soul

The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin that is translated as “soul” in English is translated in Chol with a term that refers to the invisible aspects of human beings (source: Robert Bascom).

The Mandarin Chinese línghún (靈魂 / 灵魂), literally “spirit-soul,” is often used for “soul” (along with xīn [心] or “heart”). This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32, see also Clara Ho-yan Chan in this article )

See also heart, soul, mind.

world (Chinese)

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “world” in English is translated in Mandarin Chinese with shìjiè (世界). While shìjiè is now the commonly used term for “world” in Chinese, it was popularized as such by Chinese Bible translations. (Source: Mak 2017, p. 241ff.)

See also world.

complete verse (Mark 8:36)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 8:36:

  • Uma: “What is the use of us gathering all the world’s wealth, if we don’t get good life in the future.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “For a person, even if he has all the treasures/possessions/wealth in the world, there is no use in it if he has not everlasting life.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Even if a person can come to own the whole world, it’s no use to him if he is not given eternal life.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because what do-you-suppose will be the benefit to a person if he comes-to-own the entire world and then his life is lost and he is punished forever? None!” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “For what does a person gain, even supposing all the wealth here in the world would be his, if his soul/spirit will be lost-permanently because it will have to go there to hardship/suffering which is without ending?” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tlahuitoltepec Mixe: “What does it profit if a man gains the world for himself and his soul gets lost?”
  • El Nayar Cora: “When someone will lose his life it will not help him the one who has everything in this world.”
  • San Mateo Del Mar Huave: “What if someone owns everything in the world. What will it serve him if he fails to get life from God.” (Source for this and two above: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)

Translation commentary on Mark 8:36

Exegesis:

ōphelei (cf. 5.26) ‘does it profit,’ ‘does it benefit.’

kerdēsai ton kosmon holon ‘to gain the whole world,’ i.e. to acquire the sum total of earthly wealth.

kerdainō (only here in Mark) ‘gain.’

kosmos (14.9; 16.15) ‘world’: here in the sense of material riches.

zēmiōthēnai tēn psuchēn autou ‘to forfeit his life,’ ‘to suffer loss of his life’: clearly the meaning is not ‘to die,’ as though physical existence were the meaning of psuchē ‘life’ in this context (cf. previous verse).

zēmioō (only here in Mark) in the passive ‘suffer loss,’ ‘forfeit,’ ‘pay the penalty of.’

Translation:

Does it profit may be rendered as ‘what advantage is there’ or ‘how is it better to.’

Gain the whole world may be ‘receive the whole world’ (Southern Subanen), ‘to come to own the whole world’ (Navajo), ‘to possess everything in the whole world’ (Tzotzil), and ‘to gain the revenues of the whole world’ (Javanese).

Forfeit his life may be ‘pay a penalty consisting of his life’ (Navajo), ‘forfeit his heart,’ in the sense of life and soul (Mitla Zapotec), or ‘lose his real life,’ in order to emphasize the use of life in the special sense of life and all its values, temporal and eternal.

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 .