Mark 6:14-29 in Russian Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 6:14-29 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:


Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество

The region of Galilee. King Herod ruled there. Earlier he had captured and imprisoned the messenger John. For what reason? King Herod had a brother named Philip. Philip had a wife named Herodias. Herod stole his brother’s wife and married Herodias. The messenger John rebuked Herod directly and said, “What have you done?”

King Herod did not like this, and he put John in prison. Herodias, the king’s wife, hated John and wanted to kill him. But she could not do it because the king feared John. The king saw that John was righteous. So the king did not want to kill him, even though he put him in prison. Although John rebuked the king directly, yet the king liked to listen to John.

Some time later it was Herod’s birthday. The king had gathered many guests, men of nobility and wealth, people famous in Galilee, and military leaders. They were all feasting at the table.

The daughter of Herodias, Herod’s wife, came. She danced very beautifully. All the guests admired, and the king himself admired. The king said:

— Ask of me whatever you wish! I’ll give you everything. I promise to give you half of my kingdom.

Herodias’ daughter went to her mother and asked her:

— The king has promised me half of the kingdom. What shall I ask of him?

Herodias said:

— I want John’s head cut off. Go and demand of King Herod that John’s head be brought on a platter.

The girl went and demanded of the king:

— Bring me the head of John the messenger on a platter!

Herod was saddened. He thought:

— I wanted to preserve John’s life. But I promised before many witnesses, and I cannot cancel my promise. So the king ordered the soldiers to cut off John’s head and bring the head on a platter. The soldiers obeyed and went to the prison and cut off John’s head and brought the head on a platter. The daughter took the platter with the head and carried it to her mother.

The disciples who used to follow John the messenger heard that his head had been cut off. They came and asked for John’s body, took the body, wrapped it and buried it. After a while, King Herod heard about Jesus, because the name Jesus became known all over the neighborhood, because Jesus worked miracles, healed people, made them well. Some people said:

— This is John the messenger, who died and now is risen.

And others said:

— This is the prophet Elijah.

And others said:

— No, this is a different prophet.

They all said different things. But King Herod thought:

— I am sure that Jesus is John the messenger, whom I had executed, and now he has risen again.

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

Область Галилея. Там правил царь Ирод. Ранее он схватил и посадил в тюрьму вестника Иоанна. По какой причине? У царя Ирода есть брат по имени Филипп. У Филиппа была жена по имени Иродиада. Ирод увел у брата жену и женился на Иродиаде. Вестник Иоанн прямо обличал Ирода и говорил: «Что ты сделал?!»

Царю Ироду это не нравилось, и он посадил Иоанна в тюрьму. Жена царя Иродиада ненавидела Иоанна и хотела его убить. Но это у нее не получалось, потому что царь опасался Иоанна. Царь видел, что Иоанн был праведным. Поэтому царь не хотел его убивать, хотя и посадил в тюрьму. Хотя Иоанн обличал царя прямо, однако царю нравилось слушать Иоанна.

Через какое-то время был день рождения Ирода. Царь собрал множество гостей, людей знатных и богатых, известных в Галилее, военачальников. Они все пировали за столом.

Пришла дочь Иродиады, жены Ирода. Она очень красиво танцевала. Все гости восхищались, и сам царь восхищался. Царь сказал:

— Проси у меня, что пожелаешь! Я тебе все дам. Обещаю, что подарю тебе половину моего царства.

Дочь Иродиады пошла к своей матери и спросила у нее:

— Царь обещал мне половину царства. Что мне попросить у него?

Иродиада сказала:

— Я хочу, чтобы Иоанну отрубили голову. Иди и требуй у царя Ирода, чтобы голову Иоанна принесли на блюде.

Девушка пошла и потребовала от царя:

— Принесите мне голову Иоанна-вестника на блюде!

Ирод опечалился. Он подумал:

— Я хотел сохранить жизнь Иоанна. Но я обещал перед многими свидетелями, и отменить свое обещание я не могу. И царь приказал солдатам отрубить Иоанну голову и принести голову на блюде. Солдаты повиновались, пошли в тюрьму и отрубили голову Иоанну и принесли на блюде голову. Дочь взяла блюдо с головой и понесла матери.

Ученики, которые раньше следовали за Иоанном-вестником, услышали, что ему отрубили голову. Они пришли и попросили тело Иоанна, забрали тело, запеленали и похоронили. Спустя какое-то время, царь Ирод услыхал об Иисусе, потому что имя Иисус стало известно по всей округе, ведь Иисус творил чудеса, исцелял людей, делал их здоровыми. Некоторые говорили:

— Это Иоанн-вестник, который умер, а теперь воскрес.

А другие говорили:

— Это пророк Илия.

А третьи говорили:

— Нет, это другой пророк.

Все говорили по-разному. Но царь Ирод подумал:

— Я уверен, что Иисус — это Иоанн-вестник, которого я казнил, а теперь он воскрес.

Back-translation by Luka Manevich

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Mark 6:30-44 in Russian Sign Language >>

complete verse (Mark 6:20)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 6:20:

  • Uma: “for Herodes ordered his soldiers to guard him in the prison. He was afraid to kill Yohanes for he knew that he was an upright person and holy too. When Herodes heard Yohanes speaking to him, his heart was agitated, but he was also enjoyed hearing him speak.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “because King Herod respected Yahiya. He knew that Yahiya was a straight/righteous man and (that) his liver was clean/holy. Therefore he was protected by the king and put in prison so that he would not be killed. Herod liked/wanted to listen to Yahiya teaching/preaching, but when he heard him, his thoughts/mind was troubled.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “King Herod was afraid of John for he knew that John was a righteous person inspired by God. That’s why he didn’t permit John to be killed. Herod liked to hear the teaching of John but it confused him.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because Herod feared Juan and he was protecting him, because he knew that he was a righteous and holy person. His thinking was difficult (i.e. created problems, difficult decisions) when he was listening to him, but he still liked/wanted to be listening to what he was telling.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Because Herodes was afraid of Juan. For he knew that as for Juan, he was a straight/righteous person in the sight of God and a person dedicated to God. That’s why he wouldn’t permit Juan to be killed. For he liked to listen to the things Juan taught, even though the things being said caused his head to be troubled.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

righteous, righteousness

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The Greek, Hebrew, and Latin terms that are translated in English mostly as “righteous” as an adjective or personified noun or “righteousness” (also as “upright(ness)” and “just(ice)”) are most commonly expressed with concept of “straightness,” though this may be expressed in a number of ways. (Click or tap here to see the details)

Following is a list of (back-) translations of various languages:

  • Bambara, Southern Bobo Madaré, Chokwe (ululi), Amganad Ifugao, Chol, Eastern Maninkakan, Toraja-Sa’dan, Pamona, Batak Toba, Bilua, Tiv: “be straight”
  • Laka: “follow the straight way” or “to straight-straight” (a reduplicated form for emphasis)
  • Sayula Popoluca: “walk straight”
  • Highland Puebla Nahuatl, Kekchí, Muna: “have a straight heart”
  • Kipsigis: “do the truth”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “do according to the truth”
  • Huautla Mazatec: “have truth”
  • Yine: “fulfill what one should do”
  • Indonesian: “be true”
  • Navajo (Dinė): “do just so”
  • Anuak: “do as it should be”
  • Mossi: “have a white stomach” (see also happiness / joy)
  • Paasaal: “white heart” (source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
  • (San Mateo del Mar Huave: “completely good” (the translation does not imply sinless perfection)
  • Nuer: “way of right” (“there is a complex concept of “right” vs. ‘left’ in Nuer where ‘right’ indicates that which is masculine, strong, good, and moral, and ‘left’ denotes what is feminine, weak, and sinful (a strictly masculine viewpoint!) The ‘way of right’ is therefore righteousness, but of course women may also attain this way, for the opposition is more classificatory than descriptive.”) (This and all above from Bratcher / Nida except for Bilua: Carl Gross; Tiv: Rob Koops; Muna: René van den Berg)
  • Central Subanen: “wise-good” (source: Robert Brichoux in OPTAT 1988/2, p. 80ff. )
  • Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “live well”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “goodness before the face of God” (source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl: “the result of heart-straightening” (source: Nida 1947, p. 224)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “entirely good” (when referred to God), “do good” or “not be a debtor as God sees one” (when referred to people)
  • Carib: “level”
  • Tzotzil: “straight-hearted”
  • Ojitlán Chinantec: “right and straight”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “walk straight” (source for this and four previous: John Beekman in Notes on Translation November 1964, p. 1-22)
  • Makonde: “doing what God wants” (in a context of us doing) and “be good in God’s eyes” (in the context of being made righteous by God) (note that justify / justification is translated as “to be made good in the eyes of God.” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
  • Aari: The Pauline word for “righteous” is generally rendered by “makes one without sin” in the Aari, sometimes “before God” is added for clarity. (Source: Loren Bliese)
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun: “having sin taken away” (Source: Nida 1952, p. 144)
  • Nyamwezi: wa lole: “just” or “someone who follows the law of God” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Venda: “nothing wrong, OK” (Source: J.A. van Roy in The Bible Translator 1972, p. 418ff. )
  • Ekari: maakodo bokouto or “enormous truth” (the same word that is also used for “truth“; bokouto — “enormous” — is being used as an attribute for abstract nouns to denote that they are of God [see also here]; source: Marion Doble in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 37ff. ).
  • Guhu-Samane: pobi or “right” (also: “right (side),” “(legal) right,” “straightness,” “correction,” “south,” “possession,” “pertinence,” “kingdom,” “fame,” “information,” or “speech” — “According to [Guhu-Samane] thinking there is a common core of meaning among all these glosses. Even from an English point of view the first five can be seen to be closely related, simply because of their similarity in English. However, from that point the nuances of meaning are not so apparent. They relate in some such a fashion as this: As one faces the morning sun, south lies to the right hand (as north lies to the left); then at one’s right hand are his possessions and whatever pertains to him; thus, a rich man’s many possessions and scope of power and influence is his kingdom; so, the rich and other important people encounter fame; and all of this spreads as information and forms most of the framework of the people’s speech.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in Notes on Translation 1964, p. 11ff.)
  • German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999): Gerechtheit, a neologism to differentiate it from the commonly-used Gerechtigkeit which can mean “righteousness” but is more often used in modern German as “fairness” (Berger / Nord especially use Gerechtheit in Letter to the Romans) or Gerechtestun, also a neologism, meaning “righteous deeds” (especially in Letter to the Ephesians)
  • “did what he should” (Eastern Highland Otomi)
  • “a clear man, good [man]” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter 2004)

See also respectable, righteous, righteous (person), devout, and She is more in the right(eous) than I.

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Mark 6:14-29)

Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Mark 6:14-29:

Jesus became so famous that some people claimed,
“He’s John Dipper come back to life.” Others disagreed,
       “No, he’s one of the ancient prophets now returned.”

Governor Herod had previously executed John Dipper,
but still Herod thought Jesus was John
       alive and kicking once again. So the

Here’s the story: Herod had earlier married Herodias,
the wife of his brother Philip,
       but John had vigorously and publicly objected.

Herod wanted to make Herodias happy,
       so he had John thrown in prison.
However, Herodias wasn’t finished with John,
       but she was absolutely helpless —
Although Herod was afraid of John,
he often went to him for advice,
       but always returned frustrated and confused.

At last, Herodias got her big chance,
when her daughter danced
       at the birthday party Herod had thrown for himself.
His public officials and military officers had been invited,
and her dancing pleased them so much
       that Herod promised her whatever she wanted.

She was a momma’s girl and hurried off to Herodias,
who told her to ask for delivery on a platter
       the head of John Dipper.

When Herod was informed, he immediately performed
and ordered John Dipper to be decapitated.
       Then his head was displayed on a platter.
When John’s followers learned of his fate,
       they took his body and placed it in a tomb.

Translation commentary on Mark 6:20

Text:

Instead of ēporei ‘he was puzzled’ of all modern editions of the Greek text, Textus Receptus has epoiei ‘he was doing.’

Exegesis:

ephobeito (cf. 4.40) ‘he held (John) in awe,’ ‘he feared,’ ‘he respected.’

eidōs auton andra dikaion kai hagion ‘knowing him (to be) a righteous and holy man’: the participle eidōs ‘knowing’ is causal: ‘because he knew.’

dikaios (cf. 2.17) ‘righteous,’ ‘just,’ ‘upright.’

hagios (only place in Mark used of a man) ‘holy.’

sunetērei (only here in Mark) ‘he kept safe,’ ‘he protected’: i.e. from Herodias.

kai akousas autou polla ēporei ‘and when he heard him he was much perplexed’: the majority of translations take polla ‘much,’ ‘often’ with the principal verb ēporei ‘he was puzzled’: Translator’s New Testament, however, takes it with the participle akousas ‘he often heard him.’

aporeō (only here in Mark) ‘be undecided,’ ‘be puzzled’ (from a privative ‘not’ and poros ‘passage’: literally, ‘without a way’). The verb may mean ‘raise questions’ (cf. Liddell & Scott I.2), which is suggested for this passage by Field.

kai hēdeōs autou ēkouen ‘yet he heard him gladly,’ ‘yet he liked to hear him.’

hēdeōs (only here in Mark) ‘gladly,’ ‘with pleasure.’

Translation:

Feared in this context means ‘had a great deal of respect for,’ ‘had honor for him,’ or ‘saw him big’ (as in some languages).

For righteous see 2.17. In this context some languages have rather interesting expressions: ‘did what he should’ (Eastern Highland Otomi), ‘walked straight’ (Sayula Popoluca), ‘was a man with a good heart’ (Huichol), ‘his life was straight’ (Southern Bobo Madaré), and ‘was completely good’ (San Mateo del Mar Huave). (This last expression does not imply sinless perfection.)

Holy has been discussed (see 1.7) in connection with the word Spirit. When applied to persons there may need to be certain adaptations, e.g. ‘good’ (Southern Bobo Madaré), ‘without sin’ (Huichol), and ‘uncontaminated’ (Vai).

Kept him safe may be translated as ‘kept him from being harmed.’

Perplexed is equivalent to ‘worried,’ e.g. ‘his heart was gone’ (Tzeltal), ‘hard chased’ (Piro), ‘his mind was killing him’ (Navajo), ‘his stomach rose up’ (Farefare), ‘he was very irresolute’ (lit., ‘it was all wrong with him’) (Indonesian), and ‘his heart was very divided’ (Javanese).

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 6:20

6:20a

because: The word because introduces the reason for 6:19c, that is, the reason Herodias was unable to have John killed. She probably could not do so without Herod’s help/permission.

Herod feared John: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as feared refers to a mixture of fear and awe/reverence. Herod revered or highly respected John, and he also feared him. In 6:20c it is clear that the reason for this fear and respect was that Herod considered John to be righteous and holy.

If your language has a word such as “awe” that refers to a very strong respect as well as fear, you may want to use it here. For example, the New Jerusalem Bible says:

Herod was in awe of John

Another option is to use two different phrases. For example:

Herod feared and respected John
-or-
Herod’s respect and fear for John was great

6:20b–c

The Berean Standard Bible changes the Greek order of the phrases in 6:20b–c. The Revised Standard Version follows the Greek order. Compare the order of the phrases in the Revised Standard Version and Berean Standard Bible below.

20aFor Herod feared John, 20cknowing that he was a righteous and holy man, 20band kept him safe. (Revised Standard Version)

20abecause Herod feared John 20band protected him, 20cknowing that he was a righteous and holy man (Berean Standard Bible)

Another way to order these clauses is as the TRT has done:

20cbecause Herod knew that John was a righteous and holy man, 20aso he feared him 20band protected him

The Notes below and the Display have been reordered to follow the Greek text. You should follow the order that expresses the meaning most clearly and naturally in your language.

6:20c (reordered)

knowing that he was a righteous and holy man: These words give the reason for Herod’s fear and awe of John the Baptizer. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

because Herod knew that John was a righteous and holy man

If it is not natural in your language to begin both 6:20a and 6:20c with “because,” you can start a new sentence here without a conjunction. For example:

He knew that John was a righteous and holy man.

righteous and holy man: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as righteous refers to a person who lives according to God’s standards. In other words, he consistently does what is right. This word also occurs in 2:17c.

Here are some other ways to translate a righteous…man:

a good…man (Good News Bible)
-or-
a man who did what was right

holy: The word holy describes something or someone that is dedicated or set apart to the service of God. When it is used to describe a person, it also implies that the person is separated from sin. He is not sinless, but his life is morally pure and clean.

Here are some other ways to translate holy in this verse:

dedicated to serving God
-or-
godly/devout
-or-
morally clean/pure

6:20b (reordered)

and protected him: The clause and protected him gives the result of 6:19b–20a,c. Herodias wanted to kill John. But Herod would not allow it because he feared John. Therefore, he kept him safe.

Here are some other ways to connect 6:20b to the previous clauses:

…so he protected him. (God’s Word)
-or-
Therefore, he kept him safe.

protected: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as protected means “kept safe” or “preserved.” John was in prison, but Herod did not allow Herodias to have him killed.

6:20d

When he heard John’s words: It is implied here that John preached to Herod on several occasions. You could make this explicit as follows:

Every time he heard John
-or-
Whenever Herod heard John

It is implied that someone brought John from the prison in order for John to speak to Herod.

he was greatly perplexed: (There is a textual issue here: (1) Some Greek manuscripts have he was greatly disturbed/perplexed. For example, the New Living Translation says: “Herod was greatly disturbed” (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, English Standard Version, NET Bible, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation, Contemporary English Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, New Century Version). (2) Some Greek manuscripts have he did many things. For example, the King James Version says: “he did many things” (King James Version). It is recommended that you follow option (1) as most English versions do.) The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as perplexed means “troubled” or “disturbed.” He was troubled because he was uncertain or confused about what to do.

It is implied that Herod was uncertain about what he should do in response to John’s teaching. Herod respected John very much, but he did not want to obey John’s teaching.

In Greek the word perplexed is intensified by a word the Berean Standard Bible translates as greatly. Use a word or expression here that shows that Herod was very troubled or disturbed.

6:20e

yet he listened to him gladly: The word yet shows a contrast with the statement in 6:20d.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

20dWhen he heard him, he was much perplexed, 20ebut he heard him gladly.
-or-
20d
Even though Herod was troubled/disturbed by John’s preaching, 20ehe liked to listen to him.

he listened to him gladly: The phrase he listened to him gladly means that Herod was willing and happy to hear John preach.

General Comment on 6:20d–e

It may be helpful in your language to reorder 6:20d–e and make explicit some of the implied information. For example:

Herod was disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him. (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)
-or-
Even though Herod was disturbed by what John said, he was glad to listen to him. And he often did.
-or-
He liked to listen to him, although what he heard left him greatly disturbed. (Revised English Bible)

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