Translation commentary on Mark 1:44

Exegesis:

hora (8.15, 24; 9.4; 13.26; 14.62; 16.7) ‘see to it!’: the command enforces the prohibition ‘say nothing to any one.’

hupage (15 times in Mark) ‘depart,’ ‘go,’ ‘away with you.’

seauton deixon tō hierei kai prosenegke ‘show yourself to the priest and make (the) offering’: cf. Lev. 14.2-32 where Levitical laws concerning purification rites are set forth.

tō hierei (2.26) ‘to the priest’: that is, the serving priest, the officiating priest. There is division of opinion whether this means the priest in Jerusalem or a local priest, but the majority of commentators seem to agree that Jerusalem is implied (cf. Rawlinson).

eis marturion autois (6.11; 13.9) ‘for a testimony to them.’ There is general agreement that marturion here means ‘proof,’ ‘evidence’ (cf. Manson, Moffatt, Abbott-Smith). There is no agreement, however, concerning autois ‘to them.’ Who is meant? “People” in general is the opinion of some (Revised Standard Version, Lagrange, Creed, Moffatt). Lagrange conjectures that when the rites had been completed the priest certified in writing that the man had been pronounced clean, and this document would serve as proof for one and all. Others, however, think that “priests” is meant, i.e. those upon whom would devolve the task of officiating at the purification rites (Swete, Turner, Taylor). For translation purposes, if language allows, it is probably better to retain the ambiguity of the Greek and say simply ‘to them.’

Translation:

See must, of course, not be taken in the literal sense, as it has been in some translations. It is equivalent to ‘beware lest you’ or ‘be sure that you do not….’

In contrast with the prophet, who spoke to the people on behalf of God, the priest represents the people before God. However, in many instances the small, growing Christian community is so strongly opposed to the ways of the religious practices of the paganism around them that they cannot readily accept a word for priest which is even neutral in its connotation. For example, in one area a translator insisted on using a word for priest which carried a very bad connotation whenever the Scriptures spoke of Jewish priests (especially those whom Jesus condemned). In this way the translator thought he could indirectly undermine the influence of the local pagan priests. However, when Jesus is called “our high priest” in Hebrews, this same translator wanted to use an entirely different term. At the same time the problem is complicated by the fact that the priest had many functions: sacrificing of animals, burning of incense, pouring of libations, offering of prayers, and participation in processions. An additional difficulty is that in many areas there are two levels of priesthood. For example, among the Huichol in Mexico there are (1) the local priests (shamans) of the indigenous religion and (2) the Roman Catholic priests, whom the people respect, but of whose ministry they understood very little. In such instances should one use the indigenous term which would imply a shaman-like person or borrow the Spanish term, which would seem to imply that the priests of the Bible were similar to Roman Catholic priests?

However, rather than borrow local names for priests, some of which have unwanted connotations, a number of translations have employed descriptive phrases based on certain functions: (1) those describing a ceremonial activity: Pamona uses tadu, the priestess who recites the litanies in which she describes her journey to the upper or under-world to fetch life-spirit for sick people, animals or plants; Batak Toba uses the Arabic malim, ‘Muslim religious teacher’; ‘one who presents man’s sacrifice to God’ (Bambara, Maninka), ‘one who presents sacrifices’ (Baoulé, Navajo), ‘one who takes the name of the sacrifice’ (Kpelle), and ‘to make a sacrifice go out’ (Toro So Dogon); (2) those describing an intermediary function: ‘one who speaks to God’ (Shipibo-Conibo) and ‘spokesman of the people before God’ (Tabasco Chontal). (See also Bible Translating, pp. 113, 139, 235.)

Offer for your cleansing may be translated in this context as ‘make an offering, seeing that now you have been healed’ (or ‘cleansed’), or ‘… because you have been healed.’ Because of the temporal sequence involved, the Greek preposition peri, which normally would mean ‘about,’ ‘concerning,’ must here imply ‘with regard to the fact that…’ or ‘because of…’ (Union Version of Chinese).

What Moses commanded may be expanded, because of its elliptical form, to read ‘what Moses commanded you to offer.’ In some translations this entire expression reads, ‘now that you have been healed, offer what Moses commanded you to offer.’

For a proof to the people may be rendered as ‘this will show the people that you are healed’ (Southern Bobo Madaré) or ‘to show the people that you have been cleansed’ (Southern Subanen). If, of course, one understands the priests as implied in the expression for a proof to them, such an interpretation may be suggested by the rendering ‘in order to show the priests that you are healed.’

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 1:44

1:44a

In the Greek text, this verse starts with the phrase “and he said to him.” The Berean Standard Bible and some English versions have not translated this phrase because Jesus’ words are already introduced by 1:43. The Revised Standard Version, Good News Bible and other English versions do include this phrase.

See that you don’t tell anyone: The clause See that you don’t tell anyone is a stern warning. It is the type of warning that a father would give to a son who might not want to follow his instructions.

The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as See that emphasizes Jesus’ warning in this part of the verse. It does not refer to looking with the eyes (or even thinking with the mind). Use a natural way in your language to emphasize what Jesus said. For example:

Listen, don’t tell anyone about this. (Good News Bible)
-or-
Be sure not to tell anyone about this.

In some languages there may be a special verb form or other way to indicate emphasis.

1:44b

But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But indicates contrast. In 1:44a Jesus told the man what he should not do. In this part of the verse Jesus told him what he should do. Express the connection in a natural way in your language.

go, show yourself to the priest: These two commands contain implied information that was understood by Mark’s readers. This implied information may be displayed like this:

Go to Jerusalem, show yourself to the priest who is performing his duties in the temple (Most commentators (including UBS Handbook page 66, France page 119, and Lane page 87) agree that official pronouncements regarding leprosy were made only by the priest on duty at the temple in Jerusalem. It is possible that the man went first to a local priest, but the prescribed animal sacrifices could be offered only in Jerusalem, and only there was a person pronounced clean.)

This implied information may not need to be made explicit in a translation. However, it does explain that Jesus commanded the man to go to the temple. It also explains who “the priest” was. It was not just any priest. It was the priest who was on duty at the temple in Jerusalem at that time.

In some languages the verb “go” may require a location, or a definite noun such as “the priest” may require more information. If this is true in your language, you may need to make some of the implied information explicit.

show yourself: The phrase show yourself is a command. It means that the man should ask the priest to examine him and confirm that he no longer had leprosy.

One way to translate this idea is as the Good News Bible has done:

go straight to the priest and let him examine you (Good News Bible)

priest: A Jewish priest was a man who offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. He also performed other religious rituals for them. He had the authority to declare that a person who had been ritually unclean was now clean. Some ways to translate priest are:

• Use a descriptive term that focuses on the function of a priest. For example:

sacrificer
-or-
man/person who offers sacrifices to God
-or-
one who represents people to God

• Use a local word for priest. This option may be acceptable if the duties of a local priest are similar to those of a Jewish priest. You may need to indicate that the word refers to a Jewish priest. For example:

Jewish people’s priest/sacrificer

If possible, you should choose a term that can be used in both Old Testament and New Testament contexts. Remember that in the book of Hebrews believers are called priests and Christ is called our high priest.

1:44c–d

present the offering Moses prescribed for your cleansing: In the Old Testament God gave laws to Moses for the Jewish people. These laws included detailed instructions about what a person should do after he had been healed of leprosy. These commands for purification are found in Leviticus 14:2–31.

Moses wrote these laws for all the Jewish people. Your translation should not imply that Moses had given his command only to the particular person whom Jesus healed. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

that Moses commanded people who were healed from leprosy to offer

A person who was healed was required to bring to the temple two birds, three lambs, grain, and oil. The priest who served in the temple would then offer these as sacrifices to God.

present the offering: In this context the phrase present the offering indicates that the healed man should give the offering to the priest. The priest would present the offering to God.

Here is another way to translate this:

cause the offering to be presented

Moses prescribed: Moses wrote down God’s laws about leprosy long before Jesus was born. Your translation should not imply that Moses was living at the same time as Jesus.

for your cleansing: The phrase for your cleansing indicates the purpose for which the man must present the offering. The Law of Moses required a person who was healed from leprosy to offer certain sacrifices to God. Then the priest would declare that he was ritually clean. He would be able to worship again at the temple and associate with others in the community. Another way to translate for your cleansing is:

so that you will become ritually clean

1:44e

as a testimony to them: In this context the phrase as a testimony to them means “to prove to the people (Some scholars believe that “them” refers to the priests. When the priests examined the man who was healed, it might prove to them that Jesus had the power to heal leprosy. It might also be an accusation against them because they refused to believe who Jesus was.) that you are well.” After the priest had declared the man to be clean/well, he could participate in public worship and live with his family again. People would believe that he was healthy because the priest had declared that he was clean.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

as evidence to them (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
to prove to everyone that you are cured (Good News Bible)
-or-
This will show the people what I have done. (New Century Version)

General Comment on 1:43–44

Jesus sent the man away after he healed him. Before Jesus sent him away, Jesus first warned the man and gave him instructions. In some languages it may be more natural to combine these verses and change the order of the information. For example:

43Jesus sternly warned him, saying, 44a“See that you do not tell anyone. 44bBut go, show yourself to the priest 44cand present the offering that Moses prescribed 44dfor your cleansing, 44eas a testimony to them.” 43As soon as Jesus said this, he sent the man away.

In your translation, both verse numbers (43–44) can be written at the beginning of verse 43.

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