MARK 6:52 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) because they hadn’t understood the implications of him feeding all the people because their minds were closed.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, 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 For they did not understand about the loaves, but their heart was having been hardened.

UST They reacted that way because they did not realize what it meant when Jesus fed the large group of people with the loaves of bread. In fact, they stubbornly refused to understand it.

BLB for they had not understood about the loaves, but their heart had been hardened.

AICNT for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

OEB for they had not understood about the loaves, their minds being slow to learn.

WEBBE for they hadn’t understood about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET because they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

LSV for they did not understand concerning the loaves, for their heart has been hard.

FBV for they hadn't understood the meaning of the feeding miracle due to their stubborn, hard-hearted attitude.

TCNT for they did not understand the significance of what had happened with the loaves, [fn]because their hearts were hardened.

6:52 because ¦ but ANT CT

T4T Although they had seen Jesus multiply the bread and the fish, they did not understand from that how powerful he was, as they should have. They did not think clearly about it.

LEB because they did not understand concerning the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

BBE For it was not clear to them about the bread; but their hearts were hard.

Moff for they had not understood the lesson of the loaves; their minds were dull.

Wymth For they had not learned the lesson taught by the loaves, but their minds were dull.

ASV for they understood not concerning the loaves, but their heart was hardened.

DRA For they understood not concerning the loaves; for their heart was blinded.

YLT for they understood not concerning the loaves, for their heart hath been hard.

Drby for they understood not through the loaves: for their heart was hardened.

RV for they understood not concerning the loaves, but their heart was hardened.

SLT For they understood not the loaves; for their heart was hardened.

Wbstr For they considered not the miracle of the loaves; for their heart was hardened.

KJB-1769 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.

KJB-1611 For they considered not the miracle of the loaues, for their heart was hardened.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps For they vnderstoode not the miracle of the loaues, because their heart was hardened.
(For they understood not the miracle of the loaves, because their heart was hardened.)

Gnva For they had not considered the matter of the loaues, because their hearts were hardened.
(For they had not considered the matter of the loaves, because their hearts were hardened. )

Cvdl for they had forgotten the loaues, and their hert was blynded.
(for they had forgotten the loaves, and their heart was blinded.)

TNT For they remembred not of the loves because their hertes were blynded.
(For they remembered not of the loves because their hearts were blinded. )

Wycl for thei vndurstoden not of the looues; for her herte was blyndid.
(for they understood not of the loaves; for her heart was blinded.)

Luth Denn sie waren nichts verständiger worden über den Broten, und ihr Herz war erstarret.
(Because they/she/them were nothing more_reasonable been above the bread, and you(pl)/their/her heart what/which frozen.)

ClVg non enim intellexerunt de panibus: erat enim cor eorum obcæcatum.[fn]
(not/no because they_understood from/about bread: was because heart their blinded. )

6.52 Non enim intellexerunt. BEDA. Miraculo panum, quod esset rerum conditor ostendit. Ambulando super undas, quod totum corpus habebat liberum ab omni gravedine peccati. Placando ventos et undas, quod elementis dominaretur ostendit. Sed carnales adhuc discipuli magnitudine quidem virtutum stupebant, sed divinæ majestatis veritatem non cognoscebant.

6.52 Not/No because they_understood. BEDA. Miraculo bread/food, that was things founder he_showed. Ambulando over waves, that whole body had liberum away all gravedine of_sin. Placando with_the_winds and waves, that elements would_dominate he_showed. But carnal still students size indeed virtues they_were_astonished, but divine majesty the_truth not/no they_knew.

UGNT οὐ γὰρ συνῆκαν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἄρτοις, ἀλλ’ ἦν αὐτῶν ἡ καρδία πεπωρωμένη.
(ou gar sunaʸkan epi tois artois, all’ aʸn autōn haʸ kardia pepōrōmenaʸ.)

SBL-GNT οὐ γὰρ συνῆκαν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἄρτοις, ⸂ἀλλʼ ἦν⸃ αὐτῶν ἡ καρδία πεπωρωμένη.
(ou gar sunaʸkan epi tois artois, ⸂allʼ aʸn⸃ autōn haʸ kardia pepōrōmenaʸ.)

RP-GNT Οὐ γὰρ συνῆκαν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἄρτοις· ἦν γὰρ αὐτῶν ἡ καρδία πεπωρωμένη.
(Ou gar sunaʸkan epi tois artois; aʸn gar autōn haʸ kardia pepōrōmenaʸ.)

TC-GNT Οὐ γὰρ συνῆκαν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἄρτοις· [fn]ἦν γὰρ [fn]αὐτῶν ἡ καρδία πεπωρωμένη.
(Ou gar sunaʸkan epi tois artois; aʸn gar autōn haʸ kardia pepōrōmenaʸ. )

6:52 ην γαρ ¦ αλλ ην ANT CT

6:52 αυτων η καρδια ¦ η καρδια αυτων TR

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 6:45–52: Jesus walked on the water of the lake

This section tells about another miracle that showed Jesus’ power. After he fed the five thousand men, Jesus urged his disciples to get into their boat and go to the other side of the lake. Then during the night he came to them while they were still in the boat on the lake. He walked to them on the surface of the water and climbed into the boat with them.

There are several ways to divide this section into paragraphs:

Two paragraphs (as in the GNT)
6:45–50a
6:50b–52
Three paragraphs (as in the BSB, NIV, RSV, CEV, NLT)
6:45–46
6:47–50a
6:50b–52
One paragraph (as in the NJB, NET, ESV)
6:45–52

You should divide this section into paragraphs in a way that is natural in your language. The Notes and Display follow option (a).

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

Here is another possible heading for this section:

Jesus walks on the water

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 14:22–23 and John 6:15–21.

6:52a

for they had not understood about the loaves,

because they had also not understood the miracle about the loaves.
because they had not understood what the miracle of the loaves showed about Jesus.

for: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as for here introduces an explanation. Mark explained why the disciples were completely amazed that Jesus could walk on water.

Some English versions do not translate this word.

Translate for using a word that shows that you are explaining why the disciples were amazed and surprised.

they had not understood about the loaves: The Greek phrase that the BSB literally translates as they had not understood about the loaves indicates that the disciples did not understand who Jesus was. They did not understand that the miracle of the bread showed that Jesus had divine power. In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this implied information explicit. For example:

they had not understood the real meaning of the feeding of the five thousand (GNT)

They still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the multiplied loaves (NLT96)

Although they had seen Jesus multiply the loaves of bread, they still did not understand what that meant about his power

6:52b

but their hearts had been hardened.

Their minds were closed.
They should have understood, but they were too stubborn.

but: There is a textual issue in this verse:

Some Greek manuscripts begin this clause with a conjunction that means “but rather” or “instead.”This is the reading that the UBS4 follows (page 144). For example:
but their hearts were hardened (RSV)
Instead, their minds were closed. (GW) (RSV, NASB, ESV, NET, GW)
Other Greek manuscripts begin this clause with a conjunction that means “for” or “because.” For example, the NCV has:
because their minds were closed (BSB, NCV, KJV)

When you translate 6:52b, you may either:

Leave the conjunction implied, as do the NIV, REB, NJB, GNT, NLT, and JBP.
Follow option (1) above. In order to translate option (1), you may have to repeat some information or make some information explicit. For example:
Instead of understanding, their hearts were hardened
They should have understood, but their hearts were hardened

their hearts had been hardened: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as their hearts had been hardened is an idiom. This idiom refers to people who are too stubborn to understand spiritual truth. It does not refer to a lack of intelligence. In this context the disciples had seen Jesus do many miracles, but they still did not understand what his miracles showed about him. The idiom implies that the disciples should have understood that.

You can translate this idiom in two ways:

General Comment on 6:52a–b

Use a figure of speech from your language that refers to people being too stubborn to understand something. For example, here are some other English idioms:
Their minds were closed (CEV)
They had not opened their hearts.
Translate the meaning of the figure of speech. For example:
They were too stubborn to understand.

In some languages, it will be more natural to change the order of these phrases. For example, the CEV has:

^52bTheir minds were closed, ^52aand they could not understand the true meaning of the loaves of bread.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

γὰρ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ γάρ συνῆκαν ἐπί τοῖς ἄρτοις ἀλλʼ ἦν αὐτῶν ἡ καρδία πεπωρωμένη)

Here, the word For introduces an explanation about why the disciples reacted the way they did. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces an explanation, or you could leave For untranslated. Alternate translation: [They were so amazed because] or [They responded like that since]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

οὐ & συνῆκαν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἄρτοις

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ γάρ συνῆκαν ἐπί τοῖς ἄρτοις ἀλλʼ ἦν αὐτῶν ἡ καρδία πεπωρωμένη)

Here Mark implies that they did not understand what Jesus’ miracle with the loaves indicated about him. In other words, when Jesus fed many people with just five loaves, it meant that he was a very powerful, special person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [they did not understand what it meant when Jesus fed many people with the five loaves] or [they did not realize the significance of the miracle Jesus had performed with the loaves]

Note 3 topic: translate-unknown

τοῖς ἄρτοις

the loaves

See how you translated loaves in [6:38](../06/38.md). Alternate translation: [large chunks of bread]

Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

τοῖς ἄρτοις ἀλλ’

the loaves but

Here, the word but introduces what was true about the disciples (they had hard hearts) in contrast with what they should have done (understand about the loaves). If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces this kind of contrast, or you could leave but untranslated. Alternate translation: [the loaves; instead,]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἦν αὐτῶν ἡ καρδία πεπωρωμένη

was ˱of˲_them the heart ˓having_been˒_hardened

Here, Mark is speaking of the disciples’ heart as if it were having been hardened. He means that the disciples were stubborn and refused to listen and learn. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [they were being stubborn] or [they were unwilling to pay attention]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ἦν αὐτῶν ἡ καρδία πεπωρωμένη

was ˱of˲_them the heart ˓having_been˒_hardened

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. If you need to say who did the action, you could indicate that it was the disciples themselves. Alternate translation: [their hearts had become hard] or [they had hardened their hearts]

Note 7 topic: grammar-collectivenouns

αὐτῶν ἡ καρδία

˱of˲_them the heart

If it would not be natural in your language to speak as if a group of people had only one heart, you could use the plural form of that word in your translation. Alternate translation: [their hearts]

Parallel MARK 6:52

Section 6:45–52: Jesus walked on the water of the lake

6:52a

6:52b

General Comment on 6:52a–b