amazed, astonished, marvel

The Greek that is translated as “astonished” or “amazed” or “marvel” in English is translated in Pwo Karen as “stand up very tall.” (In John 5:20, source: David Clark)

Elsewhere it is translated as “confusing the inside of the head” (Mende), “shiver in the liver” (Uduk, Laka), “to lose one’s heart” (Mískito, Tzotzil), “to shake” (Southern Bobo Madaré), “to be with mouth open” (Panao Huánuco Quechua) (source: Bratcher / Nida), “to stand with your mouth open” (Citak) (source: Stringer 2007, p. 120), “ceasing to think with the heart” (Bulu), or “surprise in the heart” (Yamba) (source for this and one above: W. Reyburn in The Bible Translator 1959, p. 1ff. ).

In Mark 5:20 and elsewhere where the astonishment is a response to listening to Jesus, the translation is “listened quietly” in Central Tarahumara, “they forgot listening” (because they were so absorbed in what they heard that they forgot everything else) in San Miguel El Grande Mixtec, “it was considered very strange by them” in Tzeltal (source: Bratcher / Nida), “in glad amazement” (to distinguish it from other kinds of amazement) (Quetzaltepec Mixe) (source: Robert Bascom), or “breath evaporated” (Mairasi) (source: Enngavoter 2004).

In Western Dani astonishment is emphasized with direct speech. In Mark 1:22, for instance, it says: “Wi!” yinuk, pi wareegwaarak — “They were all amazed, saying ‘Oh'” (source: Lourens De Vries in The Bible Translator 1992, p. 333ff. )

In Low German it is translated as grote Oken maken or “make big eyes” (sometime followed by: un kreegn dat Stillswiegen: “and became silent”) (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006).

In the Kölsch translation (publ. 2017) it is translated as brummte de Lück de Kopp or “the heads of the people buzzed,” Bauklötz jestaunt, lit. “marvel toy blocks,” and vür Staune de Muhl nit mieh zojekräch or “so full of marvel that they couldn’t close their mouths again.”

In the Pfälzisch translation by Walter Sauer (publ. 2012) it is often translated as baff vor staune or “speechless because of their marvel.” (source: Zetzsche)(Source: Jost Zetzsche)

See also amazed and astonished.

astonished (Mark 6:51)

The Greek that is translated as “astonished” in many English version is translated for this verse as “their spirits went straight” (implying the kind of astonishment which accompanies emotional relief) into Tzeltal.

See also amazed / astonished / marvel.

boat, ship

The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated “boat” or “ship” in English is translated in Chichimeca-Jonaz as “that with which we can walk on water” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.), in Chitonga as a term in combination with bwato or “dugout canoe” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 72), and in Tangale as inj am or “canoe-of water” (inj — “canoe” — on its own typically refers to a traditional type of carved-out log for sleeping) (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).

In Kouya it is translated as ‘glʋ ‘kadʋ — “big canoe.”

Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains how the Kouya team arrived at that conclusion:

“Acts chapter 27 was a challenge! It describes Paul’s sea voyage to Italy, and finally Rome. There is a storm at sea and a shipwreck on Malta, and the chapter includes much detailed nautical vocabulary. How do you translate this for a landlocked people group, most of whom have never seen the ocean? All they know are small rivers and dugout canoes.

“We knew that we could later insert some illustrations during the final paging process which would help the Kouya readers to picture what was happening, but meanwhile we struggled to find or invent meaningful terms. The ‘ship’ was a ‘big canoe’ and the ‘passengers’ were ‘the people in the big canoe’; the ‘crew’ were the ‘workers in the big canoe’; the ‘pilot’ was the ‘driver of the big canoe’; the ‘big canoe stopping place’ was the ‘harbour’, and the ‘big canoe stopping metal’ was the ‘anchor’!”

In Lokạạ it is translated as ukalangkwaa, lit. “English canoe.” “The term was not coined for the Bible translation, but rather originated in colonial times when the English arrived in Nigeria on ships. The indigenous term for a canoe was modified to represent the large, ocean-going ship of the English.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )

See also ships of Tarshish, harbor, anchor, and sailor.

complete verse (Mark 6:51)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 6:51:

  • Uma: “He got in the boat with them, [and] the wind suddenly died away. No kidding their amazement, for they were frozen-with-fear.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then Isa got into the boat with them. When he got in, the wind stopped therefore the disciples of Isa were very amazed.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “He got into their boat and the wind stopped, and they were very much amazed at Jesus.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then he climbed into the boat, and the wind became-still. His disciples were extremely surprised,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Jesus got into the boat with his disciples. Suddenly/unexpectedly the wind died down. His disciples were very amazed.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 6:51

Text:

At the end of the verse Textus Receptus adds kai ethaumazon ‘and they marveled,’ which is omitted by all modern editions of the Greek text.

Exegesis:

anebē pros autous eis to ploion ‘he went up to them into the boat’; The Modern Speech New Testament ‘went up to them and entered the boat.’

anabainō (cf. 1.10) ‘come up,’ ‘go up’: of boats, ‘embark,’ ‘get into.’

ekopasen (cf. 4.39) ‘abated,’ ‘ceased,’ ‘died down’ (of the wind).

lian (cf. 1.35) ‘very,’ ‘exceedingly.’

ek perissou (only here in Mark) ‘beyond measure,’ ‘exceeding the usual (number or size).’ The true force of this prepositional phrase may be appreciated by comparing the cognate words in Mark: verb, perisseuō (12.44), noun, perisseuma (8.8), comparative adjective, perissoteros (7.36; 12.33, 40), adverb, perissōs (10.26; 15.14).

en heautois existanto ‘they were astounded within themselves’ (cf. Lagrange ils étaient tous extrêmement stupéfaits en eux-mêmes).

existēmi (cf. 2.12) ‘be baffled,’ ‘be astounded,’ ‘be puzzled.’

Translation:

The wind ceased may be rendered quite metaphorically in some languages, e.g. ‘the wind healed’ (South Bolivian Quechua) or ‘the wind died.’ In Tabasco Chontal the expression is somewhat more “scientific”: ‘the wind passed by.’

For astounded see 1.22, 27. At this point Tzeltal has ‘their spirits went straight,’ implying the kind of astonishment which accompanies emotional relief.

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 .