Scriptures Plain & Simple (Mark 1:40-45)

Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Mark 1:40-45:

A man with leprosy came and knelt down to Jesus,
begging, “Your power can make me well,
       if only you are willing.”

Jesus felt sorrow for the man.
So he placed his hand on him and said,
       “I’m willing—now you are well.”
At once the leprosy disappeared!

Jesus sent the man away with a warning,
“Don’t tell anyone except those you must
       to be pronounced free of leprosy.
Then do what the Bible teaches
by offering a gift at the temple,
       so everyone else will know you’re well.”

But the man instead told everyone he met —
so many that Jesus had to stay away from the towns.
       But crowds still flocked to him in the desert.

Translation commentary on Mark 1:40

Exegesis:

lepros (14.3) ‘a leper’ (cf. the parallel Lk. 5.12 anēr plērēs lepras ‘a man full of leprosy’). The exact meaning of lepra (and of the Hebrew saraʿath, of which it is the translation) is by no means certain. Arndt & Gingrich point out that in pre-Biblical Greek the term meant psoriasis: there is widespread agreement that, even if the term sometimes denoted leprosy in the Bible, it also included other skin diseases. Dr. K. P. C. A. Gramberg argues that saraʿath and lepra did not denote leprosy at all. Dr. J. L. Swellengrebel, in a review of the Biblical evidence, shows that these terms certainly denoted some kind of disease which could be of a serious nature and which carried with it ceremonial uncleanness.

parakalōn … kai gonupetōn legōn ‘pleading … and kneeling saying’: the three participles describe the manner in which the man erchetai ‘came’ to Jesus.

parakalōn (5.10, 12, 17, 18, 23; 6.56; 7.32; 8.22) ‘entreating,’ ‘pleading,’ ‘beseeching.’

gonupetōn (10.17) ‘kneeling’: literally ‘to fall (piptō) on the knee’ (gonu).

hoti ‘that’: again recitative, introducing direct speech (cf. v. 37).

katharisai (1.41, 42; 7.19) ‘to make clean’: in the Septuagint the verb is used of physical and ceremonial cleansing, and means ‘to make clean’ or ‘to declare clean.’ Here it is used in the former sense, ‘to make clean.’

Notice that the request of the leper is conditioned not on Jesus’ ability to make him clean (“you can make me clean”) but on his desire or willingness (“if you will” or “if you wish”).

Translation:

A great deal of confusion has existed with respect to the word leper (and leprosy), for the area of meaning of this word is not the same in the Bible as it is in contemporary medical usage (see above). Moreover, leprosy is not known in certain parts of the world, and in other areas where it does exist, it may be spoken of in quite idiomatic ways, e.g. ‘lazaro sickness’ (Shipibo-Conibo, an expression borrowed into Shipibo-Conibo from Spanish, which associates leprosy with Lazarus) and ‘disease of animals’ (Shilluk).

Where leprosy is not known, it is necessary to employ some type of descriptive expression which will indicate something of the seriousness of the disease, but not badly distort its real significance. The following types of expressions are used: ‘sickness of skin rotting’ (Huichol), ‘ulcer sickness’ (Tzeltal, in which ulcer refers generally to all types of skin diseases), and ‘decaying sores’ (Barrow Eskimo).

However, even where leprosy is known, since the meaning of the Biblical term is uncertain, it may be wise to use a more general term or descriptive phrase which none the less conveys the seriousness of the condition, and if possible also carries the connotation of ceremonial uncleanness, e.g. as suggested in Balinese ‘ominous disease.’ A meaningless loan-word should certainly be avoided.

Beseech may be translated as ‘to ask strongly’ or ‘to ask insistently.’ In Huichol the equivalent is ‘to give one a desire,’ an interesting shift of psychological viewpoint.

Kneeling must sometimes be described more specifically as ‘kneeling in front of,’ depending upon local idiomatic requirements.

If you will means ‘if you desire to’ or ‘if you want to.’

Though the “cleansing of lepers” seems to us to be an entirely normal way of speaking, this is quite impossible in many languages. Lepers may ‘be healed,’ but ‘not cleansed,’ for cleansing would imply only washing out of wounds. For example, in several translations it was found that this expression ‘to cleanse’ or ‘to make clean’ meant only ‘to give a bath to’ or ‘to wash.’ Accordingly in such instances a translator must render the passage as ‘if you want to heal me, you can do so.’ Moreover, it may be necessary to choose between different words for ‘heal,’ e.g. in Southern Bobo Madaré kiri means to heal external diseases and kuru internal ones. Without a careful distinction at this point the reader could become quite confused.

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 1:40

Section 1:40–45

Jesus healed a man with a skin disease called “leprosy”

In this section, Jesus healed a man who had a skin disease that is sometimes called “leprosy.” The Jewish law declared that such a person was ritually unclean and therefore was an outcast. He could not go to the temple to worship God until he was cured. If he was cured, he had to make certain sacrifices to God before people would consider him “clean” again. The law did not allow anyone even to touch such a person. But Jesus touched the man and healed him.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible section headings:

The healing of an outcast
-or-
Jesus healed a man with a dreaded skin disease

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 8:1–4 and Luke 5:12–16.

Paragraph 1:40–45

1:40a

Then a leper came to Jesus: This sentence begins a new story and introduces a new person. Consider how you would introduce this story and person in a natural way in your language.

Here are some other ways to do this in English:

There was a certain man who came to Jesus. He had leprosy…
-or-
One day a man came to Jesus. This man was sick with leprosy…

leper: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as leper refers to a person who has a disease called “leprosy.” The word “leprosy” refers to several different skin diseases. Scholars disagree as to whether these diseases included modern-day leprosy (Hansen’s disease). They agree that in New Testament times the Greek word referred to dreaded skin diseases. People believed that these diseases were spread by contact with someone who had the disease. A person who had one of these diseases was also considered ritually unclean. Some ways to translate this word are:

• Use a general phrase that describes the nature or significance of the disease. For example:

a man suffering from a dreaded skin disease (Good News Bible)
-or-
a man with a serious skin disease (God’s Word)
-or-
a man with a contagious skin disease

• Use a term that refers specifically to leprosy. For example:

a man with leprosy
-or-
a man with something like leprosy

A term that refers specifically to leprosy may be appropriate in areas where readers are already familiar with the term “leprosy.” If you decide to use a word meaning “leprosy,” it is recommended that you add a footnote to give more information. For example:

The disease that is mentioned here refers to various contagious and dreaded skin diseases. A person who had one of these diseases was considered ritually unclean. According to the Jewish law, he was not allowed to associate with other people or to worship in the Temple.

Jesus: Here the Greek text is literally the pronoun “him” (as in the Revised Standard Version). The pronoun “him” refers to Jesus. Since this is the beginning of a new section, it may be natural in your language to use the name Jesus here, as the Berean Standard Bible does.

1:40b

begging on his knees: The phrase on his knees indicates that the man knelt on the ground. He knelt like this to show that he was coming to Jesus in a very humble way. He showed great respect to Jesus as he requested his help.

In some cultures, kneeling may not show humility. It may even have a different meaning. If that is true in your language, here are some other ways to translate this:

• Translate the action and explain the meaning. For example:

getting on his knees to show humility and begging Jesus
-or-
kneeling to show respect as he urgently asked Jesus to help him

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

humbly begging Jesus to help him

• Use an idiom that shows humility in your language.

1:40c

If You are willing, You can make me clean: This statement indicates that the man with leprosy believed that Jesus had the power to heal him. But he did not know whether Jesus was willing to do it. This statement was a polite way for the man to ask Jesus to heal him.

In some languages it may be necessary to make that request explicit. For example:

I know that if you want to, you can make me clean. So please, I beg you, to heal me.
-or-
If you are willing, you can make me clean, so will you please heal me?

Notice that the second example expresses the man’s request as a question. This makes it more polite in some languages. Consider how the man would express his request politely in your language.

make me clean: The phrase make me clean in this context means “make me ritually clean by healing me.” It does not refer to cleansing from physical dirt.

According to Jewish law, people with the skin disease called “leprosy” were ritually unclean or impure. They were not allowed to participate in public religious ceremonies or to worship God in the temple. They had to live away from other people who did not have this disease. When they were healed, they became ritually clean, and then they were allowed to enter the temple again and participate in community activities.

Here are several ways to translate the phrase make me clean:

• Translate both the idea of healing and the idea of causing the man to become ritually clean. Translate the ideas in a natural order in your language. For example:

you can heal me and make me ritually clean
-or-
you can heal me so that I will be ritually pure

• Translate only the idea of healing here. For example:

you have the power to make me well

• Translate only the idea of causing the man to be ritually clean. For example:

you can make me ritually clean so I can worship God and be around people again

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