KJV Verse:
Mark 14:9 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
Greek Verse:
Literal Alternative:
Truly, however, I tell you, anywhere if it might be declared the good news in the entire world order, and what she has done she herself, it shall be repeated in to that memory of her.
Interesting and Hidden Aspects:
There are slight differences between this version and the one in Matthew 26:13 but the vocabulary is almost identical.
The "verily" phrase is used frequently by Christ as a personal signature. Its vocabulary and meaning are discussed in detail in this article. Currently, "tell you true" is the translation I currently use. Christ makes fun of his frequent use of it. The word translated is as "verily" is an exclamation that means "truly" or "of a truth." It is an untranslated Aramaic word that is echoed by a similar Greek word, and a good piece of evidence that Christ taught in Greek, not Aramaic.
"Wheresoever" is from two Greek words, one that means "wherever" and "anywhere."
An untranslated word appears here that means "if might" indicates more of an expectation of something happening than "if" alone. With the verb forms used in the if/then statement, the sense is something that will probably happen in the future.
"This Gospel" is translated from a Greek word meaning "good news," and "good tidings." Originally, this term described a reward, like a tip, given to a messenger who brought good news. It begins with an article "the Gospel." The Greek we use today does not have a "this" in it, but the article can function like "this" in English.
The word translated as "shall be preached" means "to act as a herald", "to proclaim," and "to declare."
The word translated as "throughout" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, "in regards to" a subject, and "up to" limits in time and measure.
The word translated as "whole" means something that is "complete","entire," or "the whole" of something.
Christ uses the word translated as "the world" to mean "the world order," specifically the powers-that-be. More about this word in this article about related words.
There is no "this" here.
"Also" is one word that is usually translated as the conjunction "and" but which also works like "also."
The word translated as "that" is a demonstrative pronoun ("this" "that"), but it often acts as a pronoun ("the one that), especially a connective pronoun ("the one that") introducing a dependent clause.
The word translated as "she" is the Greek word commonly translated as pronouns in English. Since the information in the pronoun is part of the verb, there is an emphasis on the word like "she herself."
hath done of for a memorial of her.
The Greek word translated as "hath done" has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "rendering" as service. The tense is not the past perfect, as translated, but a form that indicates something happening at a specific point in time, past, present, or future.
"Shall be spoken " is the Greek word that means both "idle chatter", "gossip," and "the proclamations of an oracle." Christ uses it to capture the idea of "passing on information," because that captures both someone gossiping and an oracle does. This tense is the future. The form is passive.
The word translated as "of for" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, and "up to" limits in time and measure.
The word translated as "a memorial" is from a rare word for Christ meaning "memorial", "memorandum", "reminder", and "mark."
"Of her" is from the pronoun usually translated as "her."
Greek Vocabulary:
ἀμὴν (exclam) "Verily" is amen, which is the Hebrew, meaning "truly", "of a truth," and "so be it." It has no history in Greek of this meaning before the NT. However, this is also the infinitive form of the Greek verb amao, which means "to reap" or "to cut." -- The word translated as "verily" is the Hebrew word that means "truly" or "certainly," but it sounds like the Greek word with the same meaning. In Greek, the word also means "to reap."
δὲ (conj/adv) "But" is de which means "but" and "on the other hand." It is the particle that joins sentences in an adversarial way but can also be a weak connective ("and") and explanation of cause ("so") and a condition ("if"). -- The Greek word translated as "but" means "but", "however", and "on the other hand". Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better.
λέγω (1st sg pres ind act) "I tell" is lego, which means "to recount", "to tell over", "to say", "to speak", "to teach", "to mean", "boast of", "tell of", "recite," nominate," and "command." It has a secondary meaning "pick out," "choose for oneself", "pick up", "gather", "count," and "recount." A less common word that is spelled the same means "to lay", "to lay asleep" and "to lull asleep." -- The word translated as "I tell" is the most common word that means "to say," and "to speak," but it also means "to teach," which seems to be the way Christ uses it more frequently. It also has many ancillary meanings such as "to count" ("to number" or like we might say, "to recount" a story) or "to choose for yourself." Christ usually uses this word to refer to his own speaking or teaching.
ὑμῖν, (pron 2nd pl dat) "To you" is humin the plural form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you." -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you", "for you", etc.
ὅπου ὅπου (adv) "Wheresoever" is from hopou (with ean below), which means "somewhere", "anywhere", "wherever," and "where."
ἐὰν (partic) Untranslated is ean (with hopos above), which is a conditional particle (derived from ei (if)and an (might)) which makes reference to a time and experience in the future that introduces but does not determine an event.
κηρυχθῇ (verb 3rd sg aor subj pass) "Shall be preach" is from kerysso, which means "to be a herald", "to summon by a herald", "proclaim", "call upon", "announce", "declare," and "command publicly." Only in the NT is it translated as "preach" or "teach publicly."
τὸ εὐαγγέλιον (noun sg neut nom/acc) "Gospel" is from euangelion (euaggelion) a "reward of good tidings," a "thank offering for good tidings, " "good news," and "good tidings." Originally, this terms described a reward, like a tip, given to a messenger who brought good news.
εἰς (prep) "In" is eis, which means "into (of place)," "up to (of time)", "until (of time)", "as much as (of measure or limit)", "as far as (of measure or limit)", "towards (to express relation)", "in regard to (to express relation)", "of an end or limit," and "for (of purpose or object)." --
ὅλον (adj sg masc acc) "Whole" is from holos, which means "the whole", "entire", "complete", "complete in all its parts", "wholly", "altogether", "on the whole", "speaking generally", "utter," "actually", "really, "the universe," and "safe and sound."
τὸν κόσμον, (noun sg masc acc) "The world" is from kosmos, which mean "order", "good order", "ruler", "world order", "universe," and "the world of men." It is a form of the is verb kosmeô, which means "to order", "to arrange", "to rule", "to adorn" (especially women), and "to equip." It especially means controlling and arranging an army.
καὶ "Also" is from kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "but." After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also." Also used to give emphasis, "even", "also," and "just."
ὃ pron sg neut nom/acc) "That" is from hos, which means "this", "that", "he", "she", "which", "what", "who", "whosoever", "where", "for which reason," and many similar meanings.
ἐποίησεν (verb 3rd sg aor ind act) "Hath done" is from poieo, which means "to make", "to produce", "to create", "to bring into existence", "to bring about", "to cause", "to render", "to consider", "to prepare", "to make ready," and "to do."
αὕτη (adj sg fem nom) "She" is from autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself", "yourself", "himself", "herself", "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him", "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord." It is not usually used as a subject because it is part of verb so the sense here is "of her own accord."
λαληθήσεται (verb 3rd sg fut ind pass) "Shall be spoken" is from laleo, which means "to talk," "to speak" "to prattle", "to chat," and [for oracles] "to proclaim." It also means "chatter" as the opposite of articulate speech.
εἰς (prep) "Of for" is from eis, which means "into (of place)," "up to (of time)", "until (of time)", "as much as (of measure or limit)", "as far as (of measure or limit)", "towards (to express relation)", "in regard to (to express relation)", "of an end or limit," and "for (of purpose or object)."
μνημόσυνον [uncommon](noun sg neut nom/acc) "A memorial" is from mnemosynon, which means "remembrance", "memorial", "memorandum", "reminder", "mark", "scar."
αὐτῆς. (adj sg fem gen) "Of her" is from autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself", "yourself", "himself", "herself", "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him", "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord."