complete verse (1 Corinthians 4:21)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 4:21:

  • Uma: “So, which one do you like/want: if I come and you still haven’t changed your behavior, I will be harsh admonishing you. But if your behavior has changed, I will be gentle and loving with you.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Now, which one do you want? If you don’t change your doings I will come and punish you. But if you change I will be good with you and I will show my love for you.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And which one of these do you want? If you do not abandon evil-doing, I will come to you and I will punish you. But if what you’re doing is good, my visit to you will be good also, and I will show you great favor and mercy.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “So it’s up to you. Will I have to go there to punish you or do you want me to show my love and patience?” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore what would you like? Shall I come there with words that are like a thing-to-beat-you -with? Hopefully you will now drop/give-up what you are doing which is wrong so that I can come to you with much valuing and meekness/patience.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “And now, which do you want to do now? Do you want to continue to do what you are doing so that I will be angry with you when I go there? Or do you want to walk well so that beautifully I will address you when I go 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 4:21

This verse consists of two questions, the second of which expands or explains the first. These are rhetorical questions. Paul is making a last appeal to his readers before the severe teaching of chapter 5 begins. The initial phrase may be expressed as “Which would you like me to do?”

The word for rod is quite common in the Septuagint and elsewhere, with meanings ranging from “stick” generally, through the “staff” of a traveler or a shepherd, to the symbolic staff or “scepter” of a ruler. This is the only place where Paul uses this noun, so we must find its meaning almost entirely from the context of this verse. It is most unlikely that Paul thinks of a literal stick with which he is threatening to beat his converts. It is also most unlikely that he thinks of himself as a ruler. His authority is “in Christ” (verses 15, 17), and he describes it as that of a father (verse 15) or a teacher (verse 17). Both fathers and teachers had the acknowledged right to correct their children or pupils, if necessary, by using force. This idea is difficult to convey in the setting of many modern societies. Paul’s language also seems to have irony in it. Translators have found different ways of explaining or bringing out the meaning of this phrase. Bijbel in Gewone Taal and Revised English Bible say “a rod in my hand”; Moffatt and Barclay have “rod of discipline.” Phillips uses a verb instead of the noun: “ready to chastise you.”

With love in a spirit of gentleness translates the Greek quite literally. Spirit here does not refer to the Holy Spirit. In contrast to the rod of discipline which Paul has mentioned in the previous sentence, he is here referring to treating the Christians in a loving way. A possible rendering is “or will I be able to display my love for you and treat you gently?”

So the final part of the verse can be translated as “When I come to visit you, will it be necessary to punish you, or will I be able to display my love for you and treat you gently?”

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 4:21

4:21a Which do you prefer?

Now which way do you want me to act toward you when I arrive?
-or-
When I arrive there, I can treat you in one of two ways.

4:21b Shall I come to you with a rod,

Do you want me to punish you?
-or-

⌊If you have still not stopped your bad ways,⌋ I will rebuke/discipline you severely.

4:21c or in love and with a gentle spirit?

Or do you want me to talk to you lovingly and gently?
-or-

⌊But if you have repented,⌋ I will be kind to you and show you that I love you.

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