Day Two: Mark 1:21-28

TUESDAY:

Before we continue to look at Mark 1 and Mark 1:21-28, I want to emphasize some points in how to study the Bible. A lot of folks never get started because they are intimidated. They have heard stories that the Bible is difficult to understand. This is not the case. However, there are good interpretations, bad interpretations and biased interpretations. To avoid the latter, a good system of Bible Study is needed.

First, outline the Scripture passage, including it’s surrounding chapter using the World English Bible translation (… or translation of your choice).

Second, read the passage of Scripture and the chapter in which it is found in other translations. I generally follow this order:

·       World English Bible (Literal)

·       New International Version (Thought Perfect)

·       King James Version or New King James Version (Literal and Poetic)

·       Common English Bible, English Standard Version or New Revised Standard Version (Literal)

·       The Message Bible or the Good News Bible (Thought Perfect)

·       Youngs Literal Translation (Very Literal)

I use each of the above translations and others for various reasons. I will outline these reasons in a later blog called “How to Use the Various Bible Versions.” In short, a different translation may open my eyes (and heart) to some different aspect of the Scripture. Now please understand, I will not necessarily read all these translations each week. Sometimes, as is the case of the Thought Perfect or Paraphrase versions they are written in a simpler manner to make them more readable and understandable. As a rule of thumb, the more literal the translation the harder it is to read. The more readable, the less accurate. The less accurate, the greater the chance to introduce interpretive bias.

Let’s look at the Young’s Literal Translation and The Message Bible side by side using Mark 1:21-28. Note that the Message Bible is translated in a language more common to our day. However, you must remember that all attempts to make it easier and perhaps ‘more fun’ to read usually sacrifices literalness.

Young’s Literal Translation

The Message Bible

21 And they go on to Capernaum, and immediately, on the sabbaths, having gone into the synagogue, he was teaching, 22 and they were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, 24 saying, `Away! what -- to us and to thee, Jesus the Nazarene? thou didst come to destroy us; I have known thee who thou art -- the Holy One of God.' 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, `Be silenced, and come forth out of him,' 26 and the unclean spirit having torn him, and having cried with a great voice, came forth out of him, 27 and they were all amazed, so as to reason among themselves, saying, `What is this? what new teaching [is] this? that with authority also the unclean spirits he commandeth, and they obey him!' 28 And the fame of him went forth immediately to all the region, round about, of Galilee.

21-22 Then they entered Capernaum. When the Sabbath arrived, Jesus lost no time in getting to the meeting place. He spent the day there teaching. They were surprised at his teaching—so forthright, so confident—not quibbling and quoting like the religion scholars. 23-24 Suddenly, while still in the meeting place, he was interrupted by a man who was deeply disturbed and yelling out, “What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what you’re up to! You’re the Holy One of God, and you’ve come to destroy us!” 25-26 Jesus shut him up: “Quiet! Get out of him!” The afflicting spirit threw the man into spasms, protesting loudly—and got out. 27-28 Everyone there was incredulous, buzzing with curiosity. “What’s going on here? A new teaching that does what it says? He shuts up defiling, demonic spirits and sends them packing!” News of this traveled fast and was soon all over Galilee.

As I look at the above translation I immediately notice the variance between ‘sabbaths’ (plural) and ‘sabbath’ (singular). I want to investigate to find out which word is actually in the Greek. If indeed plural, then ‘Why?”

Please look at how the NRSV compares with the Good News Bible. This is a fascinating ‘side-by-side’ to demonstrate a more literal text compared with a more readable text. Notice the more readable text (GNB) is wordier. The Good News Bible is an excellent translation for casual reading. To make a text more readable, especially in translation work, more words are usually required. This is especially true in the case of pronouns. The translator of the Good News Bible does not want the reader to lose track of what is being said. In verse 21, the pronoun ‘they’ is replaced with ‘Jesus and his disciples.’ The GNB translator did the same when describing Jesus entering the synagogue. The NRSV uses the pronoun ‘he’ and the Good News Bible uses ‘Jesus.’ Most people read around the sixth-grade reading level. Therefore, magazines and newspapers are written at that level. The NRSV reading level is grade 11 and the reading level for the Good News Bible is grade 7. This does not demean one Bible over the other. However, Bible translations are like tools. I use different versions for different purposes. An easier reading Bible is excellent when reading a passage in a literal translation that has the clarity of mud. An easier reading version is what I want when I desire to relax with God’s Word. Like reading a novel. I use the literal translations to study in detail to make sure that what I believe is being taught.

New Revised Standard Version

Good News Bible

21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He[a] commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

21 Jesus and his disciples came to the town of Capernaum, and on the next Sabbath Jesus went to the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people wo heard him were amazed at the way he taught, for he wasn't like the teachers of the Law; instead, he taught with authority. 23 Just then a man with an evil spirit came into the synagogue and screamed, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Are you here to destroy us? I know who you are—you are God's holy messenger!” 25 Jesus ordered the spirit, “Be quiet, and come out of the man!” 26 The evil spirit shook the man hard, gave a loud scream, and came out of him. 27 The people were all so amazed that they started saying to one another, “What is this? Is it some kind of new teaching? This man has authority to give orders to the evil spirits, and they obey him!” 28 And so the news about Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the province of Galilee.

In terms of readability it is interesting to compare the highest-grade level with the lowest grade level translation. Let’s look:

King James Version

New Century Version

21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. 22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. 26 And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. 28 And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.

21 Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. On the Sabbath day He went to the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught like a person who had authority, not like their teachers of the law. 23 Just then, a man was there in the synagogue who had an evil spirit in him. He shouted, 24 “Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are—God’s Holy One!” 25 Jesus commanded the evil spirit, “Be quiet! Come out of the man!”26 The evil spirit shook the man violently, gave a loud cry, and then came out of him. 27 The people were so amazed they asked each other, “What is happening here? This man is teaching something new, and with authority. He even gives commands to evil spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And the news about Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the area of Galilee.

As you can imagine the King James Version is written at a 12^th grade level and the New Century Version was written at the 3^rd grade level. My mother had us read from the King James Version and when I entered school my reading abilities were much higher than other children. The NCV is a very interesting translation. It is very readable because it limits its word list to the same word list used for The World Book Encyclopedia. This word list was created by Dr. Edgar Dale and Dr. Joseph O’Rourke. Their intent for the Worldbook-ChildCraft International Corporation was to create a very readable encyclopedia. The New Century Version was created from this limited word list.

Now let’s get back to the study of our passage, Mark 1:21-28.

Demons???

Now if you look back at the translations you should find one ‘glaring’ problem. Depending on the translation, the term ‘demon’ is not always used. Notice, that in the WEB we find the word ‘demon’ used. In all the other translations shown it used ‘spirit’ with some variance. You should not want to leave this or similar passages without coming to grips what ‘demons’ may or may not be.

This week we will discover more about demons. We will ask how to understand them in the days of Jesus and how we can understand them today. We will also look at the ‘demon’ passages and various words used to translate demon. So, do demons exist? Stay tuned!

We will also ponder the following quote from the introduction of C. S. Lewis’ book, “The Screwtape Letters.”

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight. Readers are advised to remember that the devil is a liar. Not everything that Screwtape says should be assumed to be true, even from his own angle. There is wishful thinking in hell as well as on earth." —C.S. Lewis, July 5, 1941