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Translation commentary on Mark 16:17
Text:
kainais ‘new’ is omitted by Westcott and Hort, and Taylor, but included by the great majority of editions of the Greek text.
Exegesis:
sēmeia (v. 20; cf. Mk. 8.11) ‘signs’: here, as in Mk. 8.11, the signs are miraculous or supernatural events attesting to the divine origin of the message proclaimed.
tois pisteusasin (cf. v. 16) ‘those who believe,’ ‘the believers.’
parakolouthēsei (not in Mark) ‘will accompany,’ ‘will follow,’ ‘will attend.’
en tō onomati mou (cf. Mk. 9.38) ‘in my name.’
daimonia ekbalousin (cf. v. 9) ‘they will expel demons.’
glōssais lalēsousin kainais ‘they will speak in new tongues’: whether these ‘new tongues’ are intelligible foreign languages, or ecstatic charismatic utterances, the text does not say. It is to be presumed, however, that the meaning here is the same as that in Acts 2.4-11, rather than that in 1 Co. 14 (it should be observed, however, that nowhere else is the phrase ‘speak in new tongues’ used: in Acts 2.4 ‘speak in other tongues’ is used, while 1 Co. 14 has simply ‘to speak in tongues’ or, ‘a tongue’).
glōssa ‘tongue,’ meaning here ‘language’ (the word is not used in this sense in Mark – cf. 7.33).
kainē ‘new’: the meaning here is, presumably, ‘new (i.e. strange) to the one speaking it’ not necessarily ‘new’ in the sense of a heretofore unknown language.
Translation:
For signs see 8.11, but in this context it is difficult to speak of ‘signs’ as ‘accompanying’ or ‘following’; these are activities restricted to persons, rather than to signs or symbols. Sometimes, however, one can say that ‘signs will be present in those who…’ or ‘signs will be with those who….’ In other languages the clause must be recast as ‘those who believe will show these signs:….’
For cast out demons see 1.26, 32, and 34; and for in my name see 9.37.
In most languages one cannot say ‘speak in a tongue.’ In fact, more often than not one speaks ‘with the mouth,’ not ‘with the tongue.’ Hence, in this passage one must use ‘speak strange languages’ or ‘speak other languages.’ If possible one should leave as ambiguous whether the ‘language’ in this case is actually a foreign language or ecstatic speech.
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 16:17
16:17a
And: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And loosely connects 16:17a to 16:16, especially to 16:16a. Many English versions do not use a conjunction here, but it does not connect very naturally with the idea of people being condemned in 16:16b. The God’s Word gives one way to translate this verse without a conjunction:
These are the miraculous signs that will accompany believers (God’s Word)
these signs will accompany those who believe: In this context the phrase signs will accompany those who believe indicates that the people who believe in the good news about Jesus will be able to do miracles. These miracles will show that what they say is true. In some languages it may not be natural to talk about signs accompanying people. You may need to use a different verb. For example:
And those who believe will be able to do these things as proof (New Century Version)
-or-
Believers will be given the power to perform miracles (Good News Bible)
these signs: The phrase these signs refers specifically to the list of miraculous signs in 16:17–18. These miracles are evidence or proof to others that what the believers are saying about Jesus and the good news is true. It shows that the Lord approves of the message because he has allowed them to use his power to do miracles.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
miracles (Good News Bible)
-or-
these wonderful things/acts
See how you translated the word sign in 8:11b.
believe: Here the word believe has the same meaning as in 16:16a. It means “believe/trust in Jesus and the good news about Jesus.”
See also believe, Meaning 1 & 2, in the Glossary.
16:17b
In My name: The phrase In My name indicates the way that believers will be able to do the miraculous signs in 16:17–18. They will do them by means of the power and authority that Jesus has and that he will give to them. That is, believers will be able to do each of the signs in 16:17–18 “in the name” of Jesus. In some languages it may be necessary to repeat this idea for each one of these signs. See the General Comment on 16:17b–18c at the end of 16:18c for an example.
Here are some other ways to translate In My name:
They will use the power and authority of my name (God’s Word)
-or-
by my power/authority
-or-
I will help them to…
-or-
I will give them power to…
See how you translated the similar phrase “in Your name” in 9:38b.
they will drive out demons: This is the first of the signs that believers will perform in Jesus’ name. When demons are troubling people, believers will force the demons to leave those people and stop troubling them. See how you translated drive out demons in 3:15 and 9:38b.
demons: The word demons refers to evil spirits. See evil spirit in the Glossary.
16:17c
they will speak in new tongues: The phrase they will speak in new tongues indicates that believers will be able to speak languages that they did not speak before. The context implies that Jesus will cause them to be able to speak these languages as a miraculous sign. This probably implies that they will be able to speak them without studying to learn them. See Acts 2:1–10. The God’s Word has another way to translate this clause:
They will speak new languages. (God’s Word)
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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