsai autēn ‘he did not want to refuse her.’

atheteō (7.9) ‘reject’; the meaning here could be ‘disappoint her’ (by breaking his word to her).

Translation:

It is usually necessary to distinguish carefully between sorry and sorrow, (though the Greek perilupos may be used for both concepts), especially if the receptor language distinguishes between emotional feelings which are caused by what one has done himself and those which arise because of sympathy for the plight of others. Expressions for sorry are often quite figurative, e.g. ‘to be heavy in the stomach’ (Uduk) and ‘to have a painful heart’ (Kpelle).

For oath, see vowed, 6.23. Guerrero Amuzgo renders this expression as ‘because of the tight (i.e. ‘binding’) word which he had said to her face’ (a verb, rather than a noun, is required). In some languages for oath one can use ‘a strong promise’ (Barrow Eskimo).

Guests may be described as ‘people who have been invited to the feast,’ but there is generally some more direct and specific way of designating such persons.

Break his word to her is strictly figurative language, and in many languages one cannot ‘break a word,’ but it may be possible ‘to kill a word’ or ‘to forget a word.’ In Cashibo-Cacataibo one must say ‘did not want to say, I will not do it,’ a full description in the form of direct discourse. Guerrero Amuzgo renders this expression as ‘he did not want to have his heart change his word to that woman’s face,’ in which the term ‘face’ is a means of identifying the direction of speaking.

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 .