The Greek in 1 Corinthians 16:6 that is translated as “you may send me on my way” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with ihr könnt mir dann Begleitschutz geben or “you can then give me an security escort.”
complete verse (1 Corinthians 16:6)
Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 16:6:
- Uma: “My desire is that I be a rather long time with you, maybe until the cold time is over, so that when the cold time is over, you [can] give-me-a-send-off to continue my journey on to wherever I’ll go.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “Perhaps I will dwell there with you for a while. Perhaps I will wait till the windy season is over, then I will continue from there so that you can help me in my travelling, wherever I will go.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when I am already there with you, I will stay awhile; I will not leave there until the end of the rainy season. And when I continue, it would be good if you could help me on my travels, wherever I’m going.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “My-staying-with you will perhaps be slightly-long, maybe until the cold-season (lit. season-of-frost) is finished, then you will be able to help-me in my travels to wherever I am going.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “I will stay there (with you) for a while. Maybe that’s where I’ll wait for the cold-season to pass, so that I can have you help me with my next journey, wherever I go.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- Tenango Otomi: “Perhaps I will be able to stay with you for some time. If I can, I will stay there during all the cold time. Then you can help me in what I need when I continue on from there.” (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 16:6
And: many languages will prefer to begin a new sentence here, as Good News Bible has done.
The winter: Good News Bible‘s “whole” is implied. In ancient times it was dangerous to cross the Mediterranean in winter (see Acts 27.9-12).
Speed me on my journey: Good News Bible‘s “help me to continue my trip” is clearer English. It implies that the Corinthians will give material support to Paul for the next stage of his journey.
Wherever I go: Good News Bible adds “next,” which means “after my visit to Corinth.” See Rom 15.24.
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 .
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