compassion, moved with compassion

The Greek that is translated with “moved with compassion (or: pity)” in English is translated as “to see someone with sorrow” in Piro, “to suffer with someone” in Huastec, or “one’s mind to be as it were out of one” in Balinese (source: Bratcher / Nida).

The term “compassion” is translated as “cries in the soul” in Shilluk (source: Nida, 1952, p. 132), “has a good stomach” (=”sympathetic”) in Aari (source: Loren Bliese), “has a big liver” in Una (source: Kroneman 2004, p. 471), or “crying in one’s stomach” in Q’anjob’al (source: Newberry and Kittie Cox in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 91ff. ). In Mairasi it is translated with an emphasized term that is used for “love”: “desiring one’s face so much” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Chitonga with kumyongwa or “to have the intestines twisting in compassion/sorrow for someone” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 128f.).

See also Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling.”

complete verse (Mark 8:2)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 8:2:

  • Uma: “‘My heart is moved [lit., far-away] seeing these many people. They have been with me for three days, they don’t have any food.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘I have pity on these many people because they have been here now with me for three days and they have nothing to eat anymore.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “‘Pity these people. Three nights they have not gone away from us, and they no longer have food.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘I am feeling-pity-for these many-people, because they have stayed-here -with us for three days and their pack-lunches are already used-up.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “‘I pity these people, because today is now the third day that they have been with me, and they have no more food.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 8:2

Exegesis:

splagchnizomai (cf. 1.41) ‘I have pity,’ ‘I feel sorry.’

ēdē hēmerai treis ‘already three days,’ ‘three days now’: this phrase in the nominative case is called “a nominative in parenthesis,” since it is not the subject of the verb that follows. Cf. Lagrange’s translation, placing these words between dashes – voilà déjà trois jours – .

prosmenousin (only here in Mark) ‘they remain with,’ ‘they stay.’

ti phagōsin (cf. v. 1) ‘what they should eat.’

Translation:

For compassion see 6.34.

Have nothing to eat does not mean that they had eaten nothing for three days, but that they now had nothing left to eat.

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 .