Why did the English translation keep the original language "Talitha, cumi"?

[tonychanyt]

Mk 5:

41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”

Why did the English translation keep the original language "Talitha, cumi"?

Because the Greek author did.

Why did Mark keep the original Aramaic "Talitha, cumi"?

Let's see this from the angle of storytelling:

35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”

Mark was the storyteller. He generated a sense of suspense in the readers' minds: What is going on? What is Jesus going to do? Why does he still bother? The girl is dead already!

37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.

Let's start the countdown at Step 6. Jesus restricted the number of witnesses to his inner circle.

38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.

Step 5. They were getting close. The news was bad, loudly bad.

39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.”

4. They were getting closer, increasing the suspense. Jesus contradicted the weepers and wailers, creating tension and confrontation.

40 And they laughed at him.

3. The weepers and wailers laughed at him to scorn. They ridiculed Jesus to his face.

But he put them all outside

2. Jesus told the doubters to stay away, restricting access again.

and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.

1. Finally, Jesus could see the child, the target.

41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,”

0. This was it. This was the climax of the story. To indicate this critical moment, Mark wrote in Aramaic instead of Greek. It was a miraculous moment! Jesus raised a dead person back to life!

which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking

The resolution was immediate. Everyone was amazed.

(for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Finished with a happy ending

Why did Mark use the original Aramaic phrase "Talitha, kum" in the story of healing Jairus’s daughter?

Mark structured the story as a build-up from the crowd’s despair to Jesus’ calm authority, culminating in the miraculous dramatic moment. By switching to Aramaic, Mark froze the climatic frame: The reader hears Jesus speak directly, as if standing in that room. The foreign words create a sense of sacred immediacy. It is like a movie director’s close-up shot at the miracle’s peak. It is dramatic. Don't you want to say it yourself: Talitha cumi