UTN uW Translation Notes:

Mark 9 General Notes

Structure and Formatting

5. Jesus instructs his disciples and journeys toward Jerusalem (8:22–10:52) * What Jesus and his disciples must do (8:31–9:1) * Jesus is transfigured (9:2–8) * Jesus and the disciples discuss Elijah (9:9–13) * Jesus heals a demon-possessed boy (9:14–29) * Jesus predicts his suffering and death (9:30–32) * Jesus teaches about how his disciples should behave (9:33–50)

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

“transfigured”

In 9:1–8, Mark describes how Jesus was “transfigured.” This word indicates that Jesus looked very different to the disciples. Mark does not tell us all the ways in which Jesus looked different, but he does say that Jesus’ clothes became extremely white. What this means is that the disciples were able to see some of the glory and majesty that Jesus has as God’s Son. Make sure that your translation shows that Jesus looked great and glorious.

Elijah

When Jesus was transfigured, the disciples saw Moses and Elijah talking with him. Later, they ask Jesus about Elijah. They refer specifically to what the scribes say about a prophecy in Malachi 4:5–6, which indicates that God will send “Elijah” to prepare the way before God comes to judge his enemies and reward his people. Malachi is referring to a prophet who lived even earlier. This prophet, named Elijah, performed many miracles and spoke messages from God (see 1 Kings 17–19 and 2 Kings 2:1–17). The disciples ask about whether this Elijah is supposed to come before the Messiah does. Jesus says that this is true, and he talks about this “Elijah” in a way that shows the disciples that John the Baptist was “Elijah.” He means that John fulfills the prophecy in Malachi that someone like the prophet Elijah will prepare the way before God comes to judge and reward people. If your readers would not know the prophecy in Malachi or the stories about the prophet Elijah, you may need to include some of this information in your translation or in a footnote. (See: elijah)

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Hyperbole

In 9:43–48, Jesus commands his disciples to cut off or throw out body parts that cause them to sin. He uses this extreme example of resisting sin in order to show his disciples how serious sin really is. He does not mean that believers should always cut off body parts when they sin. Jesus intends his commands to be shocking, however, so you should preserve the extreme language. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a form that indicates that Jesus’ commands are extreme language.

Stumbling

In 9:42–47, Jesus discusses people and things that cause “stumbling”. He uses this term to refer to sinning. See the notes on these verses for translation options.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Singular and plural forms of “you”

Most of the forms of “you” in this chapter appear in conversations, and many of the conversations are with one person. Because of this, the majority of the forms of “you” in this chapter are singular. So, 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 2, 5, 19, and 35. If it would not be natural to do that in your language, you could use the past tense in your translation. (See: translate-tense)

The allusion to Isaiah 66:24 in verse 48

In verse 48, Jesus uses words that are very similar to words in Isaiah 66:24. However, Jesus does not introduce his words as a quotation. So, Jesus is not directly quoting from Isaiah, but he intended his audience to think of Isaiah 66:24 when they heard what he said. If your readers would not think of Isaiah 66:24, you could refer to it in a footnote.

Verses 44 and 46

Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include anything for 9:44 and 9:46. Some early manuscripts and many later manuscripts include the following words in each verse: “where their worm does not end, and the fire is not quenched.” Since these words also appear in all of the manuscripts in 9:48, it is likely that people who copied the manuscripts accidentally or intentionally added these words earlier as verses 44 and 46. Since the earliest manuscripts do not include these words, the ULT and UST include these words in brackets. 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 omit these words. If it would be helpful, you could put the words in brackets or in a footnote. (See: translate-textvariants)