Honorary "are" construct denoting God (“say”)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Mark 5:36

Text:

Instead of parakousas ‘ignoring’ of all modern editions of the Greek text, Textus Receptus has eutheōs akousas ‘immediately hearing’; Kilpatrick has euthus parakousas ‘then ignoring.’

Exegesis:

parakousas (only here in Mark) ‘ignoring,’ ‘disregarding,’ or, ‘overhearing’; the meaning of the verb here is disputed, with the majority of translations favoring the sense ‘ignoring,’ ‘disregarding’ (American Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, Translator’s New Testament, Goodspeed, Moffatt, The Modern Speech New Testament, Montgomery, Williams, Zürcher Bibel, Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale, O Novo Testamento de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo. Revisdo Autorizada; among the lexicons and commentators, Abbott-Smith, Thayer, Swete, Taylor); others, however, favor the meaning of ‘overhearing’ (Berkeley, Manson); the meaning ‘pretending not to hear’ is favored by Field and Souter.

ton logon laloumenon ‘the message being delivered’: i.e. while they were still talking, Jesus interrupted and spoke to Jairus.

mē phobou (cf. 4.11) ‘do not be afraid,’ ‘quit being afraid’: the further injunction ‘only believe’ shows that ‘do not be afraid’ in this particular context has the meaning ‘do not be unbelieving,’ ‘do not doubt.’

monon pisteue ‘only believe’: a command.

monon (6.8) ‘only’: an adverb, modifying the verb ‘believe’ (for monos ‘only’ as an adjective cf. 6.47).

Translation:

The meaning of ignoring may be translated as ‘he paid no attention.’ Overhearing may be rendered as ‘he heard what the men had just said to the ruler.’

For ruler of the synagogue, see 5.22, though note that since this is a title, more than a specific designation of his role in a particular synagogue, it may be more correct to translate ‘the ruler of the synagogue.’

Fear must refer in this context to ‘fearful of the outcome’ or ‘doubtful.’

For believe, see 1.15, but in this context difficulties may arise if the verb ‘to believe’ requires an object. In such instances it may be better to adopt an alternative expression such as ‘have confidence’ or ‘keep your heart firm.’

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 5:36

5:36a

But: In Greek this verse begins with a conjunction that often shows contrast. Though the words of 5:35b–c were spoken to Jairus, Jesus heard them. To show this, the Berean Standard Bible and some other English versions begin this verse with “But.” Connect these verses in a way that is natural in your language.

Jesus overheard their conversation: There are two ways to interpret the meaning of the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as overheard:

(1) It means to “overhear.” Jesus heard the words spoken in 5:35b–c although they were not spoken to him. For example, the New Jerusalem Bible says:

Jesus overheard what they said

(Berean Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

(2) It means to “ignore” something that is said. Here Jesus did not agree that he should not go to Jairus’ house because his daughter was dead. For example, the Good News Bible says:

Jesus paid no attention to what they said

(Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Good News Bible, NET Bible, New Living Translation, 1996 edition, New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The Greek word can mean both (1) and (2), and both are true in this context. But interpretation (2) implies interpretation (1).

5:36b

and said to Jairus: Here the Greek describes Jairus by his title. Consider again if it would be more natural in your language to refer to him by name (“Jairus”), as the Berean Standard Bible does, or by his title/function (“the synagogue leader”).

5:36c

Do not be afraid; just believe: These two expressions of encouragement contrast with each other. The first says what Jairus should not do; the second says what he should do. In some languages it may be natural to connect them with a word of contrast. For example:

Do not be afraid. Instead just believe.

Do not be afraid: Consider if “afraid” is the way people in your culture would describe the emotion that Jairus would have felt in this context. In some languages it may be better to use a different expression. For example:

Do not be distressed/troubled
-or-
Do not despair

just believe: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as believe means to be confident of something or to trust someone. In this verse, Jesus did not say explicitly what or who Jairus should believe. In this context, it probably means that Jairus should continue to believe that Jesus could help his daughter.

In some languages a verb like “believe” or “trust” requires an object. If that is true in your language, here are some examples for this context:

only keep trusting me
-or-
just continue to believe that I can save your daughter

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