Translation commentary on Mark 6:56

Exegesis:

Most of the words of this verse have already been dealt with: eisporeuomai ‘enter’ (1.21); kōmē, polis, agros ‘village, city, country-town’ (5.14; 6.6); parakaleō ‘request’ (1.40); hina of content ‘that’ (5.10, 18); kan ‘if only,’ ‘at least’ (5.28); himation ‘cloak,’ ‘garment’ (2.21); haptomai ‘touch’ (1.41); sōzō ‘heal,’ ‘cure’ (5.23).

en tais agorais (7.4; 12.38) ‘in the market places’ (perhaps ‘in the town squares,’ ‘in the village centers’): not every town and hamlet had its own market place.

tous asthenountas (only here in Mark; cf. the adjective asthenēs 14.38) ‘those who were feeble,’ i.e. the sick.

kan tou kraspedou tou himatiou autou hapsōntai ‘they might touch at least the fringe of his garment.’

kraspedon (only here in Mark) ‘edge,’ ‘border,’ ‘hem’; probably here not in the general sense, but in the specific sense of ‘tassel’ (in Hebrew tsitsith) worn by pious Jews on each of the four corners of the cloak (cf. Mt. 23.5).

Lagrange calls attention to the distinction between the aorist hēpsanto ‘they touched’ and the imperfect esōzonto ‘they were made well’ in the last clause: ‘And as many as touched it (momentary act) they were being made well (one after the other).’

Translation:

Came is probably better rendered as ‘went’ in most languages, for the point of view of the narrator is that of a companion of Jesus, not of those to whom he was coming.

Villages, cities, or country is paralleled by ‘small villages, large towns, and hamlets in the country.’ In Latin America market places are equivalent to ‘plazas,’ the central, open squares of the towns, often used for markets, at least on certain days.

There is a confusion in subject reference in the verb besought. Is the meaning here (1) that those who laid the sick in the market places requested Jesus to allow the sick to touch the hem of his garment (probably more accurately the tassel, though this would be difficult to translate in many languages), or (2) that the sick pleaded with Jesus to be able to touch his garment? It may very well be that both would be true, not only would the “sponsors” of the sick try to get Jesus to pay attention to their friends or relatives, but the sick would themselves ask for help. In many languages, however, one cannot preserve such an ambiguity, and hence one must choose between those who brought the sick and the sick themselves, in which case it is probably more in keeping with the context to employ the latter alternative.

Were made well may be translated as ‘got well,’ ‘became well,’ or ‘were healed.’

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 6:56

6:56

And wherever He went—villages and towns and countrysides—they laid the sick in the marketplaces: The Berean Standard Bible uses dashes on both sides of the phrase villages and towns and countrysides. These dashes indicate the places where Jesus went. He went into villages, towns and the countryside.

In some languages, dashes are not common. It may be more natural to follow the God’s Word:

Whenever he would go into villages, cities, or farms

6:56a

And: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And connects 6:56a to 6:55b. It shows that the story continues. Many English versions do not translate this conjunction explicitly here. You should connect 6:56a to 6:55b in the way that is natural in your language.

countrysides: The Greek noun that the Berean Standard Bible translates as countrysides also means “farms” (as in the Good News Bible). Here it refers to the rural areas as opposed to villages and towns.

6:56b

in the marketplaces: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as marketplaces refers to large, open areas where people came to buy and sell things. Another way to translate this word is with a general expression. For example, the New Jerusalem Bible says:

in the open spaces

6:56c

and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak: This clause is indirect speech. In some languages it may be more natural to translate what the people said to Jesus as direct speech. For example:

They begged Jesus, “Please allow this sick person to touch at least the edge of your clothes.”

them: The pronoun them refers to the sick people. If you use a direct quote, as above, consider whether a singular noun such as “sick person” may be more appropriate. Each group of people who carried a sick person may have begged Jesus to let the sick person whom they carried touch Jesus.

the fringe: Some ways to translate the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as fringe are:

• Translate it generally as hem, border, or edge of a garment. For example, the Good News Bible says:

the edge of his cloak

• Translate it specifically as the fringe or tassel of a garment. Jewish men wore an outer garment with a fringe or tassel consisting of four blue and white threads. These hung down from the four corners of a Jewish man’s outer garment to remind him to keep the commandments. (Guelich note on Mark 6:56 (page 357).) (See Numbers 15:38–39.)

For example, the New Living Translation says:

the fringe of his robe

cloak: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as cloak refers to a long, outer garment.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

robe
-or-
garment
-or-
clothes

This same word occurs in 5:27b–28. You should translate it here as you did there.

6:56d

all who touched Him: The sick touched either Jesus himself or his clothes.

were healed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as were healed is passive. If your language would not use a passive here, you can say:

became well/healthy
-or-
were no longer sick

If you need to say who healed the people, you can say:

God healed everyone who touched Jesus.
-or-
God removed the sicknesses of all who touched Jesus.

Paragraph 7:1–5

In the first paragraph of this section, Mark introduced the topic of ritual uncleanness. He did this by telling an incident in which the Pharisees and teachers of the law rebuked Jesus. They rebuked him because his disciples had not followed the Jewish tradition of washing their hands in a special way before they ate.

In the middle of this paragraph (7:2b–4), Mark explained some of these Jewish traditions. He did this so that his readers would understand why the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders were upset with Jesus and questioned him.

In Greek, 7:2–5 forms one long sentence. The Revised Standard Version has a long sentence in 7:3–4, and the Berean Standard Bible has a long sentence in 7:1–2. In your translation, use sentences that are a normal length in your language.

7:1a

Then: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then introduces what the religious leaders did next after the events in Mark 6. Here are some other ways to begin this story:

One day (New Living Translation)
-or-
After this

You should begin this story in a way that is natural in your language.

the Pharisees: The Pharisees were a Jewish religious group or party. It was very important to them to obey all of the Jewish religious laws very carefully and in detail. Here are some ways to translate this word:

• Transliterate the word Pharisees according to the sounds of your language and indicate that it refers to people. For example:

Farisi members
-or-
Parise adherents

• Transliterate the word Pharisees and indicate that it refers to a group of people with certain beliefs. For example:

people belonging to the Parise religious sect/group
-or-
members of the religious group called the Farasi

You may also want to include an explanation of Pharisees in the glossary of your translation.

the scribes: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as scribes refers to men who copied the laws of Moses by hand in New Testament times. Besides copying the Scripture, their main task were to study, interpret, and teach the laws of Moses and related Jewish laws and traditions.

Here are some other ways to translate this term:

the teachers of the Law of Moses (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
the teachers of religious law (New Living Translation)
-or-
the experts in the law (NET Bible)

See how you translated this word in 1:22c and 3:22a. See also teacher of the law in the Glossary.

who had come from Jerusalem: The phrase who had come from Jerusalem can be understood in two ways:

(1) It refers to both the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Both groups came from Jerusalem. For example, the New Living Translation says:

One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem

(New American Standard Bible, New Living Translation, New Century Version)

(2) It refers only to the teachers of the law. Only the teachers of the law came from Jerusalem. This implies that the Pharisees were already there. For example, the English Standard Version says:

Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem

(English Standard Version, Revised English Bible)

The Greek text and many English versions are ambiguous. If possible, you should also leave it ambiguous. If you must choose, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This fits the parallel passage in Matthew 15:1.

7:1b

gathered around Jesus: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as gathered around indicates that the Pharisees and teachers of the law came to where Jesus was. They wanted to see him.

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