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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Mark C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16
Mark 6 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51 V53 V55
OET (OET-LV) But others were_saying, that He_is Aʸlias/(ʼĒliyyāh), and others were_saying, that A_prophet, like one of_the prophets.
OET (OET-RV) But others thought it was the promised return of Eliyah, and yet others thought he must be another prophet like the ones in the Scriptures.
Here Mark interrupted his story of how Jesus sent his disciples to preach, expel demons, and heal people. The story about Jesus and his disciples starts again in 6:30. In Section 6:14–29, Mark inserted a different story. He told what King Herod thought about Jesus and why he thought these things. He told the story of how Herod killed John the Baptizer, and how Herod thought that Jesus must be John, alive again.
Here is another possible heading for this section:
The death of John the Baptist
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 14:1–12; Luke 9:7–9 (see also Luke 3:19–20).
This paragraph gives background information about the thoughts that different people had about Jesus. First, Mark showed how the information was connected to what he was telling about Jesus and his disciples. Then he told some of the wrong ideas that people had about who Jesus was, and who Herod thought Jesus was.
Others were saying, “He is Elijah,”
Other people were saying, “He is the prophet Elijah.”
But other people were saying that Jesus was Elijah, the prophet of long ago.
In Greek, 6:15a has a conjunction that can be translated as “but.” For example, the RSV says:
But others said
This conjunction shows a contrast between what the people in 6:14 were saying and what the people in 6:15 were saying. Some versions do not translate this conjunction. You should begin 6:15a in a way that is natural in your language.
Others were saying, “He is Elijah”: Other people thought that Jesus was the prophet Elijah who had come back to earth. Elijah had lived hundreds of years before and was one of the greatest prophets in Israel’s history. Some people thought that he had come back to the earth as Jesus.
He is Elijah: Since readers may not know who Elijah is, it might be helpful to translate this as:
He is the prophet Elijah.
He is Elijah, the prophet of long ago.
If you are including footnotes or a glossary in your translation, you could use them to explain briefly who Elijah was. You could include the reference to the story about God taking Elijah to heaven in 2 Kings 2:1–11.
and still others, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”
And still/yet other people said, “He is a prophet, like those prophets who lived long ago.”
Still others thought he was a prophet like the other great prophets of the past. (NLT96)
and still others: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as and still others is literally “and others” or “but others.” The BSB adds the word still to show that this refers to a third group of people.
You should refer to this third group in a way that is natural in your language.
still others: In Greek there is a verb which means “were saying” after the Greek phrase that The BSB translates as still others. The BSB leaves the Greek word meaning “were saying” implied but some languages may need to follow the Greek and use these words. Do whatever would be most natural in your language. The verb meaning “were saying” that the BSB leaves untranslated here, is the same Greek verb which the BSB translates as “were saying” in 6:14c and 6:15a. If you choose to translate the verb meaning “were saying” here, you can use the same verb you used in 6:14c or a different verb with the same basic meaning.
He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old: The third group of people did not identify Jesus as a particular prophet. Instead, they said that he was like the ancient prophets. This seems to show that they did not believe that he was one of the ancient prophets now living again. Rather, they thought that he was a modern prophet who resembled those who had spoken to their people in the past.
prophets: The wordprophets means men who speak on behalf of God. A prophet tells people what God has revealed to him, and he also gives them messages from God.
Here are some other ways to translate prophet:
a spokesman for God
a man who speaks God’s words
God’s message-speaker
When choosing a term for prophet, consider how you will translate other words which are similar in meaning such as “angel,” “apostle,” and “preacher.”
While prophets did foretell the future, this was not their only function. Avoid using a word that focuses on telling the future.
See how you translated this word in 1:2a and 6:4b. See also prophet in the Glossary.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations
ἄλλοι δὲ ἔλεγον, ὅτι Ἠλείας ἐστίν; ἄλλοι δὲ ἔλεγον, ὅτι προφήτης, ὡς εἷς τῶν προφητῶν
others others (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἄλλοι Δέ ἔλεγον ὅτι Ἠλίας Ἐστίν ἄλλοι δέ ἔλεγον ὅτι Προφήτης ὡς εἱς τῶν προφητῶν)
It may be more natural in your language to have indirect quotations here. Alternate translation: [But others were saying that he was Elijah. But others were saying that he was a prophet, like one of the prophets]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
προφήτης
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἄλλοι Δέ ἔλεγον ὅτι Ἠλίας Ἐστίν ἄλλοι δέ ἔλεγον ὅτι Προφήτης ὡς εἱς τῶν προφητῶν)
These people are leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from earlier in the sentence if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: [He is a prophet]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
εἷς τῶν προφητῶν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἄλλοι Δέ ἔλεγον ὅτι Ἠλίας Ἐστίν ἄλλοι δέ ἔλεγον ὅτι Προφήτης ὡς εἱς τῶν προφητῶν)
Here these people are referring to the famous prophets who lived many years earlier. There are many stories in the Old Testament about the amazing things these prophets did and said. If it would be helpful in your language, you could refer to these specific prophets more explicitly. Alternate translation: [one of the famous prophets from the Scriptures] or [one of the ancient prophets]
6:15 The return of the prophet Elijah had been prophesied in Mal 3:1; 4:5-6 (cp. Mark 9:11-13).
OET (OET-LV) But others were_saying, that He_is Aʸlias/(ʼĒliyyāh), and others were_saying, that A_prophet, like one of_the prophets.
OET (OET-RV) But others thought it was the promised return of Eliyah, and yet others thought he must be another prophet like the ones in the Scriptures.
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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