Following are a number of back-translations of 1 John 3:2:
Uma: “Relatives whom I love! At this time we are God’s children. We do not yet really know how our life in the future will be, for it has not yet been been-made-known-to us. But what we do know is: when Kristus comes back again, we also will be like him, for we will see his real appearance.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “My beloved friends, we (incl.) are already God’s children; we (incl.) have not yet been shown what we (incl.) will become. But we (incl.) know that when Almasi comes back, we (incl.) will become like him because we (incl.) will really see his shape/appearance.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “My dear friends, we are now friends of God, and we do not yet know what will be the result of our being made children of God. However we know that when Christ returns, our appearance will be then just like his appearance, for then we will see at last His true appearance.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “My friends, we are now God’s children, but we don’t yet properly understand what we will become in a future day, but we do know, granted, that at Cristo’s coming again, we will be like him, because we will clearly see his likeness.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “My dear ones, now we truly are children of God. Only we don’t yet know how our having-bodies will be there. But this is what we are sure of, when Jesu-Cristo returns here, we will then be able to be like him, for we will then see well how he is.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Listen, my dear brethren, now we are the children of God, and not yet do we know very well about how we will be at the end. But we do know that when Jesus Christ comes, then we will become like him, because then we will see his face as it is.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Yatzachi Zapotec: “You people whom I love, now we who trust in Christ are God’s children. And it is not yet seen what we will become like, but we know when Christ will come again we will see him like he is, and he will cause us to become like he is.”
Eastern Highland Otomi: “Loved-ones, now we are God’s children. And it has not yet been shown to us how we will be like afterwards. But when it appears what we will be like, we know we will be like Christ, because we will be able to see Christ as he really is.”
Tzotzil: “You whom I love, we have become God’s children. We do not yet know how it is we’ll be/become. We only know that we will become the same as Christ when he comes because we will see him what he is like.” (Source for this and two above: John Beekman in Notes on Translation 12, November 1964, p. 1ff.)
Candoshi-Shapra: “You whom I love, listen! We are God’s children now. We don’t know-ahead what we will become. When Jesus comes, then we will be like Jesus Himself. For we shall see with our eyes the very Jesus completely.”
Yanesha’: “My loved ones, now we are our Father, his children, we do not know yet how we will be sometime. However, we know if when he appears again, we thus, we too, like him. We will see him completely how he is.”
Aguaruna: “Ones I love, now we are God’s children, but yet we do not know how we will again by (live), that; but we know, when Christ shows himself we will be like him, that; because we will see, how he is, that.” (Source for this and two above: Mildred Larson in Notes on Translation, July 1965, p. 1-15)
Following are a number of back-translations of 1 John 4:11:
Uma: “Relatives whom I love! Since thus is the bigness of God’s love to us, that’s why we also must love one another.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “My beloved friends, if God’s love towards us (incl.) is great like this, na, then we (incl.) should also love each other.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “My beloved brothers, since God’s great love for us (incl.) was like that, it is necessary that the love of each one of us (incl.) for his companion is also very big.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “My friends, since that’s what God did to love us, we also, we should love-one-another.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “My dear ones, well since like this is the big-size of God’s valuing of us, it’s necessary that we too value one another.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Listen, my dear brethren, if God did thus because he loves us, it is necessary that each of us love our fellow-believers.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Yatzachi Zapotec: “You whom I love, as God loves us, the same way we must love our fellows each of us the other.”
Eastern Highland Otomi: “Loved-ones, in this way God loved us, to the limit (until he couldn’t). It wants for us also to love one another.”
Tzotzil: “You that I love, because thus God loves us, therefore let us love one another also.” (Source for this and two above: John Beekman in Notes on Translation 12, November 1964, p. 1ff.)
Candoshi-Shapra: “You whom I love, listen. God loved us very much. Then let us from now on love each other.”
Yanesha’: “My loved ones, thus he loved us exceedingly, we too, let us all love one another.”
Aguaruna: “Ones I love, because he strongly loved us, we also we should love one another.” (Source for this and two above: Mildred Larson in Notes on Translation, July 1965, p. 1-15)
Following are a number of back-translations of 2 John 1:1:
Uma: “This letter is from me, Elder, I send it to the mother/woman [polite form of address to an adult woman] chosen by God, and to all your (sing.) children whom I really love. It isn’t just I who love you (pl.), all people who know the true teaching, they love you as well.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “This letter/writing is from me the Elder of the trusters in Isa Almasi, I send this to the woman chosen by God and to her children. Truly I love you. And not only I but also all who know the true teaching from God love you,” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “As for me the old person, I write to you, the woman chosen of God and your children. You are very dear here in my breath, and not only here in my breath, rather you are all dear also in the breaths of all who have believed the true doctrine.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “My-esteemed Lady, I am Juan who am one of the leaders of the believers. This is my letter to you (sing.) whom Diyos (God) has chosen and to your (sing.) children as well. My love for you (pl.) is from-the-heart, and it’s not only I who love you but rather also all who know the true teaching.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Dear woman who has been chosen by God, and your (sing.) children, there-with-you is my letter, I who am the senior-elder. As for you, I really hold you very dear, and not only I but also all those who have really acknowledged the truth concerning the Lord/Chief.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “I lead in relation to God’s word, I greet my sister, a woman who is chosen by God. I also greet your children. I truly love all of you. And now just I do, but also all those who know the true word love you.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Yatzachi Zapotec: “In my old age I am writing you, woman whom God has chosen and your children. Truly I love you and not I only, but also all the other people who are acquainted with what is true.”
Eastern Highland Otomi: “I am the Old-Man Leader. I am sending you this paper, you woman chosen by God, and together (you are with) with your children. I love you in that equally we follow the true Word. And it is not only I who love you, but also all those others who know the Word, also all of them love you.”
Isthmus Zapotec: “I am an old man, I am writing this paper to the Señora whom God chose and to her children. Truly I love you; and not I only but also all those who are acquainted with that which is true.”
Sayula Popoluca: “I am old man John. I am writing to that lady (Señora, not native word for woman as it might give a bad connotation) who is selected and her children, whom I love (them) truly and not just I but every one who knows that which is true.” (Source for this and three above: John Beekman in Notes on Translation 12, November 1964, p. 1ff.)
The translation in Yatzachi Zapotec had to make the inclusion of the writer in these verse explicit by changing the second person plural pronoun (“you”) to an inclusive first person plural pronoun (“we,” including the group that is addressed in the letter). Otherwise the warnings would have not applied to the author of the letter as well. (Source: Inez Butler in Notes on Translation 16, 1965, p. 4-5)
In the Yatzachi Zapotec translation of the Gospel of John, any reference to the evangelist and presumed narrator is done in the first person.
The translator Inez Butler explains (in: Notes on Translation, September 1967, pp. 10ff.):
“In revising the Gospel of John in Yatzachi Zapotec we realized from the start that the third person references of Jesus to himself as Son of Man had to be converted into first person references, but only more recently have we decided that similar change is necessary in John’s references to himself as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved.’ As I worked on those changes and questioned the informant about his understanding of other passages in the Gospel, I discovered that the reader misses the whole focus of the book as an eyewitness account unless every reference to the disciples indicates the writer’s membership in the group. In view of that we went back through the entire book looking for ways to cue in the reader to the fact that John was an eyewitness and a participant in a many of the events, as well as the historian.
“When the disciples were participants in events along with Jesus, it was necessary to make explicit the fact that they accompanied him, although in the source language that is left implicit, since otherwise our rendering would imply that they were not present.”
In this verse, the Yatzachi Zapotec says: “I and Andrew the brother of Simon Peter heard the words which John spoke and followed Jesus.”
In the Yatzachi Zapotec translation of the Gospel of John, any reference to the evangelist and presumed narrator is done in the first person.
The translator Inez Butler explains (in: Notes on Translation, September 1967, pp. 10ff.):
“In revising the Gospel of John in Yatzachi Zapotec we realized from the start that the third person references of Jesus to himself as Son of Man had to be converted into first person references, but only more recently have we decided that similar change is necessary in John’s references to himself as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved.’ As I worked on those changes and questioned the informant about his understanding of other passages in the Gospel, I discovered that the reader misses the whole focus of the book as an eyewitness account unless every reference to the disciples indicates the writer’s membership in the group. In view of that we went back through the entire book looking for ways to cue in the reader to the fact that John was an eyewitness and a participant in a many of the events, as well as the historian.
“When the disciples were participants in events along with Jesus, it was necessary to make explicit the fact that they accompanied him, although in the source language that is left implicit, since otherwise our rendering would imply that they were not present.”
In this verse, the Yatzachi Zapotec says: “Then we were happy to take him into the boat. And we arrived at the shore right away.”
In the Yatzachi Zapotec translation of the Gospel of John, any reference to the evangelist and presumed narrator is done in the first person.
The translator Inez Butler explains (in: Notes on Translation, September 1967, pp. 10ff.):
“In revising the Gospel of John in Yatzachi Zapotec we realized from the start that the third person references of Jesus to himself as Son of Man had to be converted into first person references, but only more recently have we decided that similar change is necessary in John’s references to himself as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved.’ As I worked on those changes and questioned the informant about his understanding of other passages in the Gospel, I discovered that the reader misses the whole focus of the book as an eyewitness account unless every reference to the disciples indicates the writer’s membership in the group. In view of that we went back through the entire book looking for ways to cue in the reader to the fact that John was an eyewitness and a participant in a many of the events, as well as the historian.
“When the disciples were participants in events along with Jesus, it was necessary to make explicit the fact that they accompanied him, although in the source language that is left implicit, since otherwise our rendering would imply that they were not present.”
In this verse, the Yatzachi Zapotec says: “All along Jesus had loved us who trust in him in this world. And he knew that the time was coming for him to leave this world to return to his Father. Therefore when it was about time for the Passover feast he showed us again how very much he loved us.”
In the Yatzachi Zapotec translation of the Gospel of John, any reference to the evangelist and presumed narrator is done in the first person.
The translator Inez Butler explains (in: Notes on Translation, September 1967, pp. 10ff.):
“In revising the Gospel of John in Yatzachi Yatzachi ZapotecZapotec we realized from the start that the third person references of Jesus to himself as Son of Man had to be converted into first person references, but only more recently have we decided that similar change is necessary in John’s references to himself as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved.’ As I worked on those changes and questioned the informant about his understanding of other passages in the Gospel, I discovered that the reader misses the whole focus of the book as an eyewitness account unless every reference to the disciples indicates the writer’s membership in the group. In view of that we went back through the entire book looking for ways to cue in the reader to the fact that John was an eyewitness and a participant in a many of the events, as well as the historian.
“When the disciples were participants in events along with Jesus, it was necessary to make explicit the fact that they accompanied him, although in the source language that is left implicit, since otherwise our rendering would imply that they were not present.”
In this verse, the Yatzachi Zapotec says: “After he had said that he showed us his hands and his side. And we rejoiced that we were seeing our Lord.”
