Spoken to:
Jesus is awakened by apostles afraid of a storm.
KJV :
Mark 4:39 Peace, be still.
NIV :
Mark 4:39 Quiet! Be still!”
Listeners Heard:
Keep silent. You have been muzzled.
My Takeaway:
Demons are very noisy.
Lost in Translation:
Both verbs are commands to be quiet, which is funny because it could be aimed at the complaining of the apostles who woke him. The first verb is in the present tense while the second verb is the past perfect tense, an action completed in the past. The contrast of tenses is the most striking thing about this statement but it is lost in English translation.
The word translated as "peace" and "quiet" has no relationship to the word usually translated as "peace." It is a word that Jesus only uses in two places. The second verb is also uncommon, used most as a command to demons.
Original Word Order:
Keep silent. You have been muzzled.
WORD-BY-WORD COMPARISON OF THE GREEK TO ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS:
KJV Analysis:
Peace, - (CW) "Peace" is a Greek verb that means "keep silence", "to be still", "keep secret," and "speak not of." It is in the present tense.
be - (WT) This verb is added because the next verb could be in the passive. The tense is something completed in the past.
still. (CW) "Be still" is another uncommon Greek verb that means "to muzzle", "to be silent," and "to be put to silence." If it is a command, it would be in the pluperfect tense, but commands should only occur in the present and aorist tenses. It therefore looks like a statement about something that has been completed on the past. The voice is either passive, "has been muzzled," or middle, "has muzzled itself." This is the pluperfect tense used to indicate something happening before something else, which means this happened before the first command or statement.
KJV Translation Issues:
- CW --Confusing Word -- The "peace" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
- WT --Wrong Tense - The English verb "be" is the present tense, but Greek is in the past perfect, a completed action, "have been."
- CW --Confusing Word -- The "still" does not capture the word's specific meaning.
NIV Analysis:
Quiet, - "Quiet" is a Greek verb that means "keep silence", "to be still", "keep secret," and "speak not of." If this is a command, it is in th present tense, which means sense. However, it could also be a statement. If it is a statement, it would describe something started in the past, but not yet completed. So it could also mean that Jesus was pointing out that the storm was already subsiding.
be - (WT) This verb is added because the next verb could be in the passive. The tense is something completed in the past.
still. (CW) "Be still" is another uncommon Greek verb that means "to muzzle", "to be silent," and "to be put to silence." If it is a command, it would be in the pluperfect tense, but commands should only occur in the present and aorist tenses. It therefore looks like a statement about something that has been completed on the past. The voice is either passive, "has been muzzled," or middle, "has muzzled itself." This is the pluperfect tense used to indicate something happening before something else, which means this happened before the first command or statement.
NIV Translation Issues:
- WT --Wrong Tense - The English verb "be" is the present tense, but Greek is in the past perfect, a completed action, "have been."
- CW --Confusing Word -- The "still" does not capture the word's specific meaning.