UTN uW Translation Notes:

Mark 2 General Notes

Structure and Formatting

2. Jesus’ early ministry (1:14–3:6) * Jesus heals a paralytic (2:1–12) * Jesus calls Levi and dines at his house (2:13–17) * Jesus brings something new (2:18–22) * Picking heads of grain on the Sabbath (2:22–28)

Special Concepts in this Chapter

“Sinners”

When Mark uses the word “sinners,” he is describing a group of people whom many Jewish religious groups would have considered to be living in ways that were improper for those who were part of God’s people. Some of these people may have committed significant sins, while others may have disagreed with many of the Jewish religious groups about how Jews could properly behave. If possible, use a word or phrase that identifies people who are not living as many religious groups think that people should live. (See: sin)

Fasting and feasting

In Jesus’ culture, people would “fast,” or abstain from eating for a period of time, in order to honor God or to repent of their sins. They would “feast,” or eat a lot of food, when they were celebrating some important event, such as a wedding. Consider how you will refer to these behaviors in 2:15–22, in which Jesus feasts and teaches about why he and his disciples do not fast. (See: fast)

The Sabbath

In the law that God gave to Moses, God commanded the Israelites to rest on the seventh day, which was called the Sabbath. The Jewish religious leaders disagreed with each other about what kinds of things a person could do on the Sabbath and still rest as God had commanded. In 2:22–28, the Pharisees and Jesus engage in these kinds of debates about the Sabbath. Jesus disagrees with how the Pharisees understand the Sabbath, and he argues for a different view. If your readers may not understand what the Sabbath is and why Jesus and the Pharisees are debating about it, you may need to include some information in a footnote. (See: sabbath)

Important Figures of Speech in this Chapter

The short parables in 2:19–22

In these verses, Jesus gives three short parables that emphasize how certain things do not go well together. Fasting does not happen during a wedding celebration. An unshrunk piece of cloth does not make a good patch for an old garment. Old wineskins do not make good containers for fresh wine that still needs to ferment. Jesus tells these parables to illustrate how his ministry and preaching do not match well with how people had previously done things. In other words, Jesus wants people to expect what he does to be new, and this may require thinking and doing many new things. You should preserve these parables, since they are not direct metaphors. If necessary, you could introduce them in such a way that your readers recognize that they are parables or illustrations. See the notes on each verse for possible translation options. (See: figs-parables)

Other Possible Translation Difficulties in this Chapter

Singular and plural forms of “you”

Many of the forms of “you” in this chapter appear in dialogues between Jesus and other individuals. Because of this, most forms of “you” in this chapter are singular. You should assume forms of “you” are singular unless a note specifies that the form is plural. (See: figs-yousingular)

The historic present

To call attention to a development in the story, Mark uses the present tense in past narration. In this chapter, the historic present occurs in verses 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, 18, 25. If it would not be natural to do that in your language, you could use the past tense in your translation. (See: translate-tense)