Translation commentary on Mark 14:58

Exegesis:

hoti … hoti ‘that … that’: both times the hoti is recitative, introducing direct speech.

katalusō (cf. 13.2) ‘I will tear down,’ ‘I will demolish,’ ‘I will destroy.’ On this saying, cf. further 15.29.

ton naon (15.29, 38) ‘the sanctuary’: it is generally assumed that naos refers to the central area of the Temple, the holy of holies, as distinct from the whole Temple area as such, referred to as the hieron (cf. 11.11).

cheiropoiēton (only here in Mark) ‘hand made,’ ‘built by men,’ i.e. material.

dia triōn hēmerōn (cf. 2.1 di’ hēmerōn) ‘after three days’: cf. the similar phrase meta treis hēmeras (8.31; 9.31; 10.34).

acheiropoiēton (only here in Mark) ‘not made by hand,’ ‘built not by men,’ i.e. spiritual.

oikodomēsō (cf. 12.1) ‘I will build,’ ‘I will construct.’

Translation:

We heard him say must in some languages be shifted to a paratactic construction of two subject-predicate constructions: ‘we heard him; he said.’

For temple see 11.11, but note that in this context the central building is designated. Accordingly, one may often use ‘this house of God,’ ‘this dwelling of God,’ or ‘this place of God,’ since all of these expressions may give rise to a double meaning, including not only the temple itself but Jesus own person.

Made with hands is most often translated as ‘built by men’ or ‘built by men’s hands.’ Hands is a figurative substitute for ‘men.’ Not made with hands may be rendered as a modifying clause, ‘which men will not make.’

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 14:58

14:58

This verse gives the words of the men’s testimony. In their testimony they claimed that they had heard Jesus say certain things about the temple. Mark used a direct quote to report those things. In some languages it may be more natural to use an indirect quote. See the General Comment on 14:58a–d at the end of 14:58d for an example.

14:58a

We heard Him say: The phrase We heard Him say introduces what the witnesses claimed that Jesus had said. (The false witnesses were probably referring to what Jesus had said in John 2:19: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” But the author, John, explained in 2:21 that Jesus had been referring to his body as a temple. He had not been referring to the temple in Jerusalem. Also, Jesus did not say, “I will destroy….” He actually said, “Destroy(2pl) this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” The witnesses misinterpreted what Jesus meant and they did not quote Jesus correctly.)

14:58b

I will destroy this man-made temple: The pronoun here refers to Jesus. When the men claimed that Jesus referred to this man-made temple, the Jewish council would interpret this phrase as referring to the temple of God in Jerusalem.

destroy: The word destroy here means “to completely tear down.” The temple was constructed of huge stones. In order to destroy it, many persons must work hard to tear down all of the stones.

To destroy a temple was considered an extremely serious crime. The Roman government punished this crime with the penalty of death.

man-made: The word man-made means that the temple was “made or built by human beings” rather than by God. It does not mean “made by male human beings.” Another way to translate this is:

I will destroy this temple that human beings built…

temple: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as temple here refers to the main temple building. The main building was the holiest part of the temple. It was the part where God was present in a special way. This is the first time that this Greek word occurs in Mark. The Greek word for temple used in 14:49a included the entire courtyard area, as well as the temple building.

Here are some ways to translate temple in this context:

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

house/building of God
-or-
house/place where God dwells
-or-
house/place where God is
-or-
holy/sacred house

• If your language has a word for “temple,” consider using it. But you may need to modify it. For example:

temple of the Lord

See temple, Meaning 2, in the Glossary. Be sure to use a different term from the one you have chosen for “synagogue.” There was only one temple, but there were many synagogues throughout the land of Israel where the Jews met regularly for worship.

14:58c

and in three days I will build another: This clause is an ellipsis. It has some implied words, as shown here:

in three days will build another temple

Express the meaning of the clause in a clear and natural way in your language.

in three days: The phrase in three days means “within a three-day period.”

14:58d

that is made without hands: The phrase made without hands refers to a temple that human beings did not build. This phrase is passive. For example:

that human beings did not build

General Comment on 14:58a–d

In some languages it may be more natural to use an indirect quote for the words that the witnesses claimed that Jesus had said. For example:

They said about Jesus, “This man said that he is able to destroy this temple built by people and rebuild it again in three days!”

Use the manner of speaking that people in your culture use when they speak in court about what another person said.

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