abundance, surplus

The Greek that is translated as “(out of their) surplus (or: abundance)” is translated into Tabasco Chontal as “they gave money which they didn’t need” and into Tzeltal as “the left-over money.”

Mark 12:41 - 44 in Mexican Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 12:41-44 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 se sentó a ver la caja en la cual las personas daban dinero para el templo. Varias personas ricas iban y daban dinero.

Una viuda pobre fue y dio dos centavos y se fue. Jesús la vio y dijo a sus discípulos: “Yo les digo la verdad, esta viuda pobre ha dado más dinero que las otras personas.

Porque todas las personas dan dinero y les sobra suficiente dinero, pero ella es una mujer pobre, ha dado dinero y ahora se agotó el dinero, no tiene dinero para comer.”


Jesus sat down to watch the box in which all the people gave money for the temple. Several rich people came and gave money.

A poor widow went and gave two cents and left. Jesus saw her and said to his disciples: “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more money than the other people.

“Because all the people give money and have enough money left over, but she is a poor woman, she has given money and now has no money left, she has no money for food.”

Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

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Mark 12:41-44 in Russian Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 12:41-44 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:


Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество

In the temple there is a collection box. Jesus sat down at a distance from the box and began to watch as people threw their offerings into the box. People came. There were many rich people. They brought large heavy purses with money, took a full handful of money from there and threw it into the box. The rich people walked one after another. But there was one woman, a poor widow. And she had only two small coins. She took these two small coins and threw them into the box. Jesus saw this and said to the disciples:

— I tell you for sure, this poor widow just put in more than everyone else! Why? Because the other people had more money, they put only a small part of it in the box. But this poor woman had only these two coins, and she threw both into the box.

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

В храме есть ящик для сбора пожертвований. Поодаль от ящика сел Иисус и стал смотреть, как люди бросают свои пожертвования в ящик. Люди приходили. Было много богатых людей. Они приносили большие тяжелые кошельки с деньгами, брали оттуда полную пригоршню денег и бросали в ящик. Шли богачи друг за другом. Но была одна женщина, бедная вдова. И у нее были только две маленькие монетки. Она взяла эти две маленькие монетки, да и бросила их в ящик. Иисус это увидел и сказал ученикам:

— Точно вам говорю, вот эта бедная вдова сейчас положил больше, чем все остальные! Почему? Потому что у остальных людей были еще деньги, они клали в ящик лишь небольшую их часть. А у этой бедной женщины были только эти две монетки, и обе она бросила в ящик.

Back-translation by Luka Manevich

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Mark 13:1-13 in Russian Sign Language >>

complete verse (Mark 12:44)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 12:44:

  • Uma: “For they gave from the excess of their wealth. But that woman, even though she is so poor/pitiable, she gave all that she had, even though actually she needed it for her daily life.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “For they all,’ said Isa, ‘they give from their excess wealth. But this woman, even though she is poor, she has given all her money even what had been earmarked to help her need.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “For all the others who have given here, they gave the excess of their wealth, but that poor woman, even though she is having a difficult time, she gave everything she had.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because as for the rest, it was only the excess of their wealth that they gave, but this widow, even-though she is poor, she gave all that she has-to-live-on.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Because as for those others who have-lots-of-money, what they drop is the excess which they don’t need. But as for this widow, although her poverty is great, she dropped all she had left to live on.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 12:44

Exegesis:

ek tou perisseuontos autois ‘from that which abounds to them,’ ‘from their abundance’: the participle is the genitive of the neuter form to perisseuon ‘that which abounds.’

perisseuō (only here in Mark; cf. perisseuma 8.8) ‘to abound,’ ‘to be present in abundance.’

husterēseōs (only here in Mark; cf. hustereō 10.21) ‘lack,’ ‘need,’ ‘poverty.’

panta hosa (cf. 6.30; 11.24) ‘everything,’ ‘everything as much (as).’

bion (only here in Mark) ‘life’: here in terms of ‘livelihood,’ ‘means of living,’ ‘subsistence,’ ‘property.’

Translation:

Out of their abundance is neatly translated in the Tabasco Chontal as ‘they gave money which they didn’t need.’ In Tzeltal this is ‘the left-over money.’

In Bali the last of this verse is idiomatically rendered as ‘but she, being wholly destitute, has cast in all her money and has shaken out her house’ (as one shakes out a bag so that nothing is left in it), implying that all the money she had was given.

The idea of her whole living can also be translated as ‘all she had; this was her food’ (Tabasco Chontal) and ‘all she was going to eat’ (Copainalá Zoque).

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 .