1
Καὶ ἐκεῖθεν ἀναστὰς ἔρχεται εἰς τὰ ὅρια τῆς Ἰουδαίας ⸀καὶ πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, καὶ συμπορεύονται πάλιν ὄχλοι πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ ὡς εἰώθει πάλιν ἐδίδασκεν αὐτούς.
And rising from there he comes into the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; and crowds gather to him again, and as he was accustomed he taught them again.
As he was accustomed — the writer marks teaching as the habit.
first here Judea Ἰουδαία Ioudaia
first here Jordan Ἰορδάνης Iordanēs
pronoun he = Jesus — both times
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun them = the crowds
2
⸀Καὶ ⸀ἐπηρώτων αὐτὸν εἰ ἔξεστιν ἀνδρὶ γυναῖκα ἀπολῦσαι, πειράζοντες αὐτόν.
And Pharisees came and were asking him whether it is lawful for a man to divorce a wife, testing him.
Testing is the verb of 1:13 and 8:11. This book puts the question with no exception clause; Matthew 19:3 adds one.
pronoun him = Jesus — both times
3
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Τί ὑμῖν ἐνετείλατο Μωϋσῆς;
And answering he said to them, “What did Moses command you?”
The question is met with a question about Moses.
first here Moses Μωϋσῆς Mōysēs
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun them = the Pharisees
pronoun you = the Pharisees
4
οἱ δὲ εἶπαν· ⸂Ἐπέτρεψεν Μωϋσῆς⸃ βιβλίον ἀποστασίου γράψαι καὶ ἀπολῦσαι.
And they said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
Allowed — they answer with a permission where he asked for a command.
pronoun they = the Pharisees
pronoun her = the wife
5
⸂ὁ δὲ⸃ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Πρὸς τὴν σκληροκαρδίαν ὑμῶν ἔγραψεν ὑμῖν τὴν ἐντολὴν ταύτην·
But Jesus said to them, “It was for your hardness of heart that he wrote you this commandment.
Hardness of heart renders σκληροκαρδία (sklērokardia), one word in Greek.
first here Jesus Ἰησοῦς Iēsous
pronoun them = the Pharisees
pronoun your = the Pharisees
pronoun he = Moses
pronoun you = the Pharisees
6
ἀπὸ δὲ ἀρχῆς κτίσεως ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν ⸀αὐτούς·
But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.
The answer goes behind Moses to the beginning.
pronoun them = male and female
7
ἕνεκεν τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα ⸂καὶ προσκολληθήσεται πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ⸃,
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
And be joined to his wife — the manuscripts differ over whether this half stands.
pronoun his = a man
8
καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν· ὥστε οὐκέτι εἰσὶν δύο ἀλλὰ μία σάρξ·
and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh.
One flesh — the Greek says “into one flesh”.
pronoun they = the two
9
ὃ οὖν ὁ θεὸς συνέζευξεν ἄνθρωπος μὴ χωριζέτω.
What therefore God has yoked together, let no man separate.”
Yoked together renders συζεύγνυμι (syzeugnymi), built on the word for a yoke.
10
Καὶ ⸂εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν⸃ πάλιν οἱ μαθηταὶ ⸂περὶ τούτου⸃ ⸀ἐπηρώτων αὐτόν.
And in the house the disciples were asking him about this again.
The disciples ask in the house, as at 4:10, 7:17 and 9:28.
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun this = the matter of divorce
11
καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ὃς ⸀ἂν ἀπολύσῃ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ καὶ γαμήσῃ ἄλλην μοιχᾶται ἐπ’ αὐτήν,
And he says to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her;
Against her — only this book has these words.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun them = the disciples
pronoun his = whoever divorces
pronoun her = his wife
12
καὶ ἐὰν ⸂αὐτὴ ἀπολύσασα τὸν ἄνδρα αὐτῆς γαμήσῃ ἄλλον⸃ μοιχᾶται.
and if she, having divorced her husband, marries another, she commits adultery.”
If she, having divorced her husband — only this book puts the case of the wife. Roman law allowed it; Jewish law did not.
pronoun she = the wife — both times
pronoun her = the wife
13
Καὶ προσέφερον αὐτῷ παιδία ἵνα ⸂αὐτῶν ἅψηται⸃· οἱ δὲ μαθηταὶ ⸂ἐπετίμησαν αὐτοῖς⸃.
And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.
The disciples rebuked them — the rebuke-word of 1:25 and 8:32, here turned on those who bring children.
pronoun them = those bringing the children — “that he might touch them” is the children
pronoun they = the people
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun he = Jesus
14
ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἠγανάκτησεν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ἄφετε τὰ παιδία ἔρχεσθαι πρός με, μὴ κωλύετε αὐτά, τῶν γὰρ τοιούτων ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ.
But seeing it Jesus was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them. For of such is the kingdom of God.
Indignant (ἀγανακτέω, aganakteō) — only this book records the feeling here.
pronoun it = what the disciples did
pronoun them = the disciples — “do not prevent them” is the children
pronoun me = Jesus
15
ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὃς ⸀ἂν μὴ δέξηται τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ ὡς παιδίον, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθῃ εἰς αὐτήν.
Amen I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will certainly not enter into it.”
Like a child — the Greek can mean “as a child receives” or “as one receives a child”.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun you = the disciples
pronoun it = the kingdom of God
16
καὶ ἐναγκαλισάμενος αὐτὰ ⸂κατευλόγει τιθεὶς τὰς χεῖρας ἐπ’ αὐτά⸃.
And taking them into his arms he was blessing them, laying his hands on them.
Blessing — the same verb as at 6:41, and this edition keeps one word for all four places.
pronoun them = the children — every “them” here is the children
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun his = Jesus
17
Καὶ ἐκπορευομένου αὐτοῦ εἰς ὁδὸν προσδραμὼν εἷς καὶ γονυπετήσας αὐτὸν ἐπηρώτα αὐτόν· Διδάσκαλε ἀγαθέ, τί ποιήσω ἵνα ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσω;
And as he was going out on the way, one ran up and knelt before him and was asking him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
One ran up — the man is not called young or a ruler in this book. Inherit is a legal word.
pronoun he = Jesus — “one ran up and knelt” is the man
pronoun him = Jesus — both times
pronoun I = the man
18
ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν; οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ θεός.
And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except one — God.
Why do you call me good? — the question is not answered here.
pronoun him = the man
pronoun you = the man
pronoun me = Jesus
19
τὰς ἐντολὰς οἶδας· Μὴ ⸂φονεύσῃς, Μὴ μοιχεύσῃς⸃, Μὴ κλέψῃς, Μὴ ψευδομαρτυρήσῃς, Μὴ ἀποστερήσῃς, Τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα.
You know the commandments: do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honour your father and mother.”
Do not defraud stands only in this book's list.
pronoun You = the man
pronoun your = the man
20
ὁ δὲ ⸀ἔφη αὐτῷ· Διδάσκαλε, ταῦτα πάντα ἐφυλαξάμην ἐκ νεότητός μου.
And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”
From my youth — the man does not dispute the list.
pronoun he = the man
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun I = the man
pronoun my = the man
21
ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἐμβλέψας αὐτῷ ἠγάπησεν αὐτὸν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἕν ⸀σε ὑστερεῖ· ὕπαγε ὅσα ἔχεις πώλησον καὶ δὸς ⸀τοῖς πτωχοῖς, καὶ ἕξεις θησαυρὸν ἐν οὐρανῷ, καὶ δεῦρο ἀκολούθει ⸀μοι.
And Jesus, looking hard at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you fall short of. Go, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Loved him — only this book says it, and it is said just before the hard word.
pronoun him = the man — every “him” here is the man
pronoun you = the man — both times
pronoun me = Jesus
Why this rendering
Mark.10.21 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἠγάπησεν αὐτόν — the one place in Mark where Jesus is the subject of loving a person. The book has ἀγαπάω five times; the other four are all quotations of the commandment at 12:30-33, love God, love your neighbour. It is at 10:21 that the narrator reports a love of Jesus. And the position of that love is before the demand: he loves the man, then tells him to sell everything. ἐμβλέψας is a fixed look, not a glance; Mark has four, two of them in this chapter (21, 27). Ἕν σε ὑστερεῖ reads literally one thing makes you fall short — ὑστερέω occurs only here in the book, and its subject is not the man but that one thing. In v.22 στυγνάσας stands at one of only two places in the four Gospels, the other being Matthew 16:3, of a lowering sky: a word for a sky darkening over, used of a face. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀σε ⸀τοῖς ⸀μοι.).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted v.22 “his face darkened at the word, and he went away grieving”
Basis Keeps the picture in the face — a sky clouding over — leaving it distinct from the λυπούμενος, grieving, that follows.
v.22 “disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful”
Basis Renders both words as emotion terms.
Rejected στυγνάζω and λυπέομαι collapse into one register and one of them is lost. The first is the visible face, the second the inner state — Mark records the outside first and the inside after.
Lost in translation
the placement of the love The Greek runs looked—loved—said, so that the order itself says the demand comes out of the love. Broken into separate sentences, the love becomes a parenthesis and the demand a thing apart.
Survives in · Vulgata Clementina / Peshitta / Armenian (Western) / Церковнославянская 1900 / Синодальный перевод / Delitzsch Hebrew NT (1877) / this edition — 7 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
22
ὁ δὲ στυγνάσας ἐπὶ τῷ λόγῳ ἀπῆλθεν λυπούμενος, ἦν γὰρ ἔχων κτήματα πολλά.
But his face darkened at the word, and he went away grieving; for he had many possessions.
His face darkened renders στυγνάζω (stygnazō), a word for a gloomy sky.
pronoun his = the man
pronoun he = the man — both times
23
Καὶ περιβλεψάμενος ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγει τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ· Πῶς δυσκόλως οἱ τὰ χρήματα ἔχοντες εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ εἰσελεύσονται.
And looking around, Jesus says to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.”
Looking around is this book's gesture, as at 3:5, 5:32 and 9:8.
pronoun his = Jesus
24
οἱ δὲ μαθηταὶ ἐθαμβοῦντο ἐπὶ τοῖς λόγοις αὐτοῦ. ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς πάλιν ἀποκριθεὶς λέγει αὐτοῖς· Τέκνα, πῶς δύσκολόν ⸀ἐστιν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ εἰσελθεῖν·
And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus, answering again, says to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God.
Children (τέκνα, tekna) — the address is warm, and the saying is not softened. Some manuscripts add “for those who trust in riches”.
pronoun his = Jesus
pronoun them = the disciples
25
εὐκοπώτερόν ἐστιν κάμηλον διὰ ⸂τῆς τρυμαλιᾶς τῆς⸃ ῥαφίδος ⸀διελθεῖν ἢ πλούσιον εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ εἰσελθεῖν.
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Eye of a needle — the three books use three different pairs of words for the needle and its hole; this edition keeps them apart.
26
οἱ δὲ περισσῶς ἐξεπλήσσοντο λέγοντες πρὸς ⸀ἑαυτούς· Καὶ τίς δύναται σωθῆναι;
And they were even more astounded, saying to one another, “Then who can be saved?”
Then who can be saved? — the disciples read wealth as a sign of favour.
pronoun they = the disciples
27
⸀ἐμβλέψας αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγει· Παρὰ ἀνθρώποις ἀδύνατον ἀλλ’ οὐ παρὰ θεῷ, πάντα γὰρ ⸀δυνατὰ παρὰ τῷ θεῷ.
Looking hard at them, Jesus says, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”
Looking hard is the verb of verse 21, where it went with loving.
pronoun them = the disciples
pronoun it = entering the kingdom
28
Ἤρξατο ⸂λέγειν ὁ Πέτρος⸃ αὐτῷ· Ἰδοὺ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν πάντα καὶ ⸀ἠκολουθήκαμέν σοι.
Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and have followed you.”
We have left everything — Peter answers the man of verse 22 without naming him.
first here Peter Πέτρος Petros
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun we = the disciples
pronoun you = Jesus
29
⸂ἔφη ὁ Ἰησοῦς⸃· Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐδείς ἐστιν ὃς ἀφῆκεν οἰκίαν ἢ ἀδελφοὺς ἢ ἀδελφὰς ἢ ⸂μητέρα ἢ πατέρα⸃ ἢ τέκνα ἢ ἀγροὺς ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ καὶ ἕνεκεν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου,
Jesus said, “Amen I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, because of me and because of the gospel,
Because of me and because of the gospel — the second clause is this book's own.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun you = the disciples
pronoun me = Jesus
30
ἐὰν μὴ λάβῃ ἑκατονταπλασίονα νῦν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τούτῳ οἰκίας καὶ ἀδελφοὺς καὶ ἀδελφὰς καὶ ⸀μητέρας καὶ τέκνα καὶ ἀγροὺς μετὰ διωγμῶν, καὶ ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τῷ ἐρχομένῳ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time — houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, with persecutions — and in the age to come eternal life.
With persecutions — only this book puts them in the list of what is received.
pronoun who = the one who has left
Why this rendering
Mark.10.30 Observation
Syntactic observation
Set the two lists side by side and one item fails to match. What is left in v.29 is seven — house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, fields. What is received a hundredfold in v.30 is six — houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, fields. The father does not come back. This is not a variant: neither the Textus Receptus nor 개역한글 nor the KJV prints a father here — the mismatch belongs to the text. And at the end of the list stands μετὰ διωγμῶν, with persecutions. διωγμός has two places in Mark: at 4:17 persecution is what makes people fall away; at 10:30 it sits inside what is received a hundredfold — the same word once as the reason for losing, once as an item on the list of gains. ἑκατονταπλασίων, hundredfold, occurs only here in the book. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀μητέρας).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted Both lists as they stand — father in v.29, absent in v.30
Basis The mismatch is the text; the translation does not even it out. The reader is left able to count.
Add fathers to v.30 so the lists agree
Basis Completes the parallel.
Rejected It would add a word the text does not have. And the mismatch is itself legible — the text marks in silence what does not come back, and evening it out erases the mark.
Lost in translation
singular into plural v.29 is singular (a house, a mother), v.30 plural (houses, mothers). English marks the plural at the word itself, so the shift is visible — one of the places where nothing is given up.
Survives in · King James 1769 / English Standard Version† / New American Standard (1995)† / World English / this edition — 7 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
31
πολλοὶ δὲ ἔσονται πρῶτοι ἔσχατοι καὶ ⸀οἱ ἔσχατοι πρῶτοι.
But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
The saying closes the exchange and returns at Matthew 20:16 in another setting.
32
Ἦσαν δὲ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ἀναβαίνοντες εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα, καὶ ἦν προάγων αὐτοὺς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, καὶ ἐθαμβοῦντο, ⸂οἱ δὲ⸃ ἀκολουθοῦντες ἐφοβοῦντο. καὶ παραλαβὼν πάλιν τοὺς δώδεκα ἤρξατο αὐτοῖς λέγειν τὰ μέλλοντα αὐτῷ συμβαίνειν
And they were on the way going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; and they were astonished, and those following were afraid. And taking the twelve aside again he began to tell them the things about to happen to him:
Walking ahead of them — only this book has him going in front, and only this book names two kinds of fear.
pronoun they = the disciples — both times
pronoun them = the disciples
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun him = Jesus
33
ὅτι Ἰδοὺ ἀναβαίνομεν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα, καὶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου παραδοθήσεται τοῖς ἀρχιερεῦσιν καὶ ⸀τοῖς γραμματεῦσιν, καὶ κατακρινοῦσιν αὐτὸν θανάτῳ καὶ παραδώσουσιν αὐτὸν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν
“Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles;
Gentiles renders ἔθνη (ethnē), the nations. This is the third and fullest telling of the death.
pronoun we = Jesus and the disciples
pronoun they = the chief priests and scribes
pronoun him = the Son of Man
34
καὶ ἐμπαίξουσιν αὐτῷ καὶ ⸂ἐμπτύσουσιν αὐτῷ καὶ μαστιγώσουσιν αὐτὸν⸃ καὶ ⸀ἀποκτενοῦσιν, καὶ ⸂μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας⸃ ἀναστήσεται.
and they will mock him and spit on him and flog him and kill him; and after three days he will rise.”
Spit on him — the same act done to him at 14:65 and 15:19.
pronoun they = the Gentiles
pronoun him = the Son of Man — every “him” here is the Son of Man
pronoun he = the Son of Man
35
Καὶ προσπορεύονται αὐτῷ Ἰάκωβος καὶ Ἰωάννης ⸀οἱ υἱοὶ Ζεβεδαίου λέγοντες ⸀αὐτῷ· Διδάσκαλε, θέλομεν ἵνα ὃ ἐὰν αἰτήσωμέν ⸀σε ποιήσῃς ἡμῖν.
And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come up to him, saying to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask you.”
We want you to do for us whatever we ask — the request is made before it is named.
first here James Ἰάκωβος Iakōbos
first here John Ἰωάννης Iōannēs
first here Zebedee Ζεβεδαῖος Zebedaios
pronoun him = Jesus — both times
pronoun we = James and John — both times
pronoun you = Jesus — both times
pronoun us = James and John
36
ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Τί θέλετε ⸀ποιήσω ὑμῖν;
And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The question in verse 36 comes back word for word at verse 51, put to a blind man.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun them = James and John
pronoun you = James and John — both times
pronoun me = Jesus
37
οἱ δὲ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· Δὸς ἡμῖν ἵνα εἷς ⸂σου ἐκ δεξιῶν⸃ καὶ εἷς ἐξ ⸀ἀριστερῶν καθίσωμεν ἐν τῇ δόξῃ σου.
And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right and one at your left, in your glory.”
In your glory — Matthew 20:21 says “in your kingdom”.
pronoun they = James and John
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun us = James and John
pronoun your = Jesus — every “your” here is Jesus
38
ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Οὐκ οἴδατε τί αἰτεῖσθε· δύνασθε πιεῖν τὸ ποτήριον ὃ ἐγὼ πίνω, ⸀ἢ τὸ βάπτισμα ὃ ἐγὼ βαπτίζομαι βαπτισθῆναι;
But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
The cup and the baptism stand together here; Matthew 20:22 has the cup alone. Luke moves the baptism to 12:50.
pronoun them = James and John
pronoun You = James and John
pronoun you = James and John
pronoun I = Jesus — both times
39
οἱ δὲ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· Δυνάμεθα. ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· ⸀Τὸ ποτήριον ὃ ἐγὼ πίνω πίεσθε καὶ τὸ βάπτισμα ὃ ἐγὼ βαπτίζομαι βαπτισθήσεσθε,
And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized with;
We are able — the answer is taken up rather than refused.
pronoun they = James and John
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun We = James and John
pronoun them = James and John
pronoun I = Jesus — both times
pronoun you = James and John — both times
40
τὸ δὲ καθίσαι ἐκ δεξιῶν μου ⸀ἢ ἐξ εὐωνύμων οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὸν δοῦναι, ἀλλ’ οἷς ἡτοίμασται.
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give — it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
Not mine to give — the Greek says only “it is not mine to give, but for those for whom it has been prepared”, and does not say by whom.
pronoun my = Jesus — both times
pronoun mine = Jesus
pronoun it = the sitting at right and left
41
Καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ δέκα ἤρξαντο ἀγανακτεῖν περὶ Ἰακώβου καὶ Ἰωάννου.
And hearing it, the ten began to be indignant about James and John.
Indignant is the word used of Jesus at verse 14 — here it is the ten.
pronoun it = what James and John asked
42
⸂καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος αὐτοὺς ὁ Ἰησοῦς⸃ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Οἴδατε ὅτι οἱ δοκοῦντες ἄρχειν τῶν ἐθνῶν κατακυριεύουσιν αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ μεγάλοι αὐτῶν κατεξουσιάζουσιν αὐτῶν.
And calling them to himself, Jesus says to them, “You know that those who are held to rule the nations lord it down over them, and their great ones wield authority down over them.
Lord it down over and wield authority down over keep two Greek compounds built with a preposition that means “down”.
pronoun them = the twelve — “lord it down over them … over them” is the nations
pronoun himself = Jesus
pronoun You = the twelve
pronoun who = those held to rule
pronoun their = the nations
Why this rendering
Mark.10.42 Observation
Syntactic observation
οἱ δοκοῦντες ἄρχειν — those who are held to rule. There is a layer folded into how Jesus names the rulers: not simply ἄρχοντες but δοκοῦντες, those who seem or are reckoned. The sentence suspends, or inverts, whether their ruling is ruling. The two verbs that follow both carry κατα-, the prefix of pressing down: κατακυριεύουσιν, they lord it down over them, and κατεξουσιάζουσιν, they wield authority down over them. Not the bare κυριεύω and ἐξουσιάζω but the compounded forms, twice in a row. Verses 43-44 set διάκονος, servant, and δοῦλος, slave, into that place as a descending stair, and v.45 puts the Son of Man at the bottom of it. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸂καὶ Ἰησοῦς⸃).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “those who are held to rule the nations”
Basis Keeps δοκοῦντες in the sentence. That one word is the reservation about what their rule is.
“the rulers of the nations”
Basis Drops the reservation for concision.
Rejected Without the reservation the sentence becomes a neutral report about rule. The Greek does not say they rule; it says they are held to rule — and the whole direction of v.42 turns on that.
Lost in translation
the direction of κατα- The κατα- on both verbs draws a pressing down from above. 주관하다 and lord it over carry some of the direction, but not the grammatical weight of one prefix repeated twice.
Survives in · New International Version (2011)† / New English Translation† / Berean Standard / this edition — 4 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
43
οὐχ οὕτως δέ ⸀ἐστιν ἐν ὑμῖν· ἀλλ’ ὃς ⸀ἂν θέλῃ ⸂μέγας γενέσθαι⸃ ἐν ὑμῖν, ἔσται ὑμῶν διάκονος,
But it is not so among you. Rather, whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant,
Servant is the table-word of 9:35.
pronoun it = the way of the nations
pronoun you = the twelve — both times
pronoun your = the twelve
44
καὶ ὃς ⸀ἂν θέλῃ ⸂ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι⸃ πρῶτος, ἔσται πάντων δοῦλος·
and whoever wants to be first among you shall be slave of all.
Slave (δοῦλος, doulos) is a stronger word than the servant of verse 43; this edition keeps them apart.
pronoun you = the twelve
45
καὶ γὰρ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἦλθεν διακονηθῆναι ἀλλὰ διακονῆσαι καὶ δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν.
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom in the place of many.”
Ransom (λύτρον, lytron) is a price paid to free someone. In the place of renders ἀντί (anti), which means in exchange for.
pronoun his = the Son of Man
Why this rendering
Mark.10.45 Observation
Syntactic observation
λύτρον occurs only here in the book: the price paid to release a person, the money that frees a captive or a slave. Before it stands ἀντί — the preposition meaning in the place of, instead of, not on behalf of (which would be ὑπέρ). So the sentence says not a ransom for many but a ransom in the place of many. And the content of that ransom is τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ — the very word that was weighed against the whole world at 8:35-37. διακονέω comes twice in this one verse, passive against active, to be served against to serve; two of the verb's five places in Mark are here. The others are 1:13 (angels serving), 1:31 (the woman raised from fever serving), 15:41 (the women who watched the cross had served him) — in the three places other than this one, the subjects who serve are angels and women.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “to give his life a ransom in the place of many”
Basis Keeps both the picture of λύτρον (a price that releases) and the direction of ἀντί (standing in the place). ψυχή stays life, as fixed for 8:35-37.
“as a ransom for many”
Basis Uses the conventional rendering.
Rejected 대속물 already carries a whole scheme of interpretation and says more than the sentence does. English for many likewise shifts ἀντί toward ὑπέρ — Greek distinguishes the two, and here it chose ἀντί.
Lost in translation
the economics of the ransom λύτρον is a word for a sum that actually changes hands. To whom it is paid the text does not say, but the picture of a payment is in the word — ransom keeps that picture; a doctrinal rendering (an atonement-word) would print the conclusion instead.
Survives in · this edition — 9 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
46
Καὶ ἔρχονται εἰς Ἰεριχώ. καὶ ἐκπορευομένου αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ Ἰεριχὼ καὶ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ὄχλου ἱκανοῦ ⸀ὁ υἱὸς Τιμαίου Βαρτιμαῖος ⸀τυφλὸς ⸂προσαίτης ἐκάθητο παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν⸃.
And they come to Jericho. And as he was going out from Jericho with his disciples and a sizeable crowd, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting beside the road.
The son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus — the writer translates the name and keeps the sound, as at 5:41 and 7:34. Only this book names a blind man in a healing.
first here Jericho Ἰεριχώ Ierichō
first here Timaeus Τιμαῖος Timaios
first here Bartimaeus Βαρτιμαῖος Bartimaios
pronoun they = Jesus and the disciples
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun his = Jesus
47
καὶ ἀκούσας ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ὁ ⸀Ναζαρηνός ἐστιν ἤρξατο κράζειν καὶ λέγειν· ⸀Υἱὲ Δαυὶδ Ἰησοῦ, ἐλέησόν με.
And hearing that it is Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me.”
Son of David is used in this book only here and in chapter 12.
first here Nazarene Ναζαρηνός Nazarēnos
first here daughter Δαυίδ Dauid
pronoun he = Bartimaeus
pronoun me = Bartimaeus
48
καὶ ἐπετίμων αὐτῷ πολλοὶ ἵνα σιωπήσῃ· ὁ δὲ πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἔκραζεν· Υἱὲ Δαυίδ, ἐλέησόν με.
And many were rebuking him, that he should be silent; but he was crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me.”
Rebuking is the verb the disciples used at 10:13.
pronoun him = Bartimaeus
pronoun he = Bartimaeus — both times
pronoun me = Bartimaeus
49
καὶ στὰς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν· ⸂Φωνήσατε αὐτόν⸃. καὶ φωνοῦσι τὸν τυφλὸν λέγοντες αὐτῷ· Θάρσει, ⸀ἔγειρε, φωνεῖ σε.
And stopping, Jesus said, “Call him.” And they call the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart, rise, he is calling you.”
Take heart is the word spoken on the sea at 6:50.
pronoun him = Bartimaeus
pronoun they = the crowd
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun you = Bartimaeus
50
ὁ δὲ ἀποβαλὼν τὸ ἱμάτιον αὐτοῦ ⸀ἀναπηδήσας ἦλθεν πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν.
And throwing off his outer garment, springing up, he came to Jesus.
Throwing off his outer garment — only this book keeps the detail, and a beggar's cloak was his shelter.
pronoun his = Bartimaeus
pronoun he = Bartimaeus
51
καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ⸂αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν⸃· Τί ⸂σοι θέλεις ποιήσω⸃; ὁ δὲ τυφλὸς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ραββουνι, ἵνα ἀναβλέψω.
And answering him Jesus said, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbouni, that I may see again.”
Rabbouni is Aramaic, kept as sound; it stands in the four Gospels only here and at John 20:16. See again (ἀναβλέπω, anablepō) says he had seen once.
pronoun him = Bartimaeus — “the blind man said to him” is Jesus
pronoun you = Bartimaeus
pronoun me = Jesus
pronoun I = Bartimaeus
Why this rendering
Mark.10.51 Observation
Syntactic observation
Ραββουνι — an Aramaic address transliterated, and one of only two places in the four Gospels — here, and John 20:16 (Mary at the tomb); the lexica record these as the only two in the New Testament as well. In the four Gospels a blind beggar and the first witness of the resurrection call him by the same word. Mark attaches no gloss here — he glossed at 5:41 (Talitha koum), 7:34 (Ephphatha) and 15:34, but not this word. In v.46 the gloss instead falls on a name: ὁ υἱὸς Τιμαίου Βαρτιμαῖος, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus — where Bartimaeus is itself Aramaic for son of Timaeus. He is the only person healed in Mark whose name survives. And the question in v.51, Τί σοι θέλεις ποιήσω, what do you want me to do for you, is word for word the question put to James and John in v.36 — the twelve asked for the seats of glory; the beggar asks to see. In v.50 ἀναπηδήσας, springing up, is unique in the book, alongside ἀποβαλὼν τὸ ἱμάτιον, throwing off his outer garment. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸂αὐτῷ εἶπεν⸃· ⸂σοι ποιήσω⸃;).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “Rabbouni.” — the same word as at John 20:16
Basis Keeps the transliteration and holds it to one word across the four Gospels (a fixed glossary decision). Mark supplies no gloss; neither does the translation.
“Rabbi” or “Teacher”
Basis Levels it to the more familiar address.
Rejected Mark uses this form only here; at 9:5 and 11:21 it is Ῥαββί. Merging the two erases the distinction and cuts the single link to John 20:16.
Lost in translation
the gesture of throwing off the garment The text does not say what that garment was to him. Rendered plainly it is a man taking off a coat; more than that is knowledge from outside. What is inside the text is the arrangement: the man who left because of his property (21-22) and the man who threw off what he wore and ran (50), set side by side within one chapter.
this edition — none of the nine carries it (measured)
52
⸂καὶ ὁ⸃ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ὕπαγε, ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέν σε. καὶ ⸀εὐθὺς ἀνέβλεψεν, καὶ ἠκολούθει ⸀αὐτῷ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ.
And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has saved you.” And at once he saw again, and was following him on the way.
On the way — the road to Jerusalem, and the last healing in this book.
pronoun him = Bartimaeus — “was following him” is Jesus
pronoun your = Bartimaeus
pronoun you = Bartimaeus
pronoun he = Bartimaeus