Honorary "are" construct denoting God (“say”)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Mark 10:42

Exegesis:

proskalesamenos (cf. 3.13) ‘calling to him,’ ‘summoning.’

hoi dokountes archein tōn ethnōn ‘those appearing to rule the Gentiles’ the exact force of hoi dokountes ‘those who seem’ (cf. 6.49) is not certain. Moffatt‘s ‘so-called rulers’ would seem too extreme: it does not appear that Jesus was intending to deny the fact of their authority in this case. Arndt & Gingrich have ‘those who are reputed to be rulers’; Manson ‘those who claim to be rulers’; The Modern Speech New Testament ‘those who are deemed rulers’; Translator’s New Testament has ‘those who consider themselves to be rulers’ and, in a footnote, the alternative ‘are considered to be rulers.’ Perhaps best of all is ‘those who are regarded as rulers’ (cf. Montgomery, Swete).

archō (only here in the active voice in Mark; elsewhere always middle archomai ‘begin’; cf. also the participle ho archōn ‘ruler’ in 3.22) ‘to rule.’

ta ethna (cf. 10.33) ‘the nations,’ ‘the foreigners,’ ‘the Gentiles.’

katakureuousin (only here in Mark) ‘they have the mastery over.’

katexousiazousin (only here in Mark) ‘they exercise authority over.’

Translation:

Called them must refer here to all the disciples, though in many translations the reference is erroneously understood to apply only to the two immediately preceding disciples, at whom the rest were angry.

To rule is translatable as ‘to command,’ ‘to boss,’ or ‘to govern.’

For Gentiles see 10.33.

Lord it over may be rendered as referring to exorbitant demands ‘make them run back and forth’ in the sense of constantly running errands (Copainalá Zoque) or to self-exaltation, e.g. ‘raise themselves up’ (Tzeltal).

Great is usually interpreted in terms of (1) physical strength, with metaphorical extensions: ‘Strong,’ ‘mighty,’ ‘powerful’ or (2) authority or position to command: ‘with much authority’ or ‘who says strong commands.’

Exercise authority may be rendered as ‘tell them exactly what to do’ or ‘constantly boss them.’

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 .

SIL Translator's Notes on Mark 10:42

10:42a

So: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So is a common connector that is often translated as “and.” It introduces what Jesus did after the disciples became angry. It indicates that Jesus’ action was a result of their anger. Some English versions do not use a connector. Connect the events in a natural way in your language.

Jesus called them together: This statement implies that Jesus asked his twelve disciples, including James and John, to come to him so that he could speak to them all together.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

called them to him (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
called them all together to him (Good News Bible)

10:42b–c

Jesus’ statement in 10:42b has almost the same meaning as the one in 10:42c. (This is a parallelism. The Jews commonly used such parallelism to emphasize an idea.) Notice the similar parts of these statements:

42bYou know that those regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,

42cand their superiors exercise authority over them.

Jesus repeated these ideas in order to emphasize them. You should show this emphasis in a way that is natural in your language. In some languages it may be more natural to translate the similar parts together. For example:

You know that those who are considered to be rulers in this world use their authority to lord it over the people under them.

those regarded as rulers: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as those regarded as rulers is literally “those having a reputation to rule.” There are several ways to interpret this phrase. The most likely interpretation is that Jesus was referring to people whom others consider to be leaders.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

those they call their rulers (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
those who are recognized as rulers (New American Standard Bible)

rulers: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rulers refers to people who govern other people. It is a general expression that can refer to either good or bad rulers.

the Gentiles: The word Gentiles refers to any non-Jewish people. The Good News Bible says “the heathen.” See how you translated this word in 10:33e.

lord it over them: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lord it over them means “rule over them.” In this context it refers to exercising control over others in a domineering or dictatorial way. Jesus indicated that Gentile rulers generally acted in this way.

Here are some other ways to translate this expression:

have absolute power over people (God’s Word)
-or-
like to order their people around (Contemporary English Version)

them: In both 10:42b and 10:42c the word them refers to the people whom the rulers are governing.

and: In most English versions, the two parallel clauses in 10:42b–c are joined with the word and. In some languages a word like and may not be appropriate to join two statements with very similar meanings. Connect these statements in a natural way in your language.

Here are some other connectors that could be used here:

yes
-or-
indeed
-or-
in fact

their superiors: The phrase their superiors is literally “their great ones.” You should translate this with a term that refers to leaders or to “great men” (as in the Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible). The phrase their superiors refers to the same people as “those regarded as rulers.” If a literal translation would suggest that these are two different groups, it may be necessary to translate this simply as “they.”

exercise authority over them: The expression exercise authority over them has almost the same meaning as the expression lord it over them. It means “to rule over people,” perhaps with the idea of ruling them harshly or oppressing them.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

enforce their authority over people
-or-
use their authority to make people obey them

authority: The word authority means “the right to control, the power to rule.” See how you translated this word in 1:22b.

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