OET interlinear MARK 4:30

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

πῶς ὁμοιώσωμεν τὴν Βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἢ ἐν τίνι αὐτὴν παραβολῇ θῶμεν?

how ˱we˲_/may/_liken the Kingdom ¬the ˱of˲_God or with what it parable ˱we˲_/may/_present

Jesus is using the question form to introduce what he is about to teach. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: “We will now compare the kingdom of God to something. We will put it in a parable.”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

πῶς ὁμοιώσωμεν τὴν Βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἢ ἐν τίνι αὐτὴν παραβολῇ θῶμεν

how ˱we˲_/may/_liken the Kingdom ¬the ˱of˲_God or with what it parable ˱we˲_/may/_present

By we, Jesus means himself and his audience, so use the inclusive form of that word in your translation if your language marks that distinction. Jesus uses this form because he wants his audience to be involved in thinking about how parables can help explain the kingdom of God. Alternate translation: “What would be a good comparison for us to use for the kingdom of God, or what parable could we use for it”

Note 3 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

ἢ

or

Here, the word or introduces another similar question. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces a related question, or you could leave or untranslated. Alternate translation: “and” or “or again,”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἐν τίνι αὐτὴν παραβολῇ θῶμεν

with what it parable ˱we˲_/may/_present

Here Jesus speaks as if the kingdom of God were an object that he could put in a parable, which he speaks about as if it were a container. He means that he can explain the kingdom of God by using a parable. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable figure of speech or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “with what parable will we describe it” or “what parable can we use to explain it”