Chichewachipongwe Mulungu. Chipwonge is used to refer to acts or derogatory remarks that dishonor another person. (Mulungu is the Choichewa word for “God.”) (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
The Greek that is typically transliterated in English as “Satan” is transliterated in Kipsigis as “Setani.” This is interesting because it is not only a transliteration that approximates the Greek sound but it is also an existing Kipsigis word with the meaning of “ugly” and “sneaking.” (Source: Earl Anderson in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 85ff. )
In Morelos Nahuatl it is translated as “envious one” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.) and in Tibetan: bdud (བདུད།), lit. “chief devil” (except in Rev. 20:2, where it is transliterated) (source: gSungrab website ).
The name that is transliterated as “Alexander” in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with a sign that combines a lie (the right hand is in the shape of an X and touches the side of the little finger on the back of the fingers of the left hand, and is moved forward, representing the lie that deviated from the truth) and “defender of men,” the meaning of the name. Alexander, who was one of the leaders of the heretics in Ephesus, along with Hymenaeus. (Source: Missão Kophós )
The Greek that is translated as “turned over to Satan” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with in einem Fluchgebet an Satan übergeben or “handed over to Satan in a prayer of curse.”
Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Timothy 1:20:
Uma: “Two whose faith is wrecked are Himeneus and Aleksander. Those two I hand over to the power/authority of the King of Evil-ones in order that he punish them, in order that they no longer belittle God with their evil teaching.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Like that are Himunus and Iskandal and some others also. I have abandoned them to be carried/influenced by the leader of demons so that they learn a lesson that they should not speak-evil-against God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander. I have turned them over to Satan so that they might be taught that they cannot speak in rejection against God.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Two of them, (they) are Himeneus and Alexander whom I have turned-over to Satanas so that they will learn-thereby not to speak-evil-about God.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “I mean by that, ones like Himeneo and Alejandro whom I have punished. My punishment of them is, it’s like I have returned them to the controlling of Satanas, so that hopefully, through what they will experience, they’ll just be taught that they are indeed not to stand up for those wrong teachings which are like insulting God.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “This is what was done by Hymenaeus and Alexander. These two men I delivered to the devil so that they would realize what they are doing. Because it is not good to speak evil of God in their talking.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Among them another way to express this phrase is “Two of them are” (Contemporary English Version).
Two names are mentioned as examples of those who advocate wrong teachings. Hymenaeus appears also in 2 Tim 2.17; if the two references are identical, then we have an example of what Hymenaeus taught, namely, that the resurrection is a past event (2 Tim 2.18). The name Alexander, on the other hand, appears in 2 Tim 4.14; he is identified as one who did Paul great harm, but there is no reference to any specific act that he did or doctrine that he advocated. There is also a reference to Alexander in Acts 19.33. Other than these references, these two names are not mentioned anywhere else in the New Testament, except for Mark 15.21 and Acts 4.6. Are these the same people, then? It is very hard to be sure. All we can be certain about is that they were known within the Christian community and were perhaps leaders in the church, either deacons or more probably elders. Other than that, we cannot say anything else. But fortunately for translators, it is not necessary to come to any conclusion on the identity of these people; what is important is to transliterate their names properly according to the requirements of the receptor language.
As punishment for what they have done, Paul has delivered these two people to Satan. The expression used here also appears in 1 Cor 5.5 to describe the punishment of the Corinthian sinner; the difference is that in 1 Corinthians the sinner is being handed over to Satan for the destruction of his body, so that his spirit may be saved, whereas here the focus is on disciplining the false teachers. The primary question to ask is: what is involved in handing someone over to Satan? Does the expression mean excommunication from the church or infliction of physical harm? Or perhaps a combination of both? Does this expression have the same meaning as in 1 Cor 5.5? Many commentators favor the first of these possibilities, namely, that this refers to being expelled (excommunicated) from the Christian community. Since the false teachers are outside the realm of the church, they are, so to speak, within the realm of Satan and, like Job, would be subject to the pain and suffering that Satan inflicts.
One notes, however, that the handing over to Satan has a corrective and remedial function: it is to educate these false teachers and help them to get rid of their habit of blaspheming. For blaspheme see discussion on 1.13. In the present context the focus seems to be on falsely claiming to have power and authority from God; this is shown by the fact that they are teaching their own doctrines as God’s truth. By doing this they are actually misrepresenting God and opposing God (compare Contemporary English Version, “so they will learn not to oppose God”). Implicit in the verse is that, once these false teachers repent of their wrong doing, they could be reinstated as members in good standing of the Christian community. Since it is not clear exactly what delivered to Satan means, translators are urged to use a more ambiguous translation such as Good News Translation‘s “whom I have punished by handing them over to the power of Satan.” In cultures where Christianity is only a recent phenomenon, a suitable term for Satan or the Devil may not yet have been agreed upon by the Christian community. Translators in concurrence with the churches should carefully select a term that adequately translates the biblical idea of “Devil” or Satan. If a community chooses to use the name Satan, as in this context, it will be helpful to have an item in the glossary explaining who Satan is.
That they may learn not to blaspheme may also be rendered as “that they may learn to stop opposing God,” or “this will teach them to stop misrepresenting God,” or “that they may learn to stop claiming to have God’s authority when in fact they don’t.”
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• Two of these are Hymenaeus and Alexander. I have let Satan have power over them. This will teach them to stop teaching things that are against God’s truth.
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Hymenaeus and Alexander: Paul next mentioned two men, Hymenaeus and Alexander, who were examples of people who had “shipwrecked their faith.” Both these men had opposed Paul when he had taught in Ephesus, where Timothy now lived. These are probably the same two men mentioned in 2 Timothy 2:18 and 4:14–15.
1:20b
handed over to Satan: Paul was using a figure of speech here. He meant that he would no longer allow Hymenaeus and Alexander to be part of the community of believers. In some languages, a literal translation would make people think that Paul was acting like a witch. If that is the case in your language, you may need to say something like:
I have separated them from God’s people.
Paul used similar language in 1 Corinthians 5:5, and he explained in 1 Corinthians 5:13 that it meant:
expel the wicked man from among you
Satan:Satan is the supreme evil spiritual being who leads and directs all other evil spiritual beings. In other parts of the New Testament he is referred to as “the devil” or “the Evil One.”
Satan is a proper name. So keep that name in your translation if you can. However, in some languages, it may be necessary to explain that he is the chief of the evil spirits.
1:20c
to be taught: Here, Paul told Timothy his purpose in no longer allowing Hymenaeus and Alexander to meet together with other believers. He was doing it to discipline them and to help them to repent.
Paul did not say who or what would teach these men not to blaspheme. There are several possibilities:
(1) the punishment that Paul gave them would teach them (Good News Translation, God’s Word)
(2) God would teach them
(3) Satan would teach them
Most English versions, like the Greek text, do not say. It is recommended that you try to avoid saying whom Paul thought would teach them this. It may be possible to say something like “so that they might learn” or “so that they might realize.” It also may be possible to say that the punishment or discipline would teach them.
not to blaspheme: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to blaspheme means to speak against God in a way that dishonors him. Hymenaeus and Alexander were blaspheming by teaching wrong ideas about God.
Paragraph 2:1–7
When believers gather together, they should pray for everybody. They should pray that God would help their government officials to govern well so that believers can worship God peacefully. They should also pray for everybody else because God wants to save everybody.
Everything that Paul wrote in this paragraph (2:1–7) was to help Timothy communicate the gospel to everyone.
One reason that Paul emphasized that the gospel was for everyone was probably because the false teachers were doing exactly the opposite. They were encouraging their followers to consider themselves as better than other people and as part of a small, elite group that excluded other people. (Fee, pages 61 and 62, says, “…what might be the place of this first paragraph in the argument? The frequent answer is that the point lies in verse 2, that prayer be made for rulers so that the church may enjoy a peaceful existence. It has even been suggested that a correct Christian attitude toward the state is what is in view. Verses 4–7, then, are seen as nearly irrelevant to that point, but go back to elaborate on a secondary point made in verse 1 (prayer be made for everyone). However, it seems much more likely that precisely the opposite is the case. The one clear concern that runs through the whole paragraph has to do with the gospel as for everyone (‘all people,’ vv. 1, 4–6, and 7). In this view, the phrase this is good in verse 3 refers to prayer for everyone in verse 1, thus seeing verse 2 as something of a digression —albeit as before (1:12–17), a meaningful one. The best explanation for this emphasis lies with the false teachers, who either through the esoteric, highly speculative nature of their teaching (1:4–6) or through its ‘Jewishness’ (1:7) or ascetic character (4:3) are promoting an elitist or exclusivist mentality among their followers. The whole paragraph attacks that narrowness.”)
2:1a
First of all: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as First of all is the word that means “first.” In this context there are two possible meanings:
(1) It refers to something that is first in importance. So Paul was saying that prayer was more important than anything else he mentioned in this section.
(2) It refers to something that is first in order. So the first thing that Paul urged people to do in this section was to pray.
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and translate First of all as “most importantly.”
then: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as then is oun, which literally means “therefore.” (Louw and Nida (89.50) say that it is a “marker of result, often implying the conclusion of a process of reasoning – ‘so, therefore, consequently, accordingly, then, so then.’”) It connects this paragraph to what Paul said in chapter 1. Try to translate this connection in a general way. For example, use a word like “therefore” or “so,” or an expression like:
so, this is what I want you to do
urge: In the Greek text, this word is the same as the word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as urged in 1:3a. Paul was strongly encouraging something or making an important request.
In some languages, it may be necessary to say whom Paul was addressing or urging. If this is true in your language, you could use a second person plural pronoun (like “you(plur)”). This will make it clear that Paul was not only writing to Timothy, but expected other believers to read the letter.
2:1b
petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving: Paul used four Greek words to describe prayer. The Berean Standard Bible translates them as petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving. The first three words all refer to asking God to do something. The last word, thanksgiving, refers to thanking God for what he has done.
petitions, prayers, intercessions: These three words mean almost the same thing.
petitions: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as petitions refers to people asking God for particular things that they or other people need.
prayers: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as prayers is a more general word. It refers to people asking God in a general way to bless and care for themselves and other people.
intercessions: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as intercessions refers to people asking God to supply other people’s needs.
The reason that Paul used these three similar words was to emphasize that prayer is important and that believers should pray often. However, in some languages there may not be three different words for prayer. If this is true in your language, translate this part of the verse in a way that emphasizes how important prayer is. For example:
pray earnestly
-or-
pray in every way
thanksgiving: Although the first three words that Paul used (petitions, prayers, intercessions) have a similar meaning, the final word in the list, thanksgiving, is different. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as thanksgiving refers to people thanking God for what he has done rather than asking him to do something.
be offered for everyone: Paul meant that we should pray for all kinds of people, no matter who they are. No one should be excluded.
General Comment on 2:1a–b
In some languages it may be helpful to start a new sentence for the idea of thanksgiving. For example:
So first of all, I urge you(plur) to make petitions, prayers and intercessions for all people. And I urge you all to thank God for all that he does for us.
In other languages, it may be necessary to reorder the verse and place 2:1a after 2:1b. For example:
I urge you(plur) to make petitions, prayers and intercessions for all people. And I urge you all to thank God. These are the most important things to do.
General Comment on 2:1b
In some languages it may be necessary to state what believers should ask God for. Paul wanted believers to pray that God would help people to stop sinning and begin to trust Christ. In the following verses (2:3–7) Paul said that God wanted to save all people. If you can avoid specifying what the believers should pray about, you should do so. However if you need to say what the believers should pray for, you could say:
to pray that everyone be saved
In other languages, it may be necessary to state what people should thank God for. Avoid being too specific. Instead, use a general phrase like:
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.
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