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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
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OET (OET-LV) Is not this the carpenter, the son of_ the _Maria/(Miryām), and brother of_Yakōbos/(Yaˊₐqoⱱ), and Yōsaʸs/(Yōşēf?
), and Youdas/(Yəhūdāh), and Simōn?
And are not the sisters of_him here with us?
And they_were_being_offended at him.
OET (OET-RV) Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Maria, and the brother of Yacob and Yosef and Yudas and Simon? Don’t his sisters live around here?” And they were offended by his teaching.
When Jesus came to Nazareth, his hometown, he began to teach in the synagogue. The people were amazed by his wisdom and the miracles that he did. However, they thought that Jesus was only an ordinary person and a carpenter. So they refused to accept that God had given him such extraordinary wisdom and power. Instead, they rejected him and the words that he said.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
A Prophet Without Honor (NIV)
Jesus Is Rejected at Nazareth (GNT)
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 13:53–58 and Luke 4:16–30. See also John 4:44, 6:42.
In Greek, 6:3a–b is one sentence. The BSB follows the Greek structure and keeps it as one sentence. The NIV divides this into two sentences:
Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon?
The meaning of this sentence can be expressed with one question, or with two as in the NIV. You should divide this section in the way that is most clear and natural in your language.
See the General Comment on 6:2d–3c after 6:3c and the General Comment on 6:3a–d after 6:3d for additional ways to divide and order this sentence.
Isn’t this the carpenter,
Isn’t this only the carpenter?
After all, he is only a carpenter,
Isn’t this the carpenter: This is a rhetorical question. It implies the answer “Yes, of course it is.” It functions as a strong statement that expresses surprise, displeasure, and contempt. The people were surprised and resentful that someone whom they knew only as a carpenter had such extraordinary wisdom and power. There are at least three ways to translate this:
As a rhetorical question. For example, the NET says:
Isn’t this the carpenter…?
As a statement. For example, the NCV says:
He is just the carpenter….
As a statement with a tag question. For example:
He is only a carpenter, right?
Use whichever form is most natural to express this surprise and resentment in your language.
this: Again the people used the expression “this one,” as in 6:2d. See the note on “this man” there. Here in 6:3a it again shows their lack of regard for Jesus.
carpenter: The Greek word that the BSB translates as carpenter refers to a builder. This person made things with materials such as wood or stone. Use a general term that refers to that kind of person.
the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?
Isn’t this only Mary’s son? Isn’t this just the brother/sibling of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon?
whose mother Mary and whose younger brothers/siblings James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon we know.
the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?: This is a rhetorical question. It implies the answer “Yes, of course he is!” It functions as a strong statement. It also expresses surprise and contempt.
The people of Nazareth all knew Jesus’ mother and brothers. They knew Jesus as just an ordinary person. They were offended that he had returned as a religious teacher and that he performed miracles. They did not welcome him. Instead, they took offense and refused to accept him.
There are at least three ways to translate this:
As a rhetorical question. For example, the GNT says:
Isn’t he…the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon?
As a statement. For example, the NLT96 says:
He’s…the son of Mary and brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon.
As a statement with a tag question. For example:
He is just/only Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon, isn’t he?
Use whichever form is most natural to express this surprise, displeasure, and offense in your language.
the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon: Jesus was the older brother of these four men. If your language has separate words for older brother and younger brother, you should use older brother to refer to Jesus.
If your language does not have separate words for brother and sister, then you may use a term such as sibling. It is clear in this context that Jesus and the siblings mentioned here were men, so you may not need to specify male sibling.
Aren’t His sisters here with us as well?”
Don’t his sisters live here among us?”
Even his younger female siblings live here in town with us!”
Aren’t His sisters here with us as well?: This is also a rhetorical question. It implies the answer “Yes, of course they are!” It functions as a strong statement of fact expressing surprise, displeasure, and offense. There are at least three ways to translate this rhetorical question:
As a rhetorical question. For example, the GNT says:
Aren’t his sisters living here?
As a statement. For example, the NCV says:
And his sisters are here with us.
As a statement with a tag question. For example:
Even his sisters are living here with us, are they not?
Use whichever form is most natural to express this surprise and offense in your language.
sisters: If your language has separate words for “younger sisters” and “older sisters,” you should use the term for “younger sisters” here. All of Jesus’ brothers and sisters were younger than he was.
If your language does not have separate words for brother and sister, then you may use a term such as sibling. In this context you will need to specify that these were female younger-siblings.
In some languages, it may be natural to translate all of the rhetorical questions in Greek as questions. In other languages, it may be more natural to translate some of the rhetorical questions as questions and others as statements. For example, the NCV says:
2cMany people heard him and were amazed, saying, 2d“Where did this man get these teachings? 2eWhat is this wisdom that has been given to him? 2fAnd where did he get the power to do miracles? 3aHe is just the carpenter, 3bthe son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. 3cAnd his sisters are here with us.”
And they took offense at Him.
And they rejected him.
So they refused to respect/accept Jesus.
And they took offense at Him: The Greek word that the BSB translates as took offense means “rejected,” or “stopped believing.” In this context it is also implied that the people were angry, upset or resentful.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
they would not accept him (NJB)
they were angry and rejected him
they turned against him (REB)
They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. (NLT)
If you translate 6:3a–c using rhetorical questions, check to see whether readers understand that they are not real questions. Some people might wrongly think that the people in Jesus’ hometown asked these questions in order to identify Jesus. The real reason they asked these questions was to scoff at Jesus. One way to avoid this misunderstanding is to change the order, so that the statement about their attitude in 6:3d comes first. For example:
3dThey took offense at him, saying 3a“Isn’t this only the carpenter? 3bIsn’t this only Mary’s son? Isn’t this just the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon, whom we all know? 3cDon’t his sisters live here among us?”
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τέκτων, ὁ υἱὸς τῆς Μαρίας, καὶ ἀδελφὸς Ἰακώβου, καὶ Ἰωσῆτος, καὶ Ἰούδα, καὶ Σίμωνος? καὶ οὐκ εἰσὶν αἱ ἀδελφαὶ αὐτοῦ ὧδε πρὸς ἡμᾶς?
not (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὐχ οὗτος Ἐστίν ὁ τέκτων ὁ υἱός τῆς Μαρίας καί ἀδελφός Ἰακώβου καί Ἰωσῆτος καί Ἰούδα καί Σίμωνος Καί οὐκ εἰσίν αἱ ἀδελφαί αὐτοῦ ὧδε πρός ἡμάς Καί ἐσκανδαλίζοντο ἐν αὐτῷ)
The people are using the question form to show that they know Jesus and his family. They mean that Jesus is just an ordinary person. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate these questions as statements or exclamations. Alternate translation: [He is only a carpenter, the son of Mary and a brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. His sisters are here with us.] or [He is only a carpenter! He is the son of Mary a brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon! His sisters are right here with us!]
Note 2 topic: translate-unknown
ὁ τέκτων
the carpenter
The word carpenter refers to someone who builds things with wood. If your readers would not be familiar with this type of worker, you could use the name of something similar in your area or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: [the man who builds with wood] or [the construction worker]
Note 3 topic: translate-kinship
ἀδελφὸς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὐχ οὗτος Ἐστίν ὁ τέκτων ὁ υἱός τῆς Μαρίας καί ἀδελφός Ἰακώβου καί Ἰωσῆτος καί Ἰούδα καί Σίμωνος Καί οὐκ εἰσίν αἱ ἀδελφαί αὐτοῦ ὧδε πρός ἡμάς Καί ἐσκανδαλίζοντο ἐν αὐτῷ)
Jesus was the older brother of these men. They were sons of Mary and Joseph. Since the Father of Jesus was God, and their father was Joseph, Jesus was actually their half-brother. That detail is not normally translated, but if your language has a specific word for “older brother,” you could use it here.
Note 4 topic: translate-names
Ἰωσῆτος & Ἰούδα & Σίμωνος
Joses & Judas & Simon
The words Joses, Judas, and Simon are the names of men.
Note 5 topic: translate-kinship
αἱ ἀδελφαὶ αὐτοῦ
the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὐχ οὗτος Ἐστίν ὁ τέκτων ὁ υἱός τῆς Μαρίας καί ἀδελφός Ἰακώβου καί Ἰωσῆτος καί Ἰούδα καί Σίμωνος Καί οὐκ εἰσίν αἱ ἀδελφαί αὐτοῦ ὧδε πρός ἡμάς Καί ἐσκανδαλίζοντο ἐν αὐτῷ)
These were Jesus’ younger sisters. They were daughters of Mary and Joseph. Since the Father of Jesus was God, and their father was Joseph, they were actually his half-sisters. That detail is not normally translated, but if your language has a specific word for “younger sister,” you could use it here.
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἐσκανδαλίζοντο ἐν αὐτῷ
˱they˲_˓were_being˒_offended at him
Here Mark speaks as if Jesus were a lump or rock that the people in Jesus’ hometown were stumbling on. He means that these people were offended by him and rejected him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [they were offended by him] or [they did not listen to him]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἐσκανδαλίζοντο ἐν αὐτῷ
˱they˲_˓were_being˒_offended at him
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. Alternate translation: [they were stumbling on him]
OET (OET-LV) Is not this the carpenter, the son of_ the _Maria/(Miryām), and brother of_Yakōbos/(Yaˊₐqoⱱ), and Yōsaʸs/(Yōşēf?
), and Youdas/(Yəhūdāh), and Simōn?
And are not the sisters of_him here with us?
And they_were_being_offended at him.
OET (OET-RV) Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Maria, and the brother of Yacob and Yosef and Yudas and Simon? Don’t his sisters live around here?” And they were offended by his teaching.
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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