Translation commentary on Mark 1:45

Exegesis:

ho de ‘but he’: the leper, that is, not Jesus. Some, indeed, in view of kērussein … ton logon ‘proclaim … the word’ (on which, see below) have concluded that Jesus is meant; as Kilpatrick points out, however, ho de in Mark always implies a change of subject.

exelthōn ‘went out’: probably, of the house (cf. exebalen ‘drove out’ in v. 43).

ērxato kērussein … kai diaphēmizein ‘began to proclaim … and spread abroad.’

ērxato ‘he began’: as an auxiliary this verb occurs some 26 times in Mark. There is general agreement that this use of the verb reflects Semitic speech patterns and, with some exceptions (8.31; 10.47; 14.19, 33; 15.8), is actually redundant, so far as meaning is concerned.

kērussein (cf. v. 4) ‘proclaim,’ ‘preach.’

diaphēmizein (only here in Mark) ‘spread widely,’ ‘disseminate.’

polla ‘much’: the word is adverbial, modifying kērussein ‘proclaim,’ not adjectival ‘many things.’

ton logon (21 times in Mark) literally ‘the word.’ The expression is variously translated: “news” (Revised Standard Version, The Modern Speech New Testament, Moffatt), “matter” (American Standard Version, Abbott-Smith, Zürcher Bibel die Sache, Lagrange la chose), “story” (Manson, Taylor, Knox), “report” (Berkeley); Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale le fait; O Novo Testamento de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo. Revisdo Autorizada a noticia; Swete “the tale.” Kilpatrick, in a study of the word in Mark, finds that the eleven times the word appears in chapters 1-4 the meaning is “the (Christian) Message,” and concludes that in this passage what is meant is that the man proclaimed the cure not simply as an isolated event but as proof of the Messiahship of Jesus. Translator’s New Testament accordingly translates “the Word.” Whether or not this theological meaning is carried by the expression, Mark certainly means to say that the man told to one and all his cure at the hands of Jesus.

dunasthai … eiselthein ‘(be) able … to enter’: Turner’s study of the verb dunamai in Mark concludes that in many cases the meaning of the verb is weakened in Mark and it becomes almost an auxiliary, meaning ‘can,’ ‘could,’ or ‘may,’ ‘might.’ This passage is an example of this weakened sense, and the verb is properly translated ‘could (not)’ (most translations).

eis polin eiselthein ‘enter a (any) town’: the sense is indefinite. In English the word “town” is a better translation than “city” (American Standard Version, Manson, Translator’s New Testament, Knox).

erēmois topois ‘solitary places,’ ‘lonely places’ (cf. v. 35) here means in contrast with polin ‘town,’ ‘country’ (Revised Standard Version) or ‘open country’ (Manson).

ērchonto ‘they were coming’ is another example of the impersonal plural (cf. vv. 30, 32), and the imperfect indicates a continued process ‘people kept coming’ (cf. v. 32).

Translation:

Went out whether of the town or a house, is not clear, but in some languages the distinction must be made. Where there is no evidence, as in this case, for or against either choice, either may be selected, though perhaps ‘house’ fits the context a little more satisfactorily. One must make certain, however, that ‘he’ refers to the healed man, not to Jesus, which is the subject of the preceding two verses, and is likely to be interpreted as the subject of v. 45, unless clearly indicated to the contrary.

Began to talk freely is ‘to tell everyone’ (or ‘many’). Actually this is the verb translated elsewhere as ‘to preach,’ but its basic meaning is ‘to deliver (or proclaim) a message.’

The precise nature of the news we do not know (see above), but it would certainly not be wrong to translate this entire phrase as ‘he kept telling more people about what had happened.’ In Shilluk the idiom for this type of process is ‘to visit about it from one to another’ and in Puebla Aztec one may say ‘to let it drop out of his mouth much.’

So that is in a sense an ambiguous phrase, for though it often refers to purpose, in this instance the meaning is, of course, result. Where necessary a clause introduced by so that may be separated from the preceding by a transitional expression, e.g. ‘because of this Jesus could not….’

A frequent equivalent of openly is ‘when people were looking’ (Southern Bobo Madaré, Amganad Ifugao).

In the country does not mean the wilderness, as in Judaea, but only out in the country where there were no habitations.

In the last clause an indefinite subject ‘people’ must very frequently be introduced.

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 1:45

1:45a

But: In this context the Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But introduces a contrast. Although Jesus had warned the man not to tell other people, the man disobeyed. Express the contrast in a natural way in your language.

the man: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the man is literally “he,” as in the Revised Standard Version. The Berean Standard Bible uses the phrase the man so that it is clear that Jesus is not the one who “went out.” Refer to the man in a way that is natural in your language.

went out: The words went out indicate here that the man left that place.

openly began to proclaim: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as openly began to proclaim is literally “began to proclaim much.” It indicates that the man told many people that Jesus had healed him.

1:45b

spread the news: The phrase spread the news is an idiom. It indicates that the man told many people in different places about what Jesus had done for him.

1:45c

Consequently: The word Consequently introduces what happened as a result of the man’s actions in 1:45a–b.

Here are some other ways to express the connection in English:

so that (NET Bible)
-or-
As a result (New International Version)
-or-
The result was that

Jesus could no longer enter a town in plain view: This sentence includes implied information: So many people wanted Jesus to heal them that he could not enter a town openly. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

Jesus could no longer enter a town in plain view because so many people would crowd around him to be healed

in plain view: The phrase in plain view in this context means “publicly.” Jesus could no longer enter a town freely and easily, in the normal way. If people saw him, they crowded around him.

1:45d

but: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but introduces what Jesus had to do because he could not enter towns publicly. In some languages it may not be necessary to translate it explicitly.

solitary places: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as solitary places refers to isolated areas where few people lived. It is the plural of the Greek word used in 1:3a (“wilderness”) and 1:4a (“wilderness”).

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

deserted places (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
places where he could be alone (God’s Word)
-or-
countryside
-or-
places where there were few/no people

1:45e

Yet: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Yet is often translated as “and,” as in the Revised Standard Version. However, in this context it introduces an unexpected action on the part of the people.

Here are some other ways of expressing this unexpected action:

Even so, people from all around (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
but people still came to him (Contemporary English Version)

people came to Him from every quarter: The phrase every quarter is a hyperbole. It indicates that people came to him from many places. If your readers will think this meant that people from every place in the world came to him, you may need to say something like this:

people came to him from many different places

Paragraph 2:1–5

2:1a

A few days later: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as A few days later is literally “after some days.” This phrase begins a new story that happened a few days after Jesus healed the man with leprosy in 1:40–45. Begin the story in a natural way in your language.

went: In this context the word went refers to going into the town.

back: The word back indicates that Jesus had been to Capernaum before (see 1:21a).

Capernaum: Capernaum was a small town with probably fewer than two thousand people. In some languages it may be natural to indicate that Capernaum was a town. For example:

to the town of Capernaum

2:1b

And when the people heard: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the people heard is literally “it was heard.” It means that the people living in Capernaum learned that Jesus had come to a house there. They heard people talking about it. They did not necessarily hear Jesus’ own voice or footsteps.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

the news spread (NET Bible)
-or-
the people there told one another

that He was home: The phrase He was home in this context indicates that Jesus was in or at a house in Capernaum. It probably implies that he returned to that same house often. It does not imply that he owned the house or that the house was in the town where he was born. Use an appropriate word in your language.

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