The Gospel of Mark: Chapter 1:12-20
The Wardaman language comes from the top-end of the Northern Territory in Australia.
Nearby rivers include the Victoria and the Katherine. Nearby roads include the Victoria Highway, Buchanan Highway and the Delamere Road. The nearest towns include Willeroo, Delamere and Innesvale.
The surrounding Aboriginal languages include Yangman, Mudburra and Jaminjung.
Wardaman may belong to a small family with Yangman and Dagoman. It may be that these three are dialects of a single language.
The Wakiman language may be a relative, but the exact relationship is much less certain.
With the Wardaman language I was already well-acquainted. I had to create a number of words, and was even able to insert some symbolism into the arrangement thereof.
I also feel that I have been neglecting to explain the grammar as of late, and made sure to do so in some of the later verses. Verbs in Wardaman can easily reach six or seven syllables.
You can find the full passage in your own physical Bible.
KJV. And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
Wardaman. Yiwarna Ñaŋewbayi yawudba bujguŋarr,
Yiwarna = the next thing
Ñaŋewbayi = the Spirit did
yawudba = it throws him
bujguŋarr = into the wilderness
“spirit” comes from the Ancient Greek pnyoo’mah (πνευμα). It means Spirit, Breath and Wind.
Ñaŋewba has two components:
1. ña- = Agent Prefix.
2. ŋewba = breath.
“drove out” comes from the Greek ekballei (εκβάλλει), which literally means he throws out.
The Wardaman wudba means throw and create cloud.
Satan will attempt to tempt Jesus – to throw up a cloud between God and His people, to muddy the meaning of Scripture.
KJV. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
Wardaman. Diwulgbulu bujguña dalganmulu gala Maljirlŋñi yidoñmaŋurne marnburri. Layinbarra joy madiŋujbanmuluyi wurrwondi.
he was there for forty days, and was tempted by Satan = Diwulgbulu bujguña dalganmulu gala Maljirlŋñi yidoñmaŋurne marnburri
Diwulgbulu = forty
bujguña = in the desert
dalganmulu = days
gala = try to
Maljirlŋñi = Satan did
yidoñmaŋurne = (that He) become crooked
marnburri = he made
I shall explain my translation of forty in the Appendix.
Consider:
yidoñmaŋurne marnburri = he made him crooked
gala yidoñmaŋurne marnburri = he tried to make him crooked
My translation for Satan is Maljirlŋ. I made this from two components:
1. majirrgba = entwine, tie up.
2. malaŋma = other side.
“Satan” comes from the Hebrew word for adversary. He is the tempter, who uses logic to trip you up.
Also, when Maljirlŋ does something to someone/-thing else, he becomes Maljirlŋñi. This is an intentional tongue-twister.
Maljirlŋ-ñi should actually be Maljirlŋ-yi (in this context, -ñi and –yi are variations of the same).
I chose Maljirlŋñi because just as Satan tries to trip you up, so my translation tries to trip you up.
he was with the wild animals, and the angels ministered unto him = Layinbarra joy madiŋujbanmuluyi wurrwondi.
Layinbarra = (He was with) with the animals
joy = give
madiŋujbanmuluyi = the angels did
wurrwondi = they gave
“angel” comes from the Greek ang’elos (άγγελος), which means messenger (usually from a God).
My translation is the word madiŋujban, which has two component:
1. madin = word/news.
2. -gujban = one who does.
Thus, my created word for angel has the literal meaning of something like the one who gives news.
The particle joy and the verb wo both mean give. I use them both to create the sense of serve.
KJV. Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
Wardaman. Dirrgba Ñuŋgurrlu wurrwoñga yaŋgi Ñiñiwi Buduwuluwarr. Yana madgu jewuyin Ñanayiwu,
after the surrender of John, Jesus came into Galilee = Dirrgba Ñuŋgurrlu wurrwoñga yaŋgi Ñiñiwi Buduwuluwarr
Dirrgba = tie up
Ñuŋgurrlu = (did to) John
wurrwoñga = after they gave (him)
yaŋgi = came
Ñiñiwi = Jesus
Buduwuluwarr = to Galilee
John comes from the Hebrew Yehochanan, which means God’s gift or more literally Yah has been gracious.
Ñuŋgurrlu has two components:
1. Ñanayi = Yahweh.
2. gurlurrg = have compassion.
Jesus comes from the Hebrew name Yehoshua, which means Yahweh delivers or Yahweh saves.
Ñiñiwi has three components
1. Ñanayi = Yahweh.
2. -yi = the Reflexive (i.e. himself).
3. -wo = give.
there he proclaimed the gospel of God = yana madgu jewuyin Ñanayiwu
yana = talk
madgu = of the word
jewuyin = in order to show
Ñanayiwu = of God
Galilee comes, ultimately, from the Hebrew gawlal’, which means roll or roll away.
Buduwulu has two components:
1. biliwilib = roll.
2. wudba = throw.
Last, but not least, we have Yahweh.
This comes from Hebrew, where it means Being and Being-Becoming.
I built Ñanayi with two components:
1. ña = one who does.
2. nayi = become/make oneself (poss. lit. see oneself)
The Wardaman for say is yana.
A reduplicated form is yanajana.
I have split this in half – Mark 1:15 will begin with jana.
KJV. And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Wardaman. janaya, “Worlorlmarri buduwun, jewele galuglan yaŋgi Ñanayiwu. Buljuŋma numerri madbi nugomarla.”
the time has been fulfilled = janaya, “Worlorlmarri buduwun
janaya = saying
Worlorlmayirri = has filled itself up
buduwun = the time
worlorlmayirri has three components:
1. worlorlma = fill up
2. –yi = itself
3. –rri = did.
Merlan’s grammar includes three verbs that begin with worl.
The other two are
1. worloba = be awake.
2. worlogba = wash.
The Son of God has become flesh. Now is the time to wake up from your spiritual slumber, and purify yourself – scrub away your sins and misdoings.
buduwun is my translation of the Greek kaheeros’ (καιρός), which means time, and more specifically season, opportunity and occasion.
I created buduwun from the root-word budu, which means beat leg in keeping time.
The most important event in human history is the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. Here, the creator of the Universe, He who is greater than all things, and continues to become deeper and greater, became the same as His followers, and allowed His own so-called followers to give Him the most humiliating death possible in order to show them how far they had fallen.
With the cross upon His back, Jesus walked to the hill where the Romans and their Rabbi collaborators could make an example out of him.
Jesus falls three times during this ordeal – where his legs beat the ground the directly, and not his feet.
The first time is almost straight away.
The second time is after he meets his mother, as well as Simon and Veronica who help him.
The third time is after he meets the women of Jerusalem.
the kingdom of God has drawn near = jewele galuglan yaŋgi Ñanayiwu
jewele = close
galuglan = kingdom
yaŋgi = has come
Ñanayiwu = of God (Yahweh)
I created a word for kingdom by combining these two words:
1. galul/galulul = above.
2. laglan = camp.
A kingdom is born when many tribes (i.e. camps) come together and give someone authority over camps to which he does not belong.
repent and believe in the gospel = Buljuŋma numerri madbi nugomarla
Buljuŋma = turn rightside out/around
numerri = get yourselves!
madbi = by the word (i.e. gospel)
nugomarla = all of you follow!
buljuŋma is similar to the word bulju/buljuwi, which means a long time ago.
Mankind used to live fully according to God’s laws, and then we ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
This was a difficult section to translate. My placement of the dash was a strategic choice in order to avoid the particular problem posed by the Ergative Case.
KJV. Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
Wardaman. Gajiga laŋaña berlbawan Buduwuluwu, wuŋgudarriwuya Wojbawarrma Yaba yiŋaba - wuŋgunburrwudbarriwuya ŋurruwuŋuwarr, wuñjug yibarruŋuya,
as he passed by the lake of Galilee = Gajiga ŋurruwuŋuña berlbawan Buduwuluwu
Gajiga = while walking
ŋurruwuŋuña = at the lake
berlbawan = on the bank
Buduwuluwu = on the Galilee
ŋurruwuŋun is my translation for the Greek thal’assah (θάλασσα) which means sea or lake.
ŋurruwuŋun means something perennial.
The base word is ŋurruwun, which means hot weather.
The Lake of Galilee is big enough that it can exist all-year round.
he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon = wuŋgudarriwuya Wojbawarrma Yaba yiŋaba Wojbawu
wuŋgudarriwuya = he saw two people
Wojbawarrma = Simon and
Yaba = Andrew
yiŋaba = elder brother
Wojbawu = of Simon
Wojbawarrma has two components:
1. Wojba = Simon
2. -warrma = Focal Member of a Pair.
-warrma indicates that of the two people whom Jesus sees on the Galilee is the more important of the two. Jesus will give Simon the name Peter, which means rock in Greek, for he will be the rock on which the Church builds itself.
The name Simon comes from the Hebrew shawmah’ (שמ), which means to hear.
Wojba comes from the Wardaman verb wojbarna, which has the same meaning.
The name Andrew, on the other hand, comes from Greek. The name Andreh’as (Ανδρέας) means manly, and it comes from an’ayr (ανήρ) man.
Yaba is the Wardaman word for young man or the more colloquial lad.
Of course – this raises a crucial question.
Simon and Andrew’s parents are Hebrews, yet they gave one of their sons a Greek name – a symbol of Roman culture in the area. (Among Romans, Greek was prestige language. Many, if not most, of the Roman administrators in Israel had conversational Greek.)
In Europe, Australia, New Zealand, North and South America, as well as Christianised parts of the non-Christian world, Simon and Andrew are common names, and most people will never know their origins.
The question is this:
To what degree is it a thorny issue that my translations come from the same language?
casting a net into the lake = wuŋgunburrwudbarriwuya ŋurruwuŋuwarr
wuŋgunburrwudbarriwuya = they two were throwing (nets)
ŋurruwuŋuwarr = into the lake
Wardaman has two words for a male sibling: yiŋaba elder brother and garlaja younger brother.
The Gospels do not specify whether Simon or Andrew is the elder brother. Christian tradition tends to say Andrew. Why is this?
Genesis 25:23 (BSB)
and He declared to [Rebecca]: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
The elder is Esau, and the younger is Israel.
wuŋgunburrwudbarriwuya is a very long word. It has four words:
1. wuŋgunburr- = they do to them
2. wudba = throw
3. -rri = did
4. -wuya = two.
The original Greek does not include a word for nets, so I left it out of the Wardaman. For now…
for they were fishermen = wuñjug yibarruŋuya
wuñjug = because
yibarruŋuya = (they two were) fishermen
yibarrun is the Wardaman word for good fisherman/-woman. I did not make it up myself – it already existed.
barrunin is the Wardaman word for (generic) fish.
I shall discuss the Greek word for fisherman in the next section.
Sources:
Bible Hub Interlinear
Merlan, Francesca C. A Grammar of Wardaman: A Language of the Northern Territory of Australia (Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter 1994)
Basic Google Searches
The full passage in Wardaman:
12. Yiwarna Ñaŋewbayi yawudba bujguŋarr,
13. Diwulgbulu bujguña dalganmulu gala Maljirlŋñi yidoñmaŋurne marnburri. Layinbarra joy madiŋujbanmuluyi wurrwondi.
14. Dirrgba Ñuŋgurrlu wurrwoñga yaŋgi Ñiñiwi Buduwuluwarr. Yana madgu jewuyin Ñanayiwu,
15. janaya, “Worlorlmarri buduwun, jewele galuglan yaŋgi Ñanayiwu. Buljuŋma numerri madbi nugomarla.”
16. Gajiga laŋaña berlbawan Buduwuluwu, wuŋgudarriwuya Wojbawarrma Yaba yiŋaba - wuŋgunburrwudbarriwuya ŋurruwuŋuwarr, wuñjug yibarruŋuya,
17. Ñiñiwiyi wuŋguñanarriya: “Ŋanugomarla, ŋanunmarnbuwa yibarrun yibiyaŋu.”
18. Yiwarna wuŋgunburrwajarriwuya gimarrunmulu wuŋguŋomarlarri.
19. Nanba gajiba wuŋgundarriwuya Yiljoŋgarrma Ñowondowunba Ñuŋgurrlu yiŋabawarrma - gorluña bidijbidij wuŋunburrmendiwuya.
20. Ŋarlgba wuŋguñandiwuya – yibiwi Ñowondo wajawaj gorluña worlgbiyiwujbanmulu wurrgomarlarriwuya.