Mark 15:33 - 41 in Mexican Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 15:33-41 into Mexican Sign Language with back-translations into Spanish and English underneath:


© La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)

A las doce de la tarde el cielo se transformó en oscuro y negro hasta las tres de la tarde. Jesús gritó en voz fuerte “¡Eloi Eloi lama sabactani!” que significa: ‘Dios mio, Dios mio, ¿porqué me has dejado?’

Las personas lo oyeron mal y dijeron: “Jesús está hablando y llamando a que venga Elías.”

Un hombre corrió y agarró una esponja y la mojó en vino corriente y la puso en un tubo y subió el tubo, y Jesús colgado en la cruz chupó.

Dijeron: “Dejalo, a ver si venga Elías a ayudar a Jesús y a bajarlo”, y todos estaban viendo. Jesús, colgado en la cruz, gritó en voz fuerte y bajó la cabeza y murió.

Allá en Jerusalén adentro del templo la cortina gruesa se rompió en dos partes al mismo tiempo.

Frente a la cruz un capitán de los soldados romanos vio todo con sus propios ojos, cuando el soldado vio que Jesús ya estaba muerto, (dijo): “Este hombre verdaderamente era el hijo de Dios.”

Allá había algunas mujeres que vieron Jesús en la cruz desde lejos, ellos recien antes habían acompañado a Jesús cuando fue a Jerusalén.

Las mismas mujeres que había allá eran: 1. María Magdalena, 2. Maria, 3. Salome. Los tres eran sus compañeras y juntas habían tratado a Jesús en Galilea.


At twelve o’clock in the afternoon the sky was transformed, it became dark and black until three o’clock in the afternoon. Jesus shouted loudly: “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means ‘My God, my God why have you left me?’

The people heard it wrong and said: “Jesus is talking and calling Elijah to come.”

A man ran and grabbed a sponge and dipped it in common wine and put it on a stick and held up the stick, and Jesus, hanging on the cross, sucked it up.

They said: “Leave him, let’s see if Elijah comes to help Jesus and carry him down”, and they were all watching. Jesus, hanging on the cross, shouted loudly and lowered his head and died.

Over there in Jerusalem, inside the temple, the thick curtain was torn in two at the same time.

Opposite the cross a captain of the Roman soldiers saw it all with his own eyes, when the soldier saw that Jesus was already dead (he said): “This man was really the son of God.”

Over there were some women who were watching Jesus on the cross from afar, they had recently accompanied Jesus when he went to Jerusalem.

The women who were there were: 1. Mary Magdalene, 2. Mary, 3. Salome. The three were his companions and together they had cared for Jesus in Galilee.

Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

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Mark 15:42-47 in Mexican Sign Language >>

Mark 15:33-47 in Russian Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 15:33-47 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:


Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество

At noon it became as dark as night over the whole land. The darkness lasted until three o’clock in the afternoon. Jesus on the cross cried out loudly:

— My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

There were people near the cross. Some people began to say that Jesus was probably calling the prophet Elijah to come. One man came up, took a sponge, soaked it in vinegar. He pierced it with a stick and brought it to Jesus’ face for Jesus to drink. This man said,

— Now let’s see if the prophet will come and take Jesus down from the cross.

Jesus on the cross cried out loudly and died. His head drooped. Inside the temple there is a curtain. And this curtain, at the moment Jesus died, was torn in two. Near the cross stood a Roman general, a commander over a hundred soldiers. He saw Jesus die. And this general said,

— Truly, Jesus was the son of God!

There were also many women standing there, looking at the cross and Jesus from afar. Among them were three women: Mary Magdalene, another Mary, who was the mother of James and Joses, and Salome. They had always followed Jesus before, served him, helped him when he was in Galilee. There were many other women. They had followed Jesus to Jerusalem before.

The evening was approaching. It was Friday. It was ending, and soon after that the Sabbath would begin. There was a man named Joseph, he lived in the city of Arimathea. And he was not an ordinary man, he was a member of the Supreme Court, and he himself was waiting for the imminent coming of the Kingdom of God. He gathered his courage and went to Pilate. Joseph decided to ask Pilate for permission to take the body of Jesus, wrap it in clothes, and bury it right now, before the Sabbath. Joseph came to Pilate and turned to him:

— Let me take the body of Jesus and bury it.

Pilate was very surprised:

— How? Jesus has already died?

Pilate called the Roman commander and asked:

— Has Jesus already died? When was that?

The commander answered:

— Yes, Jesus has already died.

Pilate gave permission to take the body. Joseph bought and prepared a large cloth for wrapping, came to the cross, took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it and carried it to the rock, inside which a tomb had been made. There he laid the body, and blocked the entrance with a large stone. Nearby were two women, Mary Magdalene and Mary, who was the mother of Joses. And they looked at everything and saw how they buried Jesus and where.

Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):

В полдень по всей земле стало темно, как ночью. Тьма продолжалась до трех часов дня. Иисус на кресте громко воскликнул: «Бог мой, Бог мой, почему ты меня оставил?» Возле креста были люди. Некоторые люди стали говорить, что, наверное, Иисус зовёт пророка Илию, чтобы он пришел. Один человек подошел, взял губку, намочил её в уксусе. Палкой проткнул ее и поднёс к лицу Иисусу, чтобы Иисус выпил. Этот человек сказал:

— Сейчас посмотрим, придет ли пророк и снимет ли Иисуса с креста?

Иисус на кресте громко вскрикнул и умер. Голова его поникла. В храме внутри есть завеса. И эта завеса, в тот момент, когда Иисус умер, разорвался на две части. Возле креста стоял один римский военачальник, командир над ста воинами. Он видел, как Иисус умер. И этот военачальник сказал:

— Воистину, Иисус он был сыном Божьим!

Также там стояло много женщин, которые издали смотрели на крест и Иисуса. Среди них были три женщины: Мария Магдалина, еще одна Мария, которая была мать Иакова и Иосета, а также Саломея. Они раньше всегда следовали за Иисусом, служили, помогали ему, когда он был в Галилее. Ещё были многие другие женщины. Они раньше последовали за Иисусом в Иерусалим.

Приближался вечер. Это была пятница. Она кончалась, скоро после этого начиналась суббота. Был один человек именем Иосиф, он жил в городе Аримафея. И он был непростым человеком, он был членом Верховного суда, и он сам ждал скорого наступления Царства Бога. Он набрался смелости пришел к Пилату. Иосиф решил попросить у Пилата разрешение забрать тело Иисуса, запеленать его, чтобы похоронить прямо сейчас, до наступления субботы. Иосиф пришел к Пилату и обратился к нему:

— Разреши мне забрать тело Иисуса и похоронить его.

Пилат очень удивился:

— Как? Иисус уже умер?

Пилат позвал римского военачальника и спросил:

— Что, Иисус уже умер? Когда это было?

Военачальник ответил:

— Да, Иисус уже умер.

Пилат разрешил забрать тело. Иосиф купил и приготовил большую ткань для пеленания, пришел к кресту, снял тело Иисуса, запеленал и отнес его к скале, внутри которой была сделана гробница. Там оно положил тело, а вход загородил большим камнем. Недалеко были две женщины, это Мария Магдалина и Мария, которая мать Иосета. И они на все смотрели и видели, как похоронили Иисуса и где.

Back-translation by Luka Manevich

<< Mark 15:16-32 in Russian Sign Language
Mark 16:1-8 in Russian Sign Language >>

complete verse (Mark 15:35)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 15:35:

  • Uma: “Several people standing close to his cross heard that cry, they said: ‘Listen! He’s calling the prophet Elia!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When the people who were standing there heard this, their hearing was faulty/mistaken. They said, ‘Listen. He is calling Nabi Eliyas.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then the other people standing nearby, when they heard that word of Jesus, said, ‘Listen, for he’s calling Elijah, one of the long ago prophets of God.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When some standing there heard that, they said, ‘Listen to that! He is calling Elias!'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When those who were still standing there heard, some said, ‘Listen! He is asking for help from Elias who was that prophet in the past.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Elijah

The name that is transliterated as “Elijah” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “whirlwind” (according to 2 Kings 2:11) (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Elijah” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

Click or tap here to see how other sign languages are translating “Elijah”

In American Sign Language it is translated with a depiction of being taken up to heaven with a chariot of fire. (Source: ASL Sign Language Directory )


“Elijah” in American Sign Language (source )

Likewise in Estonian Sign Language, but with a different sign (source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff.)


“Elijah” in Estonian Sign Language (source )

In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “fire” (referring to 1 Kings 18:38). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Elijah” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Following is a Russian Orthodox icon of Elijah from the late 13h century.

 
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )

The following is a stained glass window depicting Elijah by Endre Odon Hevezi and Gyula Bajo from 1965 for the Debre Libanos Monastery, Oromia, Ethiopia:

Photo by Timothy A. Gonsalves, hosted by Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Elijah .

pronoun for "God"

God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).

Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.

In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.

While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”

In Kouya, Godié, Northern Grebo, Eastern Krahn, Western Krahn, and Guiberoua Béte, all languages of the Kru family in Western Africa, a different kind of systems of pronouns is used (click or tap here to read more):

In that system one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and one for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.

Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains in the following way: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”

In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)

Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”

In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )

In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)

The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.

Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are the closely related Indonesian and Malay. In both languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).

See also first person pronoun referring to God.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Gender of God .

Translation: Chinese

在现代汉语中，第三人称单数代词的读音都是一样的（tā），但是写法并不一样，取决于性别以及是否有生命，即男性为“他”，女性为“她”，动物、植物和无生命事物为“它”（在香港和台湾的汉语使用，动物则为“牠”）。这些字的部首偏旁表明了性别（男人、女人、动物、无生命事物），而另一偏旁通常旁提示发音。

到1930年为止，基督教新教《圣经》经过整整一百年的翻译已经拥有了十几个译本，当时的一位圣经翻译者王元德新造了一个“神圣的”代词“祂”，偏旁“礻”表示神明。一般汉语读者会立即知道这字的发音是tā，而这个偏旁表示属灵的事物，因此他们明白这个字指出，三位一体的所有位格都没有性别之分，而单单是上帝。

然而，最重要的新教圣经译本（1919年的《和合本》）和天主教圣经译本（1968年的《思高圣经》）都没有采用“祂”；虽然如此，许多其他的圣经译本采用了这个字，另外还广泛出现在赞美诗和其他基督信仰的书刊中。（资料来源：Zetzsche）

《吕振中译本》的几个早期版本也使用“祂”来指称“上帝”；这个译本的《新约》于1946年译成，整部《圣经》于1970年完成。克拉默斯（Kramers）指出：“‘他’的这种新写法（即‘祂’）产生了一个小问题，就是在指称耶稣的时候，是否一律使用这个敬语代词？《吕振中译本》遵循的原则是，在称呼耶稣这个人的时候，用一般的‘他’，而在称呼耶稣神性的时候，特别是升天之后的耶稣，则用尊称‘祂’。”

Translator: Simon Wong

Translation commentary on Mark 15:35

Exegesis:

tines tōn parestēkoton (cf. 14.47) ‘some of the bystanders,’ ‘certain of those standing there.’

ide (cf. 2.24) ‘look!,’ ‘see!,’ ‘notice!’

Translation:

Hearing it said may require some recasting as ‘when some of those standing by heard what he said, they said….’

Behold must often be changed to ‘listen,’ ‘hear.’

Calling may be understood as ‘calling to’ or ‘calling for,’ not merely ‘calling out the name of.’

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 15:35

15:35a–b

When some of those standing nearby heard this, they said, “Behold, He is calling Elijah.”: The Hebrew (or Aramaic) words for “my God” are very similar in sound to “Elijah.” So these people misunderstood what Jesus said. They wrongly thought that he was calling Elijah. You may want to put this information in a footnote. In some languages you may want to make it explicit in the text. For example:

When some of those standing nearby heard this, they did not hear him clearly and so they said…
-or-
When some of those standing nearby heard the word “Eloi,” they misunderstood and said…

some of those standing nearby: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as those standing nearby in this context means “those who were near” or “those who were there.” It is true that these people were probably standing, but the focus is not on their posture.

Behold: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Behold is literally “Look.” However, the speakers were calling attention to what they were about to say. Some languages may have a word that people use to get the attention of other people. In other languages it may be natural to leave this word untranslated.

See also the note on 1:2b–c, where a similar word is used in Greek.

Elijah: The word Elijah is the name of a prophet. He lived about nine hundred years before Jesus. Some Jews believed that Elijah would come to rescue righteous people at a time of trouble. So these people probably thought Jesus was calling for Elijah to come and help him. If people do not know who Elijah was, you could say:

Elijah the prophet

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