MARK 12:34 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) [ref]When Yeshua saw that he’d given such a thoughtful answer, he said, “You’re very close to God’s kingdom!”
¶ After that, no one else dared to ask Yeshua any more questions.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And Jesus, having seen him, that he had answered wisely, said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one any longer was daring to question him.

UST Jesus realized that the teacher of the Jewish law had responded in a wise way. So, Jesus told him, “You are close to participating in God’s kingdom.” After that, nobody was bold enough to ask him any more questions.

BLB And Jesus, having seen him that he answered wisely, said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to question Him any longer.

AICNT And Jesus, seeing [him] that he had answered wisely, said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

OEB Seeing that he had answered with discernment, Jesus said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’
¶ After that no one ventured to question him further.

WEBBE When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from God’s Kingdom.”
¶ No one dared ask him any question after that.

WMBB When Yeshua saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from God’s Kingdom.”
¶ No one dared ask him any question after that.

NET When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Then no one dared any longer to question him.

LSV And Jesus, having seen him that he answered with understanding, said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God”; and no one dared question Him anymore.

FBV Jesus saw that he gave a thoughtful answer, and said, “You're not far from the kingdom of God.” After this no one was brave enough to ask him any more questions.

TCNT When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, he said to him, “Yoʋ are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him questions anymore.

T4T Jesus realized that this man had answered wisely. So he said to him, “I perceive that you will soon decide to let God rule your life.” After that, the Jewish leaders were afraid to ask him any more questions like that to try to trap him.

LEB And Jesus, when he[fn] saw that he had answered thoughtfully, said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to put a question to him any longer.

12:34 *Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal

BBE And when Jesus saw that he gave a wise answer, he said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. And every man after that was in fear of questioning him any more.

Moff Jesus noted his intelligent answer and said to him, "You are not far off the Realm of God." After that no one ventured to put any more questions to him.

Wymth Perceiving that the Scribe had answered wisely Jesus said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." No one from that time forward ventured to put any question to Him.

ASV And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

DRA And Jesus seeing that he had answered wisely, said to him: Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

YLT And Jesus, having seen him that he answered with understanding, said to him, 'Thou art not far from the reign of God;' and no one any more durst question him.

Drby And Jesus, seeing that he had answered intelligently, said to him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of [fn]God. And no one dared question him any more.

12.34 Elohim

RV And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
(And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou/You art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question. )

SLT And Jesus having seen him that he answered understandingly, said to him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And none dared to ask him any more.

Wbstr And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said to him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

KJB-1769 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
(And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou/You art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question. )

KJB-1611 And when Iesus saw that he answered discreetly, hee saide vnto him, Thou art not far from the kingdome of God. And no man after that durst aske him any question.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps And when Iesus sawe that he aunswered discretely, he sayde vnto hym: Thou art not farre from the kingdome of God. And no man after that, durst aske hym any question.
(And when Yesus/Yeshua saw that he answered discretely, he said unto him: Thou/You art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that, durst ask him any question.)

Gnva Then when Iesus saw that he answered discreetely, he saide vnto him, Thou art not farre from the kingdome of God. And no man after that durst aske him any question.
(Then when Yesus/Yeshua saw that he answered discreetely, he said unto him, Thou/You art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question. )

Cvdl But wha Iesus sawe that he answered discretly, he sayde vnto him: Thou art not farre from the kyngdome of God. And after this durst no man axe him eny mo questions.
(But what Yesus/Yeshua saw that he answered discretly, he said unto him: Thou/You art not far from the kingdom of God. And after this durst no man axe him any more questions.)

TNT And when Iesus sawe that he answered discretly he sayde vnto him: Thou arte not farre from the kyngdome of God. And no man after that durst axe him eny question.
(And when Yesus/Yeshua saw that he answered discretly he said unto him: Thou/You art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst axe him any question. )

Wycl And Jhesus seynge that he hadde answerid wiseli, seide to hym, Thou art not fer fro the kyngdom of God.
(And Yhesus seeing that he had answered wisely, said to him, Thou/You art not far from the kingdom of God.)

Luth Da JEsus aber sah, daß er vernünftiglich antwortete, sprach er zu ihm: Du bist nicht ferne von dem Reich Gottes. Und es durfte ihn niemand weiter fragen.
(So Yesus but saw, that he reasonable replied, spoke he to/for him: You(sg) are not distant from to_him kingdom God’s. And it was_allowed him/it no_one further asks.)

ClVg Jesus autem videns quod sapienter respondisset, dixit illi: Non es longe a regno Dei. Et nemo jam audebat eum interrogare.[fn]
(Yesus however seeing that wisely respondisset, he/she_said them: Not/No you_are far_away from kingdom of_God. And nobody/no_one already audebat him to_ask. )

12.34 Non longe es a regno Dei, etc. ISID. Quamvis ad tentandum venerit: longior namque est ignorantia quam scientia, ut Sadducæis dicitur: Erratis nescientes Scripturas neque virtutem Dei Matth. 22.. BEDA. Matthæus dicit, quia tentando quærebat, etc., usque ad secundum illud: Qui facile credit levis est corde, et minorabitur Eccl. 19.. Et nemo. Quia in sermonibus confutantur, ultra non interrogant; sed aperte comprehensum Romanæ potestati tradunt, unde patet venena invidiæ superari posse, sed difficile quiescere.

12.34 Not/No far_away you_are from kingdom of_God, etc. ISID. Although to tentandum will_have_placed: longior for_indeed/truly it_is ignorance how knowledge/skill, as Sadducæis it_is_said: You_are_mistaken unaware Scriptures nor virtue of_God Matth. 22.. BEDA. Matthew he_says, because tentando was_looking_for, etc., until to after/second it/this/that: Who facile he_believes levis it_is heart, and minorbitur Eccl. 19.. And nobody/no_one. Because in/into/on conversations confutantur, beyond/besides not/no interrogant; but openly understood Romanæ power they_deliver, from_where/who clear poisons envy superari posse, but difficult to_rest.

UGNT καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ἰδὼν αὐτὸν ὅτι νουνεχῶς ἀπεκρίθη, εἶπεν αὐτῷ, οὐ μακρὰν εἶ ἀπὸ τῆς Βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ. καὶ οὐδεὶς οὐκέτι ἐτόλμα αὐτὸν ἐπερωτῆσαι.
(kai ho Yaʸsous, idōn auton hoti nouneⱪōs apekrithaʸ, eipen autōi, ou makran ei apo taʸs Basileias tou Theou. kai oudeis ouketi etolma auton eperōtaʸsai.)

SBL-GNT καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἰδὼν ⸀αὐτὸν ὅτι νουνεχῶς ἀπεκρίθη εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Οὐ μακρὰν εἶ ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ. καὶ οὐδεὶς οὐκέτι ἐτόλμα αὐτὸν ἐπερωτῆσαι.
(kai ho Yaʸsous idōn ⸀auton hoti nouneⱪōs apekrithaʸ eipen autōi; Ou makran ei apo taʸs basileias tou theou. kai oudeis ouketi etolma auton eperōtaʸsai.)

RP-GNT Καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἰδὼν αὐτὸν ὅτι νουνεχῶς ἀπεκρίθη, εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Οὐ μακρὰν εἶ ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ. Καὶ οὐδεὶς οὐκέτι ἐτόλμα αὐτὸν ἐπερωτῆσαι.
(Kai ho Yaʸsous idōn auton hoti nouneⱪōs apekrithaʸ, eipen autōi, Ou makran ei apo taʸs basileias tou theou. Kai oudeis ouketi etolma auton eperōtaʸsai.)

TC-GNT Καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἰδὼν [fn]αὐτὸν ὅτι νουνεχῶς ἀπεκρίθη, εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Οὐ μακρὰν εἶ ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καὶ οὐδεὶς οὐκέτι ἐτόλμα αὐτὸν ἐπερωτῆσαι.
(Kai ho Yaʸsous idōn auton hoti nouneⱪōs apekrithaʸ, eipen autōi, Ou makran ei apo taʸs basileias tou Theou. Kai oudeis ouketi etolma auton eperōtaʸsai. )

12:34 αυτον ¦ — ANT

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 12:28–34: Jesus taught people which command is the most important

A scribe asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment in the law. Jesus said that there are two great commands: love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.

The scribe in this section may have been honestly seeking the truth. Or he may have been trying to discredit Jesus by asking him a difficult question.Mark 12:34 may imply that the man truly wanted to know the answer. In the parallel passage in Matthew 22:34–40, a scribe asked this same question to test Jesus. Nothing in this section in Mark suggests that the scribe was testing Jesus. It would be good to translate this section so that either interpretation is possible.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The Most Important Commandment (CEV, NLT)

God’s greatest command is to love him and our neighbors

There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 22:34–40. Mark 12:30–31 is also parallel to Luke 10:27.

12:34a

When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, He said,

When Jesus heard him speak so wisely, he said to him,
Jesus noticed that the man had shown real wisdom in his answer, so he told him,

When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely: Jesus realized that the scribe had spoken wisely.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

When Jesus heard how wisely the man answered (GW)

Realizing how much the man understood… (NLT)

Jesus noticed how wise his answer was (GNT)

The man’s answer showed that he was wise, so Jesus said to him

12:34b

“You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

“You are close to entering the kingdom of God.”
“You are almost ready to be one of the people whom God rules.”

You are not far from the kingdom of God: Here Jesus praised the man for the attitude and belief that he expressed in 12:32–33. The phrase not far from the kingdom of God indicates the man was almost ready to submit to God’s rule and become one of the people whom God cares for as king. It does not refer to the location of the man or of the kingdom.

Here are some other ways to translate You are not far from the kingdom of God:

You are almost ready to know/acknowledge God as your king

You are almost prepared to submit to God’s rule/chieftaincy

You are nearly ready to become one of the people whom God rules.

See the note on 9:47b for discussion of a similar context.

kingdom of God: The phrase kingdom of God refers to God’s activity of ruling and caring for his people as their king. It does not refer to a land or country that he rules over. It refers to the relationship that he has with his people. He leads, protects, and cares for them. They obey, trust, and submit to him as their king.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

As a noun. For example:
God’s rule/reign
God’s kingship
God’s chieftaincy
God’s government
As a verbal expression:
God ruling his people
God caring for his people as king

See also kingdom of God, Context 1, in the Glossary.

12:34c

And no one dared to question Him any further.

And after that, no one was bold enough to question Jesus further.
From that time on, no one had the courage to ask Jesus any more tricky/difficult questions.

no one dared to question Him: People were afraid to test Jesus with any more hard or tricky questions. They realized that he was very skillful at answering questions wisely. In the remainder of the book of Mark, Jesus’ disciples did ask him more questions, and some of them were rhetorical. But from this point on there is no record in Mark that anyone asked Jesus any more questions to try to trick him.When Jesus said “you are not far from the kingdom,” that seems to indicate that the man’s agreement in 12:32–33 with Jesus’ answer showed that the man was asking a sincere question in 12:28. Or perhaps it meant that the man could state what a Jewish person should do but did not personally do that himself. On the other hand, no one dared ask Jesus any more questions. Why? Perhaps this indicates that the man’s question was not sincere after all, but tricky.

dared: The word dared indicates that no one felt bold enough to ask Jesus any more difficult questions. They felt unable to trick him because he had answered every question so wisely.

any further: The phrase any further refers to the time period that began when Jesus said the words in 12:34a–b and continued into the future.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

ἰδὼν αὐτὸν ὅτι

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἰδών αὐτόν ὅτι νουνεχῶς ἀπεκρίθη εἶπεν αὐτῷ οὒ μακράν Εἶ ἀπό τῆς Βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ Καί οὐδείς οὐκέτι ἐτόλμα αὐτόν ἐπερωτῆσαι)

Here, Mark is using the word seen to mean “observed” or “knew.” He is describing something a person would perceive with their mind by association with their eyes. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. Alternate translation: [having understood that] or [having observed that]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

οὐ μακρὰν εἶ ἀπὸ τῆς Βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ

Here, Jesus speaks as if the man was physically not far from the kingdom of God. He means that the man is almost part of God’s kingdom. Jesus is speaking of the kingdom of God as if it were a physical place. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable figure of speech or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [You are almost in the kingdom of God] or [You almost belong to the kingdom of God]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / litotes

οὐ μακρὰν & ἀπὸ

Jesus is using a figure of speech here that expresses a strongly positive meaning by using a negative word, not, together with an expression that is the opposite of the intended meaning, far. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the positive meaning. Alternate translation: [very close to]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / doublenegatives

οὐδεὶς οὐκέτι ἐτόλμα

The words translated no one and any longer are two negative words. In this construction, the second negative does not cancel the first to create a positive meaning. Instead, it gives greater emphasis to the negative. If your language can use two negatives that do not cancel one another to create a positive meaning, you could use a double negative here. If your language does not use two negatives in that way, you could translate with one negative, as the ULT does. Alternate translation: [people no longer were daring]

Parallel MARK 12:34

Section 12:28–34: Jesus taught people which command is the most important

12:34a

12:34b

12:34c