UTN uW Translation Notes:

Mark 8 Chapter Introduction

Structure and Formatting

4. Jesus expands his ministry and encounters opposition (6:7–8:21)
   • Jesus feeds 4,000 people (8:1–10)
   • The Pharisees test Jesus (8:11–13)
   • The yeast of the Pharisees and Herod (8:14–21)
5. Jesus instructs his disciples and journeys toward Jerusalem (8:22–10:52)
   • Jesus heals a blind man (8:22–26)
   • Who Jesus really is (8:27–30)
   • What Jesus and his disciples must do (8:31–9:1)

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

The miracle of multiplying food

In 8:1–10, Mark tells a story in which Jesus provides 4,000 people with food. All these people were in a place where no people lived, and all the food that Jesus and his disciples had were seven loaves of bread and a few fish. Despite that, Jesus used the seven loaves of bread and the few fish to feed everyone who was there. Mark does not tell us exactly how Jesus did this, but he does say that there were more leftovers than what they started with. Your translation should not explain how Jesus multiplied the food, but it should be clear that he did a miracle. Mark told a similar story about how Jesus fed 5,000 men in 6:30–44, so see how you expressed the ideas there.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

The yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod

In 8:14–21, Jesus tells his disciples to watch out for the “yeast” of the Pharisees and the “yeast” of Herod. The disciples misunderstand him and think that he is saying something about bread, which they forgot to bring with them. In response, Jesus reminds them that he is not talking about lack of bread, since he has proved twice that he can multiply food. He implies that “yeast” refers to what the Pharisees and Herod teach and do. Since the disciples misunderstanding “yeast” is an important part of this passage, and since Jesus never directly explains what “yeast” means, if possible you should avoid making that idea more explicit. If you do explain what “yeast” means, if possible only do so after Jesus has made it clear that he is not speaking about literal yeast. (See: figs-metaphor)

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Singular and plural forms of “you”

Many of the forms of “you” in this chapter appear when Jesus is talking to his disciples. Because of this, most forms of “you” in this chapter are plural. You should assume forms of “you” are plural unless a note specifies that the form is singular. (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, 6, 12, 17, 19, 20, 22, 29, and 33. If it would not be natural to do that in your language, you could use the past tense in your translation. (See: translate-tense)