judge vs. condemn

The Greek terms krino and katakrino/katadikazo that are translated as “judge” and “condemn” respectively in English are translated with only one term in Kutu (tagusa). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

See also do not condemn.

complete verse (1 Peter 4:5)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Peter 4:5:

  • Uma: “But the time will arrive when those people must answer the questions of God about those evil deeds. For God is ready to judge [lit., sit] the cases of all people, whether those who are still living or those who are already dead.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But one day they will certainly stand in front/in the presence of God to be judged, and God will ask each one of them about their doings here on earth. God will judge the living and the dead.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “In the future when they are brought before God, He will ask them why they did evil. He is ready to investigate the activities of those who have died and those who are still alive.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But they will have to face Cristo in order to tell him what they have done, because he is ready to judge all people who are alive and so also the dead.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But the truth is, they will answer to God for this. For he is really ready to subject all people to judgment, whether still alive or already dead.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “These will be judged by God. Because God has determined to judge those who are alive and also those who have died.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God (“intending to judge”)

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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, sabakōtoshiteo-rare-ru (さばこうとしておられる) or “intending to judge” is used.

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

Translation commentary on 1 Peter 4:5

In the Greek, this verse is a relative clause connected with the preceding verse; it starts with “who,” which obviously refers to those who do the insulting at the end of verse 4. Many interpret this, however, as expressing a contrast between the present and the future: now they insult you, but in the future, they will give an account of themselves to God. Accordingly, a contrastive connective is clearly indicated in many translations (Good News Translation, New English Bible, Barclay; compare Phillips “Don’t worry: they are the ones…”).

They will have to give an account is literally “they will give a word,” with the future tense giving a sense of certainty, that is, they will surely give an account. What they will account for is the insults that have been heaped on the Christians (for example, Jerusalem Bible “they will have to answer for it”) or more generally, their total behavior towards the Christians (for example, Barclay “they will have to answer for their conduct”; Phillips “explain their behavior”).

If one assumes that what the people must account for is their insults, then one may translate they will have to give an account of themselves to God as “they will have to defend before God what they have said in insulting you.” However, if the reference is to their conduct in general, then one may translate they will have to give an account of themselves to God as “they will have to defend before God all that they have done” or “they will have to try to explain to God that what they did was all right.” In such a rendering it is often necessary to introduce an expression such a “try,” since obviously these people will not succeed in defending their actions.

To God is literally “to him,” and it is not at all clear whether this refers to God (Good News Translation) or to Christ. In 1.17 and 2.23, God is spoken of as judge, and it is possible that here God is also meant. However, in many other passages in the New Testament it is Christ who is spoken of as judge (for example, Acts 10.42; 2 Tim 4.1; 1 Cor 4.5). Moreover, the general tone found in the letter is that the second coming of Christ is imminent, and it may be that this element is also found here, in which case it would be more natural to understand Christ as the one who judges rather than God. But it is difficult to be certain at this point, and this is probably the reason why many modern translations simply translate literally “to him” or “to the one,” and thus preserve the ambiguity.

Who is ready accents the imminent end of the world (compare 1.5). A vital part of the belief of early Christians is that the second coming of Christ will signal the end of the world, and at that time, both the living and the dead, that is, all people, whether dead or alive, will be judged. This belief soon became incorporated in the earliest Christian creeds (for example, Acts 10.42; Rom 14.9; 2 Tim 4.1). It is possible to interpret the dead here as “spiritually dead,” but this interpretation should be rejected on two grounds: (1) It is associated with the living, which in this case clearly refers to those who are physically alive; and (2) the expression occurs elsewhere in the New Testament with the clear meaning of “physically dead” (compare Eph 2.1, 5; Rev 5.1; Col 2.13).

Since who is ready emphasizes that the event of judging is to take place shortly, it may therefore be better to translate “who will soon judge” rather than literally “who is ready to judge.” The latter expression might mean simply “who is prepared to judge.”

The living and the dead may be translated as “both those who are alive and those who have died.”

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The First Letter from Peter. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .