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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 V15 V17 V19 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51 V53 V55
OET (OET-LV) And having_become an_ opportune _day, when Haʸrōdaʸs on_the birthday_celebrations of_him made a_supper, to_the magnates of_him, and to_the commanders, and to_the leaders of_ the _Galilaia/(Gālīl).
OET (OET-RV) However, an opportunity came at Herod’s birthday celebration, when he threw a feast for his top officials and generals and for the leaders in Galilee.
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).
The previous paragraph implied that Herodias had wanted to kill John for some time. In this paragraph, Mark told about a new development in the story: a banquet on Herod’s birthday. During this banquet, Herodias finally had a chance to have John killed.
On Herod’s birthday, her opportunity arose. Herod held a banquet for his nobles…: This verse contains two time phrases, her opportunity arose and On Herod's birthday. In some languages it may sound as if these two phrases refer to two different times or days. To avoid this misunderstanding, some English versions have made it clearer that these two phrases refer to the same time. For example:
Herodias found her opportunity when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet to his chief officials… (REB)
Finally Herodias got her chance. It was on Herod’s birthday, when he gave a feast for all the top government officials… (GNT)
In some languages it may be more natural to put the information about Herodias after the information about Herod’s birthday. For example:
21bBut one day, Herod gave a feast 21ato celebrate the day of his birth. 21cHe invited his high officials…. 21aAnd that was Herodias’ chance to cause John to be killed. This is how it happened.
21aAfter some time, Herod celebrated his birthday. 21cHe invited his high officials…21bto join in the celebration/feast. 21aDuring this feast, Herodias had an opportunity to have John killed.
On Herod’s birthday, her opportunity arose.
¶ Finally the right time came for Herodias to do what she wished. It was on Herod’s birthday.
¶ But one day, there was an opportunity for Herodias to have John killed. Herod celebrated the day of the year on which he had been born
On Herod’s birthday: Herod celebrated the day of the year on which he had been born. If people do not celebrate birthdays in your culture, you may need to make this information explicit.
Here are some other ways to translate the word birthday:
the day when another year of his life was finished
the day when a new year of his life started
the day of the year on which he had been born
her opportunity arose: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as her opportunity arose is literally “a suitable day came.” This means that on a certain day, Herodias had an opportunity to have John killed. In many languages this will be best expressed by an idiom. For example:
the perfect time came (NCV)
Herodias had an opportunity
Herodias got her chance (GNT)
Herod held a banquet
On that day Herod gave a banquet/feast
with a great feast.
Herod held a banquet: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as Herod held a banquet means that Herod ordered a feast to be given. This was a feast in Herod’s honor. His servants prepared the food.
for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.
and invited his government chiefs, his army leaders, and the important citizens of Galilee.
His guests were the men who led his government, the men who led his soldiers, and the important/influential men of the region of Galilee.
for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee: Herod invited three types of people to his birthday feast: nobles, military commanders, and leading men. (The notes below describe these types of people.) If it is difficult to find three distinct terms in your language, this could be expressed in a more general way, such as:
all his chiefs and the important men of Galilee
nobles: The term nobles refers to the government leaders under Herod. They were his closest political advisors. They could also be called the “chief men” or “great ones” or “high officials.” The GNT calls them “top government officials.”
military commanders: The term military commanders refers to men who led large numbers of soldiers. They were the leaders of Herod’s army.
the leading men of Galilee: The leading men of Galilee were the “important men” of the region of Galilee. They were the ones who were influential among the people. They may not have had official position, but they were powerful because of their wealth, their relationships or other ways they had of influencing people. The GNT calls them “the leading citizens of Galilee.”
Galilee: Galilee is a region in the northern part of the land where Jesus lived. See how you translated this word in 1:9a.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
γενομένης ἡμέρας εὐκαίρου
˓having˒_become ˓a˒_day opportune
Here Mark implies that it was an opportune day for Herodias to convince Herod to have John executed. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [a good opportunity for Herodias to kill John having come] or [a day having come when it was a good time for Herodias to have Herod execute John]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
δεῖπνον ἐποίησεν
˓a˒_supper made
Here Mark implies that Herod had his servants make a dinner. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [had his servants make a dinner]
Note 3 topic: translate-unknown
τοῖς γενεσίοις αὐτοῦ
˱on˲_the birthday_celebrations ˱of˲_him
In some cultures, people celebrate a birthday, the day that someone was born. If your readers would not be familiar with this type of celebration, you could use the name of something similar in your area or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: [for his birthday celebration] or [for celebrations on the anniversary of his birth]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
τοῖς μεγιστᾶσιν αὐτοῦ
˱on˲_the ˱to˲_the magnates ˱of˲_him
Here, the phrase his great ones refers to the important people in Herod’s court. They were probably high-ranking officials who served under Herod. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [his high-ranking courtiers] or [the important people in his court]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
τοῖς πρώτοις τῆς Γαλιλαίας
˱on˲_the ˱to˲_the ˱to˲_the ˱to˲_the leaders ¬the ˱of˲_Galilee
Here, Mark refers to important or respected people as if they were first. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [the respected of Galilee] or [the significant ones of Galilee]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj
τοῖς πρώτοις
˱on˲_the ˱to˲_the ˱to˲_the ˱to˲_the leaders
Mark is using the adjective first as a noun to mean first people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: [for the first people] or [for the people who were first]
6:14-29 The account of John the Baptist’s death, sandwiched between the sending out and the return of the disciples, continues the theme of Jesus’ authority and power (see 6:7, 14). John’s fate and the warning given to the disciples in their missionary charge (6:11) also foreshadowed Jesus’ death. The one greater even than John (1:8) would soon be handed over to religious and political leaders and put to death (8:31; 9:31; 10:33).
OET (OET-LV) And having_become an_ opportune _day, when Haʸrōdaʸs on_the birthday_celebrations of_him made a_supper, to_the magnates of_him, and to_the commanders, and to_the leaders of_ the _Galilaia/(Gālīl).
OET (OET-RV) However, an opportunity came at Herod’s birthday celebration, when he threw a feast for his top officials and generals and for the leaders in Galilee.
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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