complete verse (1 Corinthians 1:12)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 1:12:

  • Uma: “I am saying this because there are some of you who want to take sides with different individuals. Some of you say: ‘I, I am on-the-side of Paulus.’ Some say: ‘I am on-the-side of Apolos.’ Others also say: ‘I am on-the-side of Petrus.’ Still others say: ‘I am on-the-side of Kristus.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “That is/it means that your thinking is not the same, because some of you say, ‘I here follow Paul.’ Others say, ‘I here follow Apollos.’ There are still others who say, ‘I here follow Petros.’ Others still say, ‘I here follow Almasi.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “What I mean is: each one of you proposes something different, they say; because one says, they say, that I Paul, am the one he is following. And another one says that Apollos is the one he’s following; and another one says that the one he’s following is Peter, and another one says that Christ is the one he’s following.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “What I mean to say is, what each one is saying is different. Because there are reportedly those who are saying, ‘Pablo is the one we (excl.) are following,’ while others are saying, ‘Apollos for-our-part is the one we (excl.) are following.’ Others, they are saying, ‘We (excl.) belong to (lit. are joined to) Pedro,’ and still others, ‘As for us (excl.) however, Cristo is the one we (excl.) belong to.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “This is what I mean. I have come to know that you are forming-various-opposing-groups there. For one person reportedy says, ‘As-for-me, Pablo’s teaching is what pleases me.’ Another reportedly says, ‘As-for-me, it’s Apolos’s.’ And as for others, Pedro is the one they reportedly side with, and Cristo is whom others reportedly side with.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Because it is not one word only that you speak. There are some of your companions who say, ‘I follow the word which Paul speaks.’ Others say, ‘I follow the word which Apollos speaks.’ Others say ‘I follow the word which Peter speaks.’ Others say, ‘I follow the word which Christ speaks.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 1 Corinthians 1:12

What I mean is that is literally “but I say this.” This phrase introduces in greater detail an explanation of what Paul has just said in verses 10-11. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates this as “you know what I mean.” Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says “I (will) explain myself.”

Each one of you is probably an exaggeration (see the comment on 1 Cor. 1.5). The Corinthian readers would have understood it in this way. If, however, readers of a modern translation are likely to understand such a phrase literally, translators should use an expression such as “you are saying many different things.”

There is a similar problem in John 2.10, where the Greek is just “everyone,” but Good News Bible correctly translates “Everyone else serves the best wine first….”

I belong to Paul: Good News Bible shows clearly that this clause means “Paul is my leader (or, teacher),” or “I follow Paul,” rather than “Paul owns me.”

Or “I belong to Christ”: this is the meaning given by all translations that we have consulted. Some commentaries think that here Paul is speaking in his own name. If so, the translation would be “but I belong to Christ.” However, the translation given by Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible is more likely, and Good News Bible‘s rendering “I follow” is more natural English. In the Gospels the words “follow Christ” literally mean “walking about with Jesus wherever he led his followers.” Pupils often did this with their teacher. So the word “follow” also has the wider meaning “acknowledge someone as teacher.” That is what Paul means here. These words could be translated, “I have Christ as my teacher” or “Christ is my teacher.” In the ancient world the relationship between a teacher and his followers was often closer and more personal than in a western school today. It was similar to the relationship between an Indian guru and his followers.

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Corinthians 1:12

1:12a What I mean is this:

Here is what I mean:
-or-
I am talking about:

1:12b Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,”

One believer says, “I belong to Paul.”
-or-
Some of you claim/say that you are following Paul’s/my teaching,
-or-
Some believers among you are saying, “As for us (excl.), Paul is our (excl.) teacher.”

1:12c “I follow Apollos,”

⌊Someone else says,⌋ “I am follow Apollos’s teaching.”
-or-

⌊but others of you claim/say that⌋ you are on Apollos’s side.
-or-

⌊But other believers among you are saying,⌋ “Apollos is our (excl.) teacher.”

1:12d “I follow Cephas,”

⌊Another believer says,⌋ “I am Peter’s disciple.”
-or-

⌊Still otheres of you claim/say that⌋ you are following Peter’s teaching.
-or-

⌊And other believers among you are saying,⌋ “Peter is our (excl.) teacher.”

1:12e or “I follow Christ.”

⌊And yet another believer says,⌋ “It is Christ’s teaching that I obey.”
-or-

⌊And still others of you claim/say that⌋ you are the ones who follow Christ.
-or-

⌊And still other believers among you say,⌋ “Christ is our (excl.) teacher.”

© 1998, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.