Translation commentary on Mark 14:65

Text:

Instead of elabon ‘they received’ of all modern editions of the Greek text, Textus Receptus has eballon ‘they struck.’

Exegesis:

emptuein (cf. 10.34) ‘to spit upon.’

perikaluptein (only here in Mark) ‘to cover,’ ‘to cover over.’

kolaphizein (only here in Mark) ‘to strike,’ ‘to beat’: this verb is used of beating with the closed fist, or the back of the hand (cf. Lagrange).

prophēteuson (cf. 7.6) ‘prophesy!,’ ‘guest!’ ‘reveal it!’: the meaning, of course (as the parallels Mt. 26.68, Luke 22.64 make explicit), is ‘reveal who it is that struck you!’

hoi hupēretai (cf. v. 54) ‘the servants,’ ‘the guards.’

rapismasin autōn elabon ‘treated him to blows’: this is a Latin colloquialism, verberibus eum acceperunt, describing the way in which the guards dealt with Jesus.

rapisma (only here in Mark) ‘blow’: although it may mean a blow with a club or whip , here it would almost certainly mean a blow with the open hand, a slap.

Translation:

Cover his face could have been either with a cloth or with their hands; the text does not specify.

Prophesy must in this text be understood in a very specific sense, e.g. ‘tell who hit you’ (Tzeltal) or ‘say who did it’ (Amganad Ifugao). The technical meaning of prophesy must generally be avoided in this context or the real meaning of the passage is likely to be lost.

Only rarely can the phrase received him with blows be translated literally. The meaning is ‘beat him up,’ a common enough practice among bullies, whether in or out of military uniform.

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 14:65

14:65a

Then some of them began to spit on Him: After the trial was over, some of them started to insult and abuse Jesus.

some of them: The phrase some of them probably refers to members of the council.

spit on Him: In Jewish culture spitting at a person was a way to insult him. When they spit at Jesus, they showed that they felt contempt for him. They thought that he had no value. If the meaning of spit on Him is not clear in your language, you may want to make it explicit. For example:

Some began to spit at him to shame/insult him

14:65b–c

They blindfolded Him, struck Him with their fists, and said to Him, “Prophesy!”: These people mocked Jesus by telling him to prophesy. They meant that they wanted Jesus to tell them who hit him, while his eyes were covered so that he could not see. They implied that because he claimed to be from God, he should show the powers of a prophet. He should tell them who hit him.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

They blindfolded him, hit him with their fists, and said, “Tell us who hit you!” (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
and they blindfolded him and hit his face with their fists. “Who hit you that time, you prophet?” they jeered. (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)
-or-
They blindfolded him and beat him with their fists and said, “Prove you are a prophet!” (New Century Version)

14:65b

They blindfolded Him: The phrase They blindfolded Him means that these people tied a cloth over Jesus’ eyes so that he could not see.

They: The word They refers to the same people as the word “some” in 14:65a. They were the same people who spit at Jesus.

struck Him with their fists: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as struck Him with their fists literally means “beat or hit him with a closed fist.” In some languages this may be expressed with a single verb, as in the Greek. For example:

boxed him

14:65c

Prophesy: The verb Prophesy means for a person to speak/say information that God reveals to him or her. In this context it means that the council members were asking Jesus to identify the people who were hitting him. They implied that he should be able to identify them even though his eyes were covered. They were challenging his claim to be the Christ by asking him to use powers from God.

Here is another way to translate this:

…they said to him, “If you are truly from God, then tell us who hit you!”

See prophet in the Glossary.

14:65d

And the officers received Him: After the members of the council insulted and mocked Jesus, the guards were again responsible for him.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

Then the guards took charge of Jesus (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Then the guards led Jesus away (New Century Version)

officers: See how you translated officers in 14:54c-d.

with slaps in His face: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as with slaps in His face can mean to hit someone with an open hand or with a fist. It can also mean to beat someone with a whip or a stick. Try to use a general word in your translation.

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