Mark 12:38 - 40 in Mexican Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 12:38-40 into Mexican Sign Language with back-translations into Spanish and English underneath:


© La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)

Jesús y los Saduceos estaban platicando y un maestro de la ley lo vio (y pensó): ‘huy Jesús explica bien’ y lo acercó y dijo: “Si escoges un mandamiento, ¿cuál es lo más importante?”
Jesús los advertió: “Cuidado de los maestros de la ley, ellos tienen su ropa demasiado larga, les gusta caminar en la plaza y que todas las personas los respetan. Otra cosa: Adentro del templo no se sentan con las demás personas, no, siempre les gusta estar sentado primero enfrente de las demás personas.

Otra cosa es que en los banquetes no se sentan con las demás personas, no, siempre les gusta sentarse primero. Otra cosa es que cuando una viuda es dueña de una casa los maestros de la ley se la quitan.

Los maestros de la ley intencionalmente disimulan con oraciones largas, pero Dios les dará un castigo fuerte a estos.”


Jesus warned them: “Be careful of the teachers of the Law, they have overly long clothes, and they like to walk in the square and have everyone respect them. Another thing: Inside the temple they don’t sit with the other people, no, they always like to be seated first, in front of the other people.

“Another thing is that at banquets they do not sit with the other people, no, they always like to be seated first. Another thing is that when there are widows that own a house, the teachers of the Law take away their houses.

“The teachers of the Law intentionally dissemble with long prayers, but in the future God will send these a strong punishment.”

Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

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Mark 12:41-44 in Mexican Sign Language >>

Mark 12:38-40 in Russian Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 12:38-40 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:


Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество

Jesus continued teaching and said:

— Beware of the scribes! They love to dress in beautiful long robes, they love for people around them to notice them, to be respected, to bow to them when they meet. They also love to take the first row when they come to the synagogue, and they also take the most honorable places at feasts. And they also love to enter the houses of poor widows and take away all their property. They love to stand in front of everyone and pray long and volubly, so that everyone around can see how they pray. I tell you, they do all this on purpose. God will then severely punish them!

Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):

Иисус продолжал учить и еще сказал:

— Бойтесь книжников! Они любят одеваться в красивые длинные одежды, любят, чтобы люди вокруг их замечали, чтобы их почитали, при встрече кланялись им. Любят также, когда приходят в синагоги, занимать первый ряд, а также на пирах занимают самые почетные места. А еще они любят входить в дома бедных вдов и отнимать у них все их имущество. Они любят встать на виду у всех и долго, многословно молиться, чтобы все вокруг видели, как они молятся. Я говорю вам, все это они делают нарочно. Бог потом сурово покарает их!

Back-translation by Luka Manevich

<< Mark 12:35-37 in Russian Sign Language
Mark 12:41-44 in Russian Sign Language >>

synagogue, temple (inner), temple (outer)

In many English translations the Greek terms “hieron” (the whole “temple” in Jerusalem or specifically the outer courts open to worshippers) and “naos” (the inner “shrine” or “sanctuary”) are translated with only one word: “temple” (see also for instance “Tempel” in German [for exception see below] and “tempel” in Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans).

Other languages make a distinction: (Click or tap here to see more)

  • Navajo (Dinė): “house in which worship is carried out” (for naos)
  • Balinese: “inner part of the Great Temple” (“the term ‘inner part’ denoting the hindmost and holiest of the two or three courts that temples on Bali usually possess”) vs. “Great Temple”
  • Telugu: “womb (i.e. interior)-of-the-abode” vs. “abode”
  • Thai: a term denoting the main audience hall of a Buddhist temple compound vs. “environs-of-the-main-audience-hall”
  • Kituba: “place of holiness of house-God Lord” vs. “house-God Lord”
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “deep in God’s house” vs. “God’s house” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “inner court of the temple” (Tempelinnenhof) vs. “temple”

Languages that, like English, German, Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans, don’t make that distinction include:

  • Mandarin Chinese: “聖殿 Shèng diàn” (“holy palace”)
  • Loma: “the holy place”
  • Pular: “the sacred house” (source for this and the one above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Zarma: “God’s compound”
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “big church of the Jews”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “big house on top (i.e. most important)”
  • Toraja-Sa’dan: “house that is looked upon as holy, that is sacred, that is taboo and where one may not set foot” (lit. “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” — because taboo is violated — using a term that is also applied to a Muslim mosque) (source for this and the three above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Mairasi: Janav Enggwarjer Weso: “Great Above One’s (God’s) House” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Noongar: Maya-maya-Kooranyi: “Sacred House” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Huehuetla Tepehua: “the big church of the Israelites”
  • Aguaruna: “the house for talking to God” (source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
  • Guhu-Samane: “festival longhouse of God” (“The biiri, ‘festival longhouse’, being the religious and social center of the community, is a possible term for ‘temple’. It is not the ‘poro house’ as such. That would be too closely identified with the cult of poro. The physical features of the building, huge and sub-divided, lend it further favor for this consideration. By qualifying it as ‘God’s biiri’ the term has become meaningful and appropriate in the context of the Scriptures.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. )
  • Enga: “God’s restricted access house” (source: Adam Boyd on his blog )

Another distinction that tends to be overlooked in translations is that between hieron (“temple” in English) and sunagógé (“synagogue” in English). Euan Fry (in The Bible Translator 1987, p. 213ff. ) reports on this:

“Many older translations have simply used transliterations of ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ rather than trying to find equivalent terms or meaningful expressions in their own languages. This approach does keep the two terms separate; but it makes the readers depend on explanations given by pastors or teachers for their understanding of the text.

“Translators who have tried to find meaningful equivalents, for the two terms ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ have usually made a distinction between them in one of two ways (which focus on the contrasting components of meaning). One way takes the size and importance of the Temple to make a contrast, so that expressions such as ‘sacred meeting/ worship house of the Jews’ and ‘big sacred meeting/worship house of the Jews’ are used. The other way focuses on the different nature of the religious activity at each of the places, so that expressions such as ‘meeting/worship house of the Jews’ and ‘sacrifice/ceremony place of the Jews’ are used.

“It is not my purpose in this article to discuss how to arrive at the most precise equivalent to cover all the components of meaning of ‘temple’. That is something that each translator really has to work through for himself in the light of the present usage and possibilities in his own language. My chief concern here is that the basic term or terms chosen for ‘temple’ should give the reader of a translation a clear and correct picture of the location referred to in each passage. And I am afraid that in many cases where an equivalent like ‘house of God’ or ‘worship house’ has been chosen, the readers have quite the wrong picture of what going to the Temple or being in the Temple means. (This may be the case for the word ‘temple’ in English too, for many readers.)”

Here are some examples:

  • Bambara: “house of God” (or: “big house of worship”) vs. “worship house” (or: “small houses of worship”)
  • Toraja-Sa’dan: “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” (see above) vs. “meeting house for discussing matters concerning religious customs” (and “church” is “house where one meets on Sunday”)
  • Navajo (Dinė): “house in which worship is carried out” vs. “house of gathering” (source for all above: Bratcher / Nida)

    • Bangandu: “the great house of God” vs. “house of prayer” (Source: Ervais Fotso Noumsi in Le Sycomore, 16/1, 2022 )

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Herod’s temple (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Click or tap here to see a short video clip showing synagogues in New Testament times (source: Bible Lands 2012)

See also this devotion on YouVersion .

complete verse (Mark 12:39)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 12:39:

  • Uma: “They are happy to be seated in the honorable seats in the prayer houses. They are happy if they are seated in the good seats in the feasts.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “If in the prayer-house, they want to sit in the seat for the respected people. Likewise if they are at a feast, their wish is to sit in the most prominent seat.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when they are in the church, they want that they are the oens to be seated in the seats of high people. And they also want that they are greatly respected when they attend feasts.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “They also choose the best seats in the sinagoga (synagogue), and when they go to join-in-eating, it has to be the important people that they go and sit-with.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And their favorite seats in the worship-place are the seats where important people are seated. It’s like that too at feasts.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Choapan Zapotec: “Also they want to sit where the respected people sit in the synagogue. Also when there is a fiesta, they want to eat first.” (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)

Translation commentary on Mark 12:39

Exegesis:

prōtokathedrias en tais sunagōgais ‘the chief seats in the synagogues,’ ‘the places of importance in the synagogues’: it is explained that in the synagogue such seats were to be found in front of the Ark (which contained the sacred scrolls), facing the people, reserved for the scribes and other dignitaries.

sunagogē (cf. 1.21) ‘synagogue.’

prōtoklisias en tois deipnois ‘the chief couches at the banquets,’ ‘the places of honor at the banquets’: these were next to the host (for an instance of this cf. Lk. 14.7).

deipnon (cf. 6.21) ‘reception,’ ‘formal dinner,’ ‘banquet.’

Translation:

This verse is a continuation of the construction begun in 12.38, but it is often not possible to employ a series of relative clauses. Accordingly, one must generally break the sentence at this point and reintroduce the subject, e.g. ‘they like the best seats.’ ‘Best,’ however, should not refer to the quality of the seats, but to the distinction and prestige accompanying the position, e.g. ‘the most important seats.’

For synagogues see 1.21.

At feasts may require expansion to ‘when they attend banquets,’ or ‘when they are feasting,’ since feasts may be translatable only by what is a verb, not a noun.

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 12:39

12:39a

and to have the chief seats in the synagogues: When the people gathered to worship in the synagogues, the scribes loved to sit in the places where the most important men sat. They were happy when others treated them as important people.

the chief seats: There was a bench in front of the Jewish synagogue that was in the shape of a half circle. It was large enough for several men to sit on it. When men sat on this bench, they faced the rest of the people in the room. The people could easily see them. People considered the men who sat on that bench to be important.

synagogues: A synagogue was a building where Jews gathered to pray, read scripture, teach their beliefs, and worship. The Jews also gathered there for cultural activities. There was only one temple (in Jerusalem), but each Jewish community had a synagogue.

Here are some other ways to translate synagogue:

prayer-house of the Jews
-or-
meeting-place of the Jews
-or-
worship building
-or-
house for gathering together

If you make explicit a phrase such as “of the Jews,” be sure that it does not imply that Jesus was not a Jew.

If the word synagogue is already known in your area, you may write it according to the sounds of your language. You may want to include a word or phrase to explain the meaning. For example:

sinagog house/building

Consider using a footnote that contains some of the information above. See synagogue in the Glossary.

12:39b

and the places of honor at banquets: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the places of honor means “the seats for the most honored guests” or “the best seats.” These were the seats that were nearest the host.

banquets: The word banquets refers here to feasts where people gathered to eat and celebrate together.

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