The Greek and Hebrew that is often translated into English as “(the two) shall become one flesh” is translated as “become just one” in Copainalá Zoque and San Mateo del Mar Huave or with existing idiomatic equivalents such as “become one blood” in Mitla Zapotec, “become the complement of each other’s spirit” in Tzeltal (source for this and above Bratcher / Nida), “become one body” in Uab Meto (source: P. Middelkoop in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 208ff. ), “tie with wife as one, so that they tie one insides” in Luang (source: Kathy and Mark Taber in Kroneman [2004], p. 539), or “become like one body-entity” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).
In Tataltepec Chatino it is translated as “the two shall accompany each other so that they no longer seem two but are like one person,” in Choapan Zapotec as “when the man and woman live together in front of God, it is as if just one person,” and in Mezquital Otomi as “they aren’t two, it is as though they are one.” (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated with bilden eine neue Sippe or “form a new clan.” They explain (p. 417): “Usually ‘become one flesh.’ This is clearly not correct from a biological point of view. In the Old Testament, ‘flesh’ in such contexts means: ‘kinship, clan, family.’ So the idea is that the man gives up his clan and forms a new clan together with the married woman.”
Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)
Jesús y los discípulos salieron de Capernaúm y fueron a Judea, y después Jesús y los discípulos fueron a otro lugar cerca del río Jordán.
Otra vez muchas personas vinieron y Jesús los enseñaba como siempre era su costumbre.
Los Fariseos (decidieron) probar a Jesús con una pregunta y fueron a él diciendo: “Jesús, una pregunta: permite la Ley que un hombre decida a divorciar a una mujer?”
Jesús dijo: “¿Qué dice lo que Moisés escribió hace mucho, qué manda?”
Los Fariseos dijeron: “Moisés escribió que es permitido que un hombre escribe una carta de divorcio y se la da a la mujer para que se vaya.”
Jesús (respondió): “¿Porqué lo escribió Moisés en la Ley? Porque todas las personas son obstinadas y no entienden, por eso.
De verdad, hace mucho Dios hizo el mundo y lo dio al hombre y la mujer, por eso está escrito en el rollo, que un hombre se separe de sus padres cuando se case y los dos juntos se convierten en una persona.
Yo les advierto que Dios da que los dos ya están juntados eb matrimonio, y no pueden ser saparados.”
Jesús y los discípulos se fueron a casa y los discípulos preguntaron: “¿Qué significa lo que ahorita explicaste?”
Jesús respondió: “Si un hombre se casa con una mujer y después la divrocia y se casa con otra, el hombre es llamado adúltero, traiciona a la mujer.
En la misma manera una mujer que se casa con un hombre y después lo divorcia y se casa con otro es llamado adúltera.”
Jesus and the disciples left Capernaum and went to Judea, and afterwards Jesus and the disciples went to another place close to the River Jordan.
Again many people came and Jesus taught them as was always his custom.
The Pharisees (decided to) test Jesus with a question and they went up to him saying: “Jesus, a question: does the Law permit a man to decide to divorce a woman?”
Jesus said: “What did Moses write long ago, what did he order?”
The Pharisees said: “Moses wrote that a man is allowed to write a letter of divorce and give it to the woman to send her off.”
Jesus (answered): Why did Moses write it in the Law? Because all the people are stubborn and don’t understand, that’s why.
“Truly, long ago God made the world and gave it to a man and a woman, and that is why it is written in the scroll that a man will separate from his parents when he is newly married and the two together will become one person.
“I tell you that God gives that the two of them are already joined together in marriage and they cannot be separated.”
Jesus and the disciples went home and the disciples asked: “What is the meaning of what you explained just now?”
Jesus (answered): “If a man marries a woman and then divorces her and marries someone else, the man is called an adulterer, he betrays the woman.
“In the same way if a woman marries a man and then divorces him and marries someone else, the woman is called an adulteress.”
Here is Galilee, here is Judea, here is the Jordan River. Jesus is going from Galilee to Judea and to the land beyond the Jordan. Crowds of people followed Jesus. Jesus was teaching the people as usual.
The Pharisees heard that Jesus was coming. They decided among themselves, “Let’s put him to the test.” They asked Jesus:
— If a man and a woman are married, can they divorce afterward?
Jesus said to them:
— In the Law that Moses gave you, what is commanded?
The Pharisees replied:
— Moses authorized the man to write a certificate of divorce and divorce his wife by giving her this document.
Jesus said:
— Moses authorized a divorce by writing a divorce certificate just because you are stubborn. In the very beginning, when God created man and woman, this was the rule given: “A man grows up and leaves his father and mother and unites with his wife. Together they become as one person.” What God has joined together, man must not separate.
Some time later, the disciples asked Jesus in the house:
— Recently there was a conversation about divorce. Is it wrong to divorce?
Jesus replied:
— Any man who divorces his wife and marries another woman, he is violating marital fidelity. In the same way, any woman who divorces her husband and then marries another man is violating marital fidelity.
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
Вот Галилея, вот — Иудея, вот — река Иордан. Иисус направляется из Галилеи в Иудею и в земли за Иорданом. Толпы народа шли за Иисусом. Иисус, как обычно, учил людей.
Фарисеи прослышали, что идет Иисус. Они решили между собой: «Давайте его испытаем». Они спросили Иисуса:
— Если мужчина и женщина вступили в брак, то потом им можно развестись?
Иисус им сказал:
— В Законе, который вам дал Моисей, что велено?
Фарисеи ответили:
— Моисей разрешил мужчине написать разводное свидетельство и развестись с женой, дав ей этот документ.
Иисус сказал:
— Моисей разрешил разводиться, написав разводное письмо, только потому что вы упрямы. В самом начале, когда Бог сотворил мужчину и женщину, такое было правило дано: «Мужчина, вырастает и оставляет отца и мать и соединяется со своей женой. Вдвоем они становятся как бы один человек». То, что соединил Бог, то человеку разъединять нельзя.
Спустя какое-то время, ученики спросили Иисуса в доме:
— Недавно был разговор о разводе. Разводиться нельзя?
Иисус ответил:
— Любой мужчина, который разводится со своей женой и женится на другой женщине, он нарушает супружескую верность. Так же и любая женщина, которая развелась со своим мужем, а потом выходит замуж за другого мужчину, нарушает супружескую верность.
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 10:8:
Uma: “so that those two people become like one person.’ So, in God’s sight, a married couple is no longer two people, they have become one person.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “and what was two become one body now.’ So-then they are no longer two bodies,’ said Isa, ‘but they are one body now.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the married couple, they are no longer two people, but rather, they have become one.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “and they become one.’ Therefore they are not two but rather just-one.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well it’s none other than, they are now like one body-entity. That’s why it’s like they are no longer to be said to be two people still, for it’s like they are now one body-entity.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
The clause kai proskollēthēsetai pros tēn gunaika autou ‘and he shall be joined to his wife,’ is omitted by Tischendorf, Nestle, Westcott and Hort, Lagrange, and Taylor, but included by Textus Receptus, Soden, Vogels, Souter, and Merk.
Exegesis:
heneken toutou kataleipsei ‘on account of this (he) will leave,’ ‘because of this (he) will forsake.’
heneken ‘on account of,’ ‘because’ (at 8.35; 10.29 it has the specific meaning ‘for the sake of,’ ‘in behalf of’).
The quotation is from Gen. 2.24, Adam’s statement that because the woman was made from his bone and his flesh, on this account a man will leave his father and mother, etc.
proskollēthēsetai (Eph. 5.31) ‘shall be joined to’: the verb proskollaō means literally ‘to glue to.’
kai esontai hoi duo eis sarka mian ‘and the two shall become one flesh.’ The rather unusual construction esontai … eis ‘shall be … into’ is the Septuagint literal translation of the Hebrew hayah le and means simply ‘shall become,’ ‘shall be.’
sarx (13.20; 14.38) ‘flesh’: the phrase ‘one flesh’ denotes a relationship more intimate and binding than any other (cf. Lagrange, Rawlinson). In the O.T. when appeal is made to loyalty springing from family relationships the phrase ‘my bone and my flesh’ is used (cf. Gen. 29.14; 37.27; Judges 9.2).
Translation:
For this reason is often translatable simply as ‘because of this,’ referring back to the previous statement.
Leave must not be understood as ‘abandoning’ or ‘forsaking,’ but as ‘leaving the house of his father and mother’ or ‘no longer living with his father and mother.’
Joined to his wife should be translated with care or the connotations of sexual intercourse are likely to be introduced. Though of course this relationship is implicit in the statement, any explicit reference is likely to be regarded as vulgar. In some translations the equivalent expression is merely ‘will live with his wife.’
Two shall become one, if rendered literally, is an impossible expression in many languages. For example, in most Bantu languages the element ‘two’ requires a plural prefix and the unit ‘one’ in the predicate of the expression would need to have this same prefix, but a plural prefix simply cannot be used with the numeral one. There are, however, quite proper ways of saying essentially the same thing, e.g. ‘the two different people shall be just as though they are one person.’ This introduces noun expressions (required in many languages) and changes the metaphor to a simile, but in many languages this is a distinct gain in intelligibility – in fact, the only type of expression which can convey the meaning of the original.
In some translations attempts have been made to render the Greek term sarx literally. In certain instances the results have been ludicrous. For example, in one language the meaning was literally ‘beefsteak.’ In other instances, the use of ‘body’ has been attempted, but in certain cases even this has proved awkward, and at times vulgar. Sometimes the bare numeral ‘one’ can be used, e.g. ‘become just one’ (Copainalá Zoque, San Mateo del Mar Huave). In other cases the languages already possess an idiomatic equivalent, e.g. ‘become one blood’ (Mitla Zapotec) and ‘become the complement of each other’s spirit’ (Tzeltal).
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 .
the two will become one flesh: The phrase the two refers to a man and his wife. The words become one flesh is a figure of speech here. It indicates that the husband and wife will become united as one person or being.
In some languages, it is not natural to refer to a man and woman becoming one flesh. If that is true in your language, you may want to indicate the meaning in another way. For example:
the two will become as united as if they were in one body -or-
the two of them will become like one person
10:8b
Jesus stopped quoting from Scripture at the end of 10:8a and began to speak his own words again. Make this clear in your translation.
So they are no longer two, but one flesh: This part of the verse expresses the same principle as in 10:8a. The word two refers to two people, two separate individuals. The phrase but one flesh indicates that they are united as one flesh. In some languages it may be natural to make this explicit. For example:
So they are no longer two individuals, but are united into one flesh. -or-
So they are no longer two separate personsonly, but are united as one body/person.
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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