MARK 15:39 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

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

OET (OET-RV) When Yeshua died, the Roman centurion who had been standing back watching everything said, “This man was definitely God’s son.”

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor.
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 Now the centurion, having stood by opposite him, having seen that he expired in this way,[fn] said, “Truly this man was a Son of God.”

Instead of he expired in this way, some manuscripts read crying out in this way, he expired.

UST There was a Roman officer standing there in front of Jesus. He observed how Jesus stopped breathing and died. He exclaimed, “This man really was God’s Son!”

BSB When the centurion standing there in front of [Jesus] saw [how] He had breathed His last,[fn] he said, “Truly this man was [the] Son of God!”

15:39 BYZ and TR saw how, having cried out, He had breathed His last

MSB When the centurion standing there in front of [Jesus] saw [how] He had cried out [and][fn] breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was [the] Son of God!”

BLB And the centurion standing opposite of Him, having seen that He breathed His last, thus said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"

AICNT And when the centurion, who was standing opposite him, saw that he [[cried out and]][fn] breathed his last in this way, he said, “Truly, this man was a son of God.”

15:39, cried out and: Some manuscripts include.

OEB The Roman officer, who was standing facing Jesus, on seeing the way in which he breathed his last, exclaimed, ‘This man must indeed have been God’s son!’

WEBBE When the centurion, who stood by opposite him, saw that he cried out like this and breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Now when the centurion, who stood in front of him, saw how he died, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

LSV and the centurion who was standing opposite Him, having seen that, having so cried out, He yielded the spirit, said, “Truly this Man was [the] Son of God.”

FBV When the centurion standing there in front of Jesus saw how he died, he said, “This man was truly the Son of God.”

TCNT Now when the centurion who was standing in front of Jesus saw how he [fn]cried out and breathed his last breath, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God.”

15:39 cried out and 96.5% ¦ — ECM^† NA SBL TH WH 0.4%

T4T The officer who supervised the soldiers who nailed Jesus to the cross was standing in front of Jesus. When he saw how Jesus died, he exclaimed, “Truly, this man was the man who was also God!”

LEB And when[fn] the centurion who was standing opposite him saw that he expired like this, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

15:39 *Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal

BBE And when the captain, who was near, saw how he gave up his spirit, he said, Truly this man was a son of God.

Moff Now when the army-captain who stood facing him saw that he expired in this way, he said, "This man was certainly a son of God."

Wymth And when the Centurion who stood in front of the cross saw that He was dead, he exclaimed, "This man was indeed God's Son."

ASV And when the centurion, who stood by over against him, saw that he so gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

DRA And the centurion who stood over against him, seeing that crying out in this manner he had given up the ghost, said: Indeed this man was the son of God.

YLT and the centurion who was standing over-against him, having seen that, having so cried out, he yielded the spirit, said, 'Truly this man was Son of God.'

Drby And the centurion who stood by over against him, when he saw that he had expired having thus cried out, said, Truly this man was Son of [fn]God.

15.39 Elohim

RV And when the centurion, which stood by over against him, saw that he so gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

SLT And the centurion, standing over against him, having seen that having so cried out he expired, said, Truly this man was the Son- of God.

Wbstr And when the centurion who stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and expired, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

KJB-1769 ¶ And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

KJB-1611 ¶ And when the Centurion which stood ouer against him, saw that hee so cryed out, and gaue vp the ghost, hee said, Truely this man was the Sonne of God.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps And when the Centurion, which stoode before hym, sawe, that he so cryed, and gaue vp the ghost, he sayde: Truely this man was the sonne of God.
(And when the Centurion, which stood before him, saw, that he so cried, and gave up the ghost, he said: Truly this man was the son of God.)

Gnva Nowe when the Centurion, which stoode ouer against him, sawe that he thus crying gaue vp the ghost, he saide, Truely this man was the Sonne of God.
(Now when the Centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he thus crying gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. )

Cvdl The captayne that stode thereby ouer agaynst him, wha he sawe yt he gaue vp the goost with soch a crye, he sayde: Verely this man was Gods sonne.
(The captain that stood thereby over against him, what he saw it he gave up the ghost with such a cry, he said: Verily/Truly this man was Gods son.)

TNT And when the Centurion which stode before him sawe that he so cryed and gave vp the gooste he sayd: truly this man was the sonne of God.
(And when the Centurion which stood before him saw that he so cried and gave up the ghost he said: truly this man was the son of God. )

Wycl But the centurien that stood forn ayens siy, that he so criynge hadde diede, and seide, Verili, this man was Goddis sone.
(But the centurion that stood forn against see, that he so crying had died, and said, Verili, this man was God’s son.)

Luth Der Hauptmann aber, der dabeistund ihm gegenüber und sah, daß er mit solchem Geschrei verschied, sprach er: Wahrlich, dieser Mensch ist Gottes Sohn gewesen!
(The captain/leader but, the/of_the includedstund him opposite and saw, that he with such shouting(n) various, spoke he: Truly, this person is God’s son been!)

ClVg Videns autem centurio, qui ex adverso stabat, quia sic clamans expirasset, ait: Vere hic homo Filius Dei erat.[fn]
(Seeing however centurio, who/which from on_the_contrary was_standing, because so shouting expirasset, he_said: Vere this/here human Son of_God was. )

15.39 Videns autem, etc. Ostenditur quare centurio miratur, quia vidit eum sic exspirasse, id est spiritum emisisse. Nullus enim habet potestatem emittendi spiritum, nisi conditor animarum. Vere, etc. HIER. Nota quod centurio ante crucem in ipso scandalo passionis vere Filium Dei confitetur: et Arius, etc., usque ad et vere Filium Dei Synagoga tacente confirmat.

15.39 Seeing however, etc. It_is_shown why centurio miratur, because he_saw him so exspirasse, that it_is spirit emisisse. Nullus because has power buystendi spirit, except founder of_souls. Vere, etc. HIER. Note that centurio before cross/frame in/into/on himself scandalo passion really/truly Son of_God confesses: and Arius, etc., until to and really/truly Son of_God Synagoga be_silentnte confirms.

UGNT ἰδὼν δὲ, ὁ κεντυρίων ὁ παρεστηκὼς ἐξ ἐναντίας αὐτοῦ, ὅτι οὕτως ἐξέπνευσεν εἶπεν, ἀληθῶς οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος Υἱὸς Θεοῦ ἦν!
(idōn de, ho kenturiōn ho parestaʸkōs ex enantias autou, hoti houtōs exepneusen eipen, alaʸthōs houtos ho anthrōpos Huios Theou aʸn!)

SBL-GNT ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ κεντυρίων ὁ παρεστηκὼς ἐξ ἐναντίας αὐτοῦ ὅτι ⸀οὕτως ἐξέπνευσεν εἶπεν· Ἀληθῶς ⸂οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος⸃ υἱὸς ⸂θεοῦ ἦν⸃.
(idōn de ho kenturiōn ho parestaʸkōs ex enantias autou hoti ⸀houtōs exepneusen eipen; Alaʸthōs ⸂houtos ho anthrōpos⸃ huios ⸂theou aʸn⸃.)

RP-GNT Ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ κεντυρίων ὁ παρεστηκὼς ἐξ ἐναντίας αὐτοῦ ὅτι οὕτως κράξας ἐξέπνευσεν, εἶπεν, Ἀληθῶς ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος υἱὸς ἦν θεοῦ.
(Idōn de ho kenturiōn ho parestaʸkōs ex enantias autou hoti houtōs kraxas exepneusen, eipen, Alaʸthōs ho anthrōpos houtos huios aʸn theou.)

TC-GNT Ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ κεντυρίων ὁ παρεστηκὼς ἐξ ἐναντίας αὐτοῦ ὅτι οὕτω [fn]κράξας ἐξέπνευσεν, εἶπεν, Ἀληθῶς [fn]ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος υἱὸς [fn]ἦν Θεοῦ.
(Idōn de ho kenturiōn ho parestaʸkōs ex enantias autou hoti houtō kraxas exepneusen, eipen, Alaʸthōs ho anthrōpos houtos huios aʸn Theou. )

15:39 κραξας 96.5% ¦ — ECM^† NA SBL TH WH 0.4%

15:39 ο ανθρωπος ουτος ¦ ουτος ο ανθρωπος CT

15:39 ην θεου ¦ θεου ην ECM NA SBL WH

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

SOTN SIL Open Translation Notes:

Section 15:33–41: Jesus died

Mark told the story of Jesus’ death and indicated the time certain important events happened. Jesus was nailed to the cross at the third hour of the day (9:00 a.m.). Then at the sixth hour (12:00 noon) it became as dark as nighttime. It probably remained dark until Jesus died sometime during the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.).

Three important events happened in this section. First, Jesus shouted, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” These are the only words that Mark recorded that Jesus spoke while on the cross. They show that God the Father rejected Jesus while he took upon himself the sins of mankind. Second, when Jesus died, the curtain in the temple was torn in two. This curtain represented the barrier between mankind and the presence of God. Third, the Roman centurion in charge of the crucifixion confessed that Jesus was the Son of God. (He was the first man in the book of Mark to say this.)

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 death of Jesus

Jesus dies on the cross

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 27:45–56, Luke 23:44–49, and John 19:28–30.

15:39a

When the centurion standing there in front of Jesus

When the Roman officer who was there/near and facing Jesus
The leader/chief of the soldiers was standing near and looking at Jesus.

centurion: A centurion was a Roman military officer. He was the leader of eighty to one hundred soldiers. This particular centurion was the officer in charge of crucifying Jesus and the two robbers.

Here are some other ways to translate centurion:

officer

elder/leader of one hundred soldiers

soldiers’ chief

elder/leader of many soldiers

standing there: The Greek word that the BSB translates as standing there in this context means “who was near” or “who was there.” It is true that this officer was probably standing, but the focus is not on his posture. See how you translated the similar expression at 15:35a–b.

in front of Jesus: The phrase in front of Jesus implies that the Roman officer was facing Jesus and looking at him.

15:39b

saw how He had breathed His last,

saw how Jesus died,
When he saw the way that Jesus died,

saw how He had breathed His last: There is textual issue with this verse. In some Greek manuscripts, there is a word that means “crying out”:

Some Greek manuscripts do not have this word. Most English versions follow these manuscripts. For example, the GNT says:
The army officer…saw how Jesus had died. (GNT) (BSB, RSV, GNT, CEV, GW, ESV, JBP, NASB, NET, NCV, NJB, NLT, REB)
Other Greek manuscripts have this word that means crying out. Only a few English versions follow these manuscripts. For example, the NIV says:
heard his cry and saw how he died (NIV11) (NIV, KJV)

It is recommended that you follow option (1), since it has strong manuscript support and most English versions follow this option. However, you should check the major language version in your area. If it follows option (2), then you may want to follow it. Both options have strong manuscript support.

how He had breathed His last: The Greek word that the BSB translates as how also means “in this way/manner.” It is not exactly clear what this word refers to. Many things about the way Jesus died may have caused the centurion to say what he did in 15:39c. Many events that happened in connection with Jesus’ death may have also cause him to say this. So you should translate this in a general way. For example you could translate 15:39b as:

how Jesus died

When he saw the way that Jesus died

15:39c

he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

he said, “It is true that this man was God’s son.”
he said, “There is no doubt that this man was the son of God.”

Truly this man was: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Truly literally means “certainly.” The centurion’s use of this word expresses his confidence in what he is about to say about Jesus.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

Certainly, this man was (GW)

This man really was (CEV)

the Son of God: The Bible uses the title Son of God to express the fact that Jesus has the same nature as God. The title also indicates that the relationship between God and Jesus, his Son, is similar in some way to the relationship of human fathers and sons. God does not have a physical body, and he did not create/produce Jesus the way a human father produces a son. Jesus existed eternally as the Son with his Father.

In areas where people do not understand the term Son of God in this way, you may wish to include a footnote. For example:

God is the Father of Jesus the Son in a different way than human males are fathers of their sons. The Bible uses the word Son to express the fact that Jesus has the same nature as God. It also indicates that the relationship between God and Jesus, his Son, is similar in some way to the relationship of human fathers and sons.

In languages where there is no single word for “son,” many translators have used a more general expression, such as:

child of God

Other verses will usually make clear that Jesus was a male child. If you use a descriptive phrase such as “male child of God,” be sure that this expression does not imply that God had another child who was female.

The phrase the Son of God also occurs in 1:1 and 3:11. You should translate it here as you did there.

Some languages must distinguish between “the son of God” and “a son of God.” “The son of God” implies that there is only one. “A son of God” implies one son among several. If you must distinguish this in your language, you should say “the son of God.”In the commentaries, there is much discussion about whether this should be translated as “the son of God” or “a son of God,” about whether the meaning should come from what the centurion intended or what Mark intended, and if focused on the centurion, whether he understood Jesus as the unique son of God or simply a heroic man or demi-God according to Greco-Roman thought. The Greek grammar here can support translation into English as either “a” or “the” son of God (Colwell’s rule). However, the anarthrous construction highlights the character or nature of being a “son of God.” It is an English issue that forces us to decide between “a” or “the” son of God since English does not support “this man was son of God” (but see NJB). The distinction between “a son of God” (implying one among many) and “the son of God” (implying unique) need not have been in either the centurion’s or Mark’s mind.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

δὲ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἰδών Δέ ὁ κεντυρίων ὁ παρεστηκώς ἐξ ἐναντίας αὐτοῦ ὅτι οὕτως ἐξέπνευσεν εἶπεν Ἀληθῶς οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος Υἱός Θεοῦ ἦν)

Here, the word Now introduces the next thing that happened. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces the next event, or you could leave Now untranslated. Alternate translation: [Then]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἐναντίας αὐτοῦ

opposite ˱of˲_him

Here, a place opposite him is directly in front of Jesus. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [with Jesus in front of him] or [with Jesus before him]

Note 3 topic: translate-textvariants

οὕτως ἐξέπνευσεν

thus ˱he˲_expired

Some ancient manuscripts read he expired in this way. The ULT follows that reading. Other ancient manuscripts read “crying out in this way he expired.” If a translation of the Bible exists in your region, you may wish to use the reading that it uses. If a translation of the Bible does not exist in your region, you may wish to use the reading of the ULT.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / euphemism

ἐξέπνευσεν

˱he˲_expired

See how you translated the word expired in [15:37](../15/37.md). Alternate translation: [he passed away] or [he died]

Note 5 topic: guidelines-sonofgodprinciples

Υἱὸς Θεοῦ

Son of God is an important title for Jesus that describes his relationship with God the Father.

Parallel MARK 15:39

Section 15:33–41: Jesus died

15:39a

15:39b

15:39c

Jesus’ Arrest, Trial, Crucifixion, and Burial