complete verse (1 Corinthians 16:17)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 16:17:

  • Uma: “I am happy about the arrival of Stefanus, Fortunatus and Akhaikus here. It’s like they are your replacements here to me.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “I was really happy when Estepanus and Portunatus and Akaikus arrived here. Even though you could not all come, I can endure my longing because of these three,” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I was really overjoyed when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived; it seemed as if my great loneliness for you was helped.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Great was my happiness at the coming of Estefanas and Fortunatus and Akaicus, because my missing you was reduced because of them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “I was very happy when Estefanas arrived, along with his companions Fortunato and Acaico. Because what you couldn’t do because we were not together, they have now been able to do it for me.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “I rejoice very much that your fellow townspeople Stephanas, with Fortunatus, with Achaisus have arrived here. Since you live a long way away, you can’t come here to greet me. But now it is as though you yourselves are greeting me in that now have arrived our brothers to greet me.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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 16:17

I rejoice at the coming …: this first sentence may be rephrased as “I am very happy that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have come here [from Corinth].” Paul may imply that their presence to some extent compensated for his separation from the other Christians there.

They have made up for your absence: or “… represented you in your absence.” This clause is introduced in the Greek, as in Revised Standard Version, by because, giving the reason why Paul is happy. Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible give the most likely meaning, but Paul may be referring to something more specific. If that is so, Barrett’s translation “they … have supplied what you could not do for me” is also possible.

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 .

Sung version of 1 Corinthians 16

Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).

For more information, see here .