In Mark 15:34, why was part of the verse left in the Aramaic language instead of being translated into English? Why, if the rest was translated, does that line remain the same?
15:34 Around three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Because at that point, for that clause, the Greek switches to Aramaic (they are Aramaic words written in Greek letters, a practice known as transliteration) with the interpretation following.
Mark 15:34 καὶ τῇ ἐνάτῃ ὥρᾳ ἐβόησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς φωνῇ μεγάλῃ· ἐλωι ἐλωι λεμα σαβαχθανι; ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον· ὁ θεός μου ὁ θεός μου, εἰς τί ἐγκατέλιπες με;
To translate the Aramaic would make the verse odd. It would read like this:
Around three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
