Translation commentary on Mark 4:33 – 4:34

Exegesis:

toiautais parabolais pollais ‘with many parables such as these.’

toioutos (6.2; 7.13; 9.37; 10.14; 13.19) ‘such,’ ‘of this kind,’ ‘of this sort.’

elalei autois ‘he was speaking to them (all)’: autois ‘them’ includes the crowd (4.1) and the disciples; only to the disciples was the explanation given (cf. parallel Mt. 13.34).

kathōs ēdunanto akouein ‘as they were able to hear,’ ‘in proportion to their ability to hear’ (cf. Jn. 16.12, 1 Cor. 3.2).

chōris (only here in Mark) ‘apart from,’ ‘without.’

kat’ idian (6.31, 32; 7.33; 9.2, 28; 13.3) ‘privately,’ ‘alone.’

tois idiois mathētais ‘to his disciples’: although idios is properly ‘one’s own’ (as distinct from ‘another’s own’) it is often used simply as a synonym of the possessive pronoun ‘his’ – and that would appear to be its meaning in this passage.

epeluen (only here in Mark) ‘he interpreted,’ ‘he explained.’

Translation:

For parables see 3.23.

Spoke the word is the equivalent of ‘to preach,’ ‘to announce,’ or ‘to tell them the message.’ For preach see 1.4.

Because of the double reference in this verse, first to the people in general, identified as them, and later to the disciples, it may be necessary in some languages to translate as ‘Jesus told the good news to the people by means of many likeness-stories such as these.’ In Central Tarahumara this passage is rendered as ‘when he spoke … he only told them stories.’

As they were able to hear involves a rather complex type of proportion, rendered in Tzeltal as ‘as much as they could put in their hearts,’ in Inupiaqas ‘just as long as they could understand,’ and in Indonesian ‘according as they could understand.’

The double negative not … without must in some languages be rendered in a positive form: ‘he only spoke to them with parables.’

Privately is translatable as ‘when he was alone with his disciples.’

Explained everything maybe translated as ‘he told them what the stories meant.’

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 4:33

4:33a

With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them: The phrase With many such parables is emphasized in the Greek by being first in the clause. English can emphasize phrases in the same way, so the Berean Standard Bible put this phrase first. If you have a natural way to emphasize this phrase, you may want to do so.

parables: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as parables is literally “comparisons.” Parables teach a lesson or truth by showing how it is like something that people already know about. In this chapter Jesus used several types of parables, including a symbolic story, metaphors, and wise sayings.

Here are some ways to translate parables in this context:

• Use a general term in your language that can be used to describe the different types of parables in this chapter. Some English examples are:

illustrations
-or-
metaphors

• Use a descriptive term. For example:

symbolic sayings/words/stories

• Use more than one word or descriptive term for the different types of parables that Jesus used. For example:

such stories and illustrations (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)
-or-
symbols and sayings

See also parable, Type 2, in the Glossary.

the word: The phrase the word refers to “the word of God” or “God’s message.” This same phrase occurs in 4:14. Translate it here in the same way as you did there.

them: The word them refers here to the crowds who listened to Jesus. It does not refer only to the disciples. You may want to make that clear in your translation. For example:

the people (Good News Bible)
-or-
the crowd (New Century Version)

4:33b

to the extent that they could understand: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as understand is literally “hear,” as in the Revised Standard Version. In this context, the word “hear” is used figuratively to mean “receive” or “understand.” The people were certainly capable of literally hearing what Jesus said. (These figurative meanings do not conflict with the statement in 4:34b that Jesus later explained everything to his disciples. Most scholars mention that there were differing degrees of understanding. Jesus continued to teach people as long as they were willing to listen and had at least a limited understanding of what he was trying to say. Later, he explained the meaning of the parables in greater depth to his disciples.)

This figurative meaning may be expressed in different ways. For example:

so far as they were able to receive it (Revised English Bible)
-or-
so far as they were capable of understanding it (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
as long as they were willing to listen

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