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OET (OET-LV) And all were_amazed, so_as to_be_debating them saying:
What is this?
A_ new _teaching, he_is_commanding even to_the the unclean spirits with authority, and they_are_submitting to_him.
OET (OET-RV) Everyone was astounded and asked each other, “What just happened? We haven’t heard anything like this before—he has authority to command demons, and they obey him!”
In this section Mark described the first of four events that happened in the town of Capernaum in the region of Galilee. Paragraph 1:21–26 tells how Jesus expelled an evil spirit from a man in the synagogue at Capernaum. Paragraph 1:27–28 describes the people’s amazed reaction to Jesus’ authority over evil spirits. See the note on “unclean spirit" in 1:23a for ways to translate “evil/unclean spirit.”
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.
Here is another idea for this section heading:
The time when Jesus expelled an evil spirit
There is a parallel passage for this section in Luke 4:31–37.
This paragraph indicates that the people in the synagogue were amazed when the unclean spirit left. They were amazed that Jesus had the authority to cause unclean spirits to obey him.
All the people were amazed
¶ All of the people in the synagogue were very surprised,
¶ Those who were gathered there were astonished,
All the people were amazed: In some languages it may be natural to say what amazed the people here. For example:
All the people were amazed at/by this
This miracle that Jesus had done amazed all the people
The people all thought, “He certainly has special/great power!”
See the General Comment on 1:27a–b at the end of 1:27b for ways to translate the relationship between 1:27a and 1:27b.
All the people: The Greek word that the BSB translates as All the people is literally “all” or “everyone.” It refers to all the people in the synagogue who had just seen Jesus cause the evil spirit to leave the man.
amazed: The Greek word that the BSB translates as amazed also means “astonished,” “shocked,” or “stunned.” It is not the same Greek word as the one used in 1:22a, but it has a similar meaning. There may be a idiom in your language to express the people’s shock and amazement. For example:
[All who were there] widened their eyes
[The people all] had their mouths open
and began to ask one another,
so they began asking each another,
and they began to discuss what had happened, and to say,
began to ask one another: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as began to ask one another can mean “discussed with one another” or “debated with one another.” It does not only mean that the people asked each other questions. 1:27c gives the content of what the people asked or discussed with each other.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
they discussed what had happened. They asked one another:
they asked one another, saying:
In Greek, 1:27b begins with a word that introduces a result. In this context it indicates that the statement “began to ask one another” in 1:27b is the result of the people being amazed in 1:27a.
Here are some different ways this relationship may be expressed:
The people were all so amazed that (NIV)
Everyone was stunned. They said to each other… (GW)
Amazement gripped the audience, and they began to discuss what had happened. (NLT)
Notice that in the GW version, the result relationship is implied. In the NLT, the word “and” implies “and so.” Translate this relationship in a way that is clear and natural in your language.
A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits: There are two ways to understand how the phrase with authority relates to the context:
The phrase with authority relates to “a new teaching.” It means that Jesus’ teaching had authority. For example:
It must be some new kind of powerful teaching! (CEV) (BSB, NIV, NRSV, REB, NJB, NCV, NLT, CEV)
The phrase with authority relates to “He commands even the unclean spirits.” It means that Jesus commanded the unclean spirits with authority. For example:
This man has authority to give orders to the evil spirits (GNT) (RSV, GNT)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most English versions and scholars.
“What is this? A new teaching with authority!
“What kind of teaching is this? We(incl) have never heard anyone teach with such authority!
“This is a new and amazing kind of teaching that shows authority!
What is this?: This is a rhetorical question. It expresses surprise. There are at least three ways to translate this rhetorical question:
As a rhetorical question. For example:
What sort of new teaching is this? (NLT)
What is happening here? (NCV)
As a statement or exclamation. For example:
This is amazing.
Wow! Amazing!
As a tag question. For example:
This is amazing, isn’t it?
Some languages may have an idiom that expresses amazement. Use a natural way to express this type of amazement in your language.
A new teaching with authority!: The BSB translates the phrase A new teaching with authority as an exclamation that answers the rhetorical question. There is no verb in this exclamation. There are many other acceptable ways to translate this phrase. Here are some other possibilities:
Combine the phrase with the rhetorical question at the beginning of 1:27c. For example, the NLT says:
“What sort of new teaching is this?” they asked excitedly. “It has such authority!” (NLT)
Include some words to make the phrase into a sentence. For example, the GW says:
This is a new teaching that has authority behind it! (GW)
Translate in a way that will effectively express the people’s surprise at Jesus’ new and authoritative way of teaching.
A new teaching: The phrase A new teaching refers to the way Jesus taught. The word that the BSB translates as new means that the people had never before seen or heard anyone teach that way. Jesus’ manner of teaching was different and amazing.The Greek word kainos means “new” in quality, in other words, different, strange or remarkable. It is distinct from the Greek word neos, which means “new” in time (BAGD page 394, Cranfield page 81, Robertson page 261). Louw and Nida (page 645, #67.115) focus on the meaning “previously unknown.” A new teaching does not imply that Jesus’ current teaching was different from his previous teaching.
with authority: The characteristic of Jesus’ teaching that made it “new” or “amazing” or “different” is that he taught with authority. He showed absolute certainty about the truth of what he taught. See the note on 1:22b for an explanation of authority in this context.
He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him!”
He even commands the evil spirits to leave and they obey him.”
Even evil spirits do what he says when he orders them to do something.”
He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him: In this sentence the people indicated that they were amazed that Jesus had such great authority. Their statement means that Jesus even had the power to command unclean spirits to leave the people whom they were possessing.
they obey Him: The phrase they obey Him implies that the unclean spirits were forced to obey Jesus. They had to do what he told them even though they did not want to.
In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit the content of Jesus’ command. For example:
He even orders unclean spirits to leave people, and the unclean spirits obey him.
In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of the clauses in 1:27d. For example:
Even unclean spirits must obey him when he commands them to leave!
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἐθαμβήθησαν ἅπαντες
˓were˒_amazed all
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say what did the action, it is clear from the context that it was what Jesus did and taught. Alternate translation: [what they saw and heard amazed all of them]
Note 2 topic: writing-quotations
λέγοντας
saying
Consider natural ways of introducing direct quotations in your language. Alternate translation: [and they asked]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
τί ἐστιν τοῦτο?
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐθαμβήθησαν ἅπαντες ὥστε συζητεῖν αὐτούς λέγοντας Τί ἐστίν τοῦτο διδαχή Καινή κατʼ ἐξουσίαν καί τοῖς πνεύμασιν τοῖς ἀκαθάρτοις ἐπιτάσσει καί ὑπακούουσιν αὐτῷ)
The people in the synagogue are using the question form to express their surprise and amazement. 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 are impressed.] or [This is amazing!]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure
διδαχὴ καινή κατ’ ἐξουσίαν! καὶ τοῖς πνεύμασι τοῖς ἀκαθάρτοις ἐπιτάσσει
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐθαμβήθησαν ἅπαντες ὥστε συζητεῖν αὐτούς λέγοντας Τί ἐστίν τοῦτο διδαχή Καινή κατʼ ἐξουσίαν καί τοῖς πνεύμασιν τοῖς ἀκαθάρτοις ἐπιτάσσει καί ὑπακούουσιν αὐτῷ)
Here, the phrase according to authority could go with: (1) A new teaching. Alternate translation: [A new teaching, one according to authority! And he commands the unclean spirits] (2) And he commands the unclean spirits. Alternate translation: [A new teaching! According to authority he commands even the unclean spirits]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
κατ’ ἐξουσίαν
with authority
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of authority, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [from one having been authorized] or [that sounds authoritative]
OET (OET-LV) And all were_amazed, so_as to_be_debating them saying:
What is this?
A_ new _teaching, he_is_commanding even to_the the unclean spirits with authority, and they_are_submitting to_him.
OET (OET-RV) Everyone was astounded and asked each other, “What just happened? We haven’t heard anything like this before—he has authority to command demons, and they obey him!”
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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