Language-specific Insights

one

The Greek that is translated as “one” in English in these verses (John 10:30, 17:11, 17:21, 17:22, and 17:23) is translated in Kikuyu as ũmwe or “one singular entity.” This translation required a complex theological interpretation in relation to the nature of the trinity and the unity of Jesus and his disciples. The translators determined that both the unity of the Father and Jesus is that of “one person” or “the same” as well the unity between Jesus and his followers (and the followers to each other).

A.R. Barlow (in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 29ff. ) explains:

“‘One’ in Kikuyu is expressed by the stem -mwe combined with a prefix appropriate to the noun it qualifies (when used as an adjective) or represents (when used as a pronoun). As in all Bantu languages, nouns fall into groups or classes, each of which, generally speaking, has its distinctive prefix. Thus with the word for ‘shoe’ (kiratu) –mwe becomes kĩmwe (kĩratũ kĩmwe ‘one shoe’); with the word for ‘man,’ ‘person,’ ‘being’ (mũndũ) it becomes ũmwe (mũndũ ũmwe “one person”). Singular and plural are likewise distinguished by change of prefix, and a singular noun necessitates the use of a singular prefix with its associated adjective or pronoun, whereas a plural noun requires its adjective or pronoun to take a plural prefix.

“In common with other adjective-pronouns –mwe assumes plural as well as singular forms. When used with a plural noun it conveys one of three meanings: (a) ‘one lot (set. kind, family, fraternity, group, etc.),’ (b) ‘the same,’ or (c) ‘some.’ The form appropriate to persons, men, beings (andũ) is amwe.

“So in translating ‘one’ in any of the above passages in St. John’s Gospel we have to choose between ũmwe (sing.) and amwe (pl.).

“The choice involves questions as to the nature of the Trinity and the character of the unity which being ‘in Christ’ imparts to His followers, both in relation to Himself and to one another. This is a case in which the translator cannot avoid theological issues.

“In John 10:30 (‘I and my Father are one’) by using ũmwe we are stating ‘I and my Father are one (person, entity)’ or ‘the same.’ Grammatically the use of ũmwe (sing.) is wrong; ‘I and my Father’ should strictly be followed by the plural amwe. But the use of amwe (‘one lot’) would denote a mere family or sectional relationship.

In John 17:11 and 17:22 (‘so that they may be one, as we are one’) also, grammar demands amwe (in both occurrences of ‘one’). But this would again limit the desired degree of unity to that of membership in a family or other (more or less) close association: ‘that they may be united (associated, belong to the same fraternity), even as we are united (etc.).’ If a deeper, more mystical union is to be indicated we are thrown back on ũmwe: ‘that they may be one person (one entity), even as we are one person (one entity).’ Or are we to differentiate between the disciples and the Divine Persons and use amwe for the former and ũmwe for the latter?

“In all these passages the existing Kikuyu New Testament has ũmwe, whether the reference is to the disciples or to Christ and the Father. As far as I am aware this has never been criticized by our African Christians, although in 17:11, 21, and 22 its use in ‘that they (all) may be one’ might even convey the sense ‘that they (all) may be reduced to one,’ i.e. to a single individual!”

Note: All three currently (2022) available Kikuyu Bible translations (Ibuku Rĩrĩa Itheru Rĩa Ngai; Kiugo Gĩtheru Kĩa Ngai, Kĩrĩkanĩro Kĩrĩa Gĩkũrũ Na Kĩrĩa Kĩerũ; and Kĩrĩkanĩro Gĩa Gĩkũyũ) still only use ũmwe in all of the above instances.

See also this lectionary in The Christian Century .

In the Protestant Mandarin Chinese Union Version and the Catholic Sigao version the oneness is expressed with an established Chinese idiom: hé ér wéi yī (合而為一 / 合而为一) or “united as one” is used. (Source: Toshikazu S. Foley in Hong Kong Journal of Catholic Studies, 2011, p. 45ff.)

Note that all versions also use their respective translations in Ephesians 2:14.

See also one in hand.

virtue / excellence

Click here to view graphically

The Greek that is typically translated as “virtue” or “excellence” in English is translated in other languages in the following ways:

  • Doondo / Bhele / Komo: “good behavior” (source: Madel M’Pandzou; Ung’i Atido)
  • Bariai: “good behaviors” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Mairasi “improved lives/behavior” (Enggavoter 2004)
  • Bali / Bila / Vanuma: “goodness” (source: Ung’i Atido)
  • Ngiti (Ndruna): “doing good” (source: Ung’i Atido)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “good works” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “really good nature/ways” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “earnestly live good” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Hausa: “character of goodness” (Hausa Common Language Back Translation)
  • Mandarin Chinese: déxíng 德行 or “moral behavior” (Protestant) / yìlì 毅力 or “willpower” (Catholic)
  • English EasyEnglish Bible (publ. 2018): “try to do what is good”
  • Low German translation by Johannes Jessen (publ. 1937, republ. 2008): “stand your ground as a Christian”
  • Pennsylvania Dutch: goot layva or “good life”
  • Mukulu (Guerguiko): sooru ki diine or “walk in the middle” (source: Barnabas Al-Nadif Nidjei)
  • Bokoto (Bhogoto): dɛɛmɔ nɛ riwarɛɛ or “behavior on the path (of life)” (source: Adam Huntley)
  • Budu-Nita translation by CITBA (Centre Interconfessionnel de la Traduction de la Bible et Alphabétisation): mʉkyananakɨa wɔta uɗo or “good character” (source: François Anzabati)
  • Ngiemboon : mà wembóŋo or “good habit,” i.e. something that is recognized as the right way to do things (source: Moise Yonta)

the Way

The Greek that is often translated in English as “the Way,” referring to the young church in Acts, is translated in a number of ways:

  • Isthmus Mixe: “those who follow the good words about Jesus Christ”
  • Morelos Nahuatl; “the Jews who followed that man Jesus
  • Lalana Chinantec: “the people who took the trail of Jesus”
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “all who believed on Jesus”
  • Rincón Zapotec: “those who had received as truth Christ’s word”
  • Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “those who walk in the road of the Lord”
  • Chichimeca-Jonaz: “who believed that message” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Elhomwe: “those who lived according to the Way of the Lord” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999): “Christian(ity)”

In the Mandarin Chinese Union Version, the most commonly used Protestant Chinese Bible, it is translated as zhèdào (这道) or “this way.” Note that dào (道) or “way” is the same word that is also used for Logos (usually “Word” in English) in John 1:1 and elsewhere (see Word / Logos).

it is finished

For the Greek in John 19:30 that is translated with an equivalent of “It is finished (or: completed)” in most English Bible translations a perfect tense is used that has no direct equivalent in English. It expresses that an event has happened at a specific point in the past but that that event has ongoing results. The English “Expanded Translation” by Kenneth S. Wuest (publ. 1961) attempted to recreate that by translating “It has been finished and stands complete.”

Irish uses yet a different system of tenses, resulting in these translations:

  • Atá sé ar na chríochnughadh (Bedell An Biobla Naomhtha, publ. early 17th century): “It is upon its completion”
  • Tá críoch curtha air (Ó Cuinn Tiomna Nua, publ. 1970): “Completion is put on it”
  • Tá sé curtha i gcrích (An Bíobla Naofa, publ. 1981): “It is put in completion”

Source for the Irish: Kevin Scannell

In Ojitlán Chinantec it is translated as “My work is finished,” in Aguaruna as “It is completely accomplished,” and in Mezquital Otomi as “Now all is finished which I was commanded to do.” (Source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)

In Mandarin Chinese, it is translated as chéng le (成了) which means both “it is completed” and “it is finished” (source: Zetzsche), in Ebira it is translated as Ma sị mẹ ta or “I have finally completed/finished it” (source: Scholz /Scholz 2015, p. 98), and in both German and Dutch major translations it is translated as vollbracht and volbracht respectively, which means “finished” but comes from “to bring (or: deliver) completely.”

The following is a contemporary stained glass window in the Catholic Church of the Resurrection in Bryanston, New Zealand:

Photo by Catholic Church of the Resurrection in Bryanston

The Window of the Saviour: Jesus said, “It is accomplished,” and bowing His head He gave up His spirit (John 19:30). This window with its powerful colours of sorrow and mourning yet glory and new life shows the Saviour at the moment of His supreme sacrifice of Himself for love of all humanity. (Source: Catholic Church of the Resurrection in Bryanston )

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum this devotion on YouVersion .

blameless

The Greek that is translated as “blameless” or “guiltless” or similar in English is translated in Huautla Mazatec as ni̱jme jìn kjoa̱ xi chꞌao tjín koansjaitꞌain or “do not find any ugly / bad matter for them.” Jean Paul Gotopo Maldonado who is participating in the work on a new translation explains: “In Huautla Mazatec there is no term to indicate the irreproachable character of a person, therefore this concept is described with a phrase.”

In the Catholic Mandarin Chinese Sigao version it is translated with an established Chinese idiom: wú kě zhǐ zhāi (無可指摘 / 无可指摘) or “beyond reproach (lit. “nothing to point out”).” (Source: Toshikazu S. Foley in Hong Kong Journal of Catholic Studies, 2011, p. 45ff.)

See also blameless (Luke 1:6) and blameless (Job)

mark

The Hebrew in Ezekiel 9:4 and Ezekiel 9:6 that is translated as “mark” or “sign” in Protestant English Bibles was translated in the Latin Vulgate translation as signa thau or “signs of Thau.” The Hebrew had used tav (תָּו) which means “mark” or “sign,” but was interpreted here as strictly referring to tav (taw) (ת), the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

This is a tradition that Catholic Bibles, for into the 1940s which the Vulgate was the source version, have maintained until the present day. While the 16th century English Dhouay-Rheims version translated this directly as mark Thau, later versions either translated this as “X” (New American Bible, including its Revised Edition), but were more commonly using cross (Knox, Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Catholic Bible, Christian Community Bible). In a footnote it usually says something like this: “Literally, ‘with a tau.’ This was the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and in the old script a cross was the symbol for it.”

Indeed, this is what tav looked like historically:

Source: Wikipedia

Protestant Bibles in English, with the exception of the recent Evangelical Heritage Version (2019), all use a form of “mark.”

Other languages have the same tradition. The French Catholic La Bible de Jérusalem uses croix, the Mandarin Chinese Sigao translation says 一個十字記號 (yīge shízì jìhào) or “a mark in the sign of a cross,” the Portuguese Bíblia Ave Maria uses cruz, the Polish Biblia Tysiąclecia uses Taw (and mentions in a footnote that taw used to be written in the form of a cross), the German EinheitsübersetzUng has Taw as well, and the Spanish El Libro del Pueblo de Dios has “T.”

This last translation (“T”) also found its way into a series of stained glass window from the Three choir windows in the Marienkirche, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, of the 14th century (note the “T” in the antichrist’s halo as well as on the forehead on his followers):

Source: Das Antichristfenster by Ludger Каup, 2010

Incidentally, the German word for devil is “Teufel” (in the spelling “tiuvel” in the 14th century), which likely helped the choice of the “T” for the mark.

See also other stained glass windows from the Marienkirche in Frankfurt.

Mary / Martha / Lazarus (relative age)

Many languages have terms for siblings that define whether one is younger or older in relation to another sibling.

In Fuyug, Tae’, Batak Toba, and Mandarin Chinese, Martha was assumed to be the older of the two sisters because she is mentioned first. (Sources: David Clark [Fuyug] and Reiling / Swellengrebel)

Navajo (Dinė) translates accordingly but for a different reason: “since Martha seemed to take the responsibility of the housework, she was probably the older of the two” (source: Wallis 2000, p. 103f.) whereas in Mandarin Chinese he is the younger brother.

In Fuyug, Lazarus is assumed to be the oldest sibling on the grounds that he died first, whereas in several Thai translations he is described as the youngest of the three. (Source: David Clark)