Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Timothy 2:6:
Uma: “He gave himself to be killed to redeem all mankind. He did that at the time that God set, so that we clearly see the desire of God that all mankind be lifted from the punishment of their sins.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “He yielded/surrendered his life and substituted himself so that God does not punish human-beings/mankind because of their sins. So then because Isa Almasi died on the day arranged by God therefore we (dual) are really assured that God wants all human-beings/mankind to be saved and go to heaven.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “He laid His life crosswise and allowed Himself to be killed so that He might redeem all people. And by means of this, at the proper time, He showed that it was God’s will that all mankind be freed from punishment.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “who gave himself/his body to redeem all people. That was done at the right time that God chose, and that’s when/how-he-showed that he wants all people to be saved.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “As for him, he caused his life/breath to be severed, and thereby he took-the-punishment for the sins of all people. That, that saving which he did, is what testifies at the determined time, that God really wants that people might be saved.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Jesus Christ let himself be killed in order to pay for the sins of all people. When the day arrived for this word to appear, then it was seen very well that God wants that all people be saved.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, ataete (与えて) or “give” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).
Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.
In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.
While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”
In that system one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and one for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.
Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains in the following way: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”
In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)
Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”
In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )
In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)
The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.
Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are Twents as well as the closely related Indonesian and Malay. In both languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).
The beginning of the sentence (For) signals that there is a logical connection between the previous verse and these two verses. These verses contain three theological statements to support the claim that God indeed wants to save all people. The first statement is that there is one God. This is a basic Old Testament statement that functioned as a check against the worship of so many gods and goddesses among the countries surrounding Israel (see also discussion of “the only God” in 1.17). Unfortunately this theological statement about the oneness of God was also misused by some of the Jews so that they could exclude others. In the present context this statement is used to stress the idea that God is indeed the God of all peoples. This clause may also be rendered as “For only one God exists,” or even “For there is only one God for all people” (see Rom 3.30 for a similar expression).
The second statement is that there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. There is one in many languages will be rendered as “There is only one person.” The word mediator can be understood in two ways: (1) one who helps to bring agreement between two or more parties and who guarantees such an agreement; or (2) one who acts as an intermediary in order to reconcile two or more parties. While these two aspects are interrelated, it is the second that is in focus here; it is Jesus Christ who establishes a new relationship between people and God; so Good News Translation “who brings God and human beings together.” Mediator in some languages is expressed idiomatically as “middle person.” For men see 1 Tim. 2.4 above. For Christ Jesus see 1.1. The word for man is the singular form of the generic word for “people”; its use here accents Jesus’ humanity rather than his being a member of the male section of the human race. This stress on Jesus’ humanity is offered as a corrective to those who at that time understood Jesus not as a full human being but either as only divine, or as a being higher than humans but lower than God. This second part of the verse may also be rendered as “and there is only one person who brings God and all people (or, humans) together. This person is Christ Jesus” (compare New Revised Standard Version “Christ Jesus, himself human”).
The third statement is that Christ Jesus gave himself as a ransom for all. The word ransom refers to a means or instrument by which people are set free. In a world where slavery was widely practiced, ransom would be the money paid to a slave owner in order to free a slave. A literal translation may raise the problem of who paid what to whom in order to secure the freedom of people (compare Good News Translation “redeem”). To avoid this problem the focus can be placed on the result of the action of Christ, that is, Christ gave himself to be the means by which people are liberated from the power of sin, evil, and death. Gave himself refers to Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, so Revised English Bible “sacrificed himself,” New Jerusalem Bible “offered himself.” Alternative translation models for this clause are “who offered himself as the means by which all people may be freed from the power of sin and death,” “who offered himself as the means by which God frees all people from the power of sin and death,” or even “who offered himself for God to use to free all people….”
The last part of this verse is literally “the testimony (or, witness) in its (or, his) own times,” and its meaning is difficult to determine. Testimony here perhaps has the extended meaning of “proof” (Good News Translation) or “evidence.” Proper time translates a Greek word that refers to the opportune time or moment, not chronological time, hence the appropriate time. The phrase “in his own times” then refers to the proper time that God chose for this evidence to be offered. If understood this way the phrase means that, by the sacrificial death of Jesus, God gave evidence at the proper time that he (God) indeed wants all people to be saved. A slight variation from this idea is represented by Revised English Bible, where testimony is related to God’s purpose; hence “who sacrificed himself to win freedom for all mankind, revealing God’s purpose at God’s good time.” It is now, however, made clear what God’s purpose is, and if God’s purpose is connected with the salvation of all people, then the resulting translation will be the same as the former of these two possibilities. Proper time may be also expressed as “the right time,” “God’s good time,” or “the time that God had decided upon.” If there is a term in the language that has this distinct meaning separate from chronological time, then such a term should be used.
An alternative translation model for these two verses is:
• For there is only one God for all people, and there is only one person who can reconcile all people (or, humans) with God. This person is Christ Jesus, himself human. He offered (or, sacrificed) himself as the means by which God will free all people from the power of sin and death. By the sacrificial death of Jesus, God gave evidence at the right time that he [God] indeed wants all people to be saved (or, wants to save all people).
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 .
In this verse part Paul described the way in which Christ acted as a mediator.
gave Himself: This means that Jesus willingly died.
ransom: The Greek word antilutron that the Berean Standard Bible translates as ransom refers to a price that was paid to set someone free from captivity or slavery. In this verse Paul said that Jesus himself was the ransom. When he died, he paid the price to set people free (see Romans 3:23–24 and 1 Peter 1:18–19).
Paul did not say who received the payment of Jesus’ death. (Since the New Testament never actually states to whom the payment was made, different theories have developed. The theory that God paid himself is referred to by Millard Erickson in Christian Theology, page 796, as the commercial or satisfaction theory of the atonement. He says, “It emphasizes that Christ died to satisfy a principle in the very nature of God the Father. Not only was the atonement not primarily directed at man, but it also did not involve any sort of payment to Satan.”) So you should avoid making this explicit in your translation. (R. W. Lyon, in the article entitled “Ransom” in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, page 908, says, “In the NT the terms of ransom and purchase, which in other contexts suggest an economic or financial exchange, speak of the consequences or results (cf. 1 Cor. 7:23). The release is from judgment (Rom. 3:25–26), sin (Eph. 1:7), death (Rom. 8:2). There is no need, then, to ask the question posed so often in the past: to whom was the ransom paid?”) For example, the New Century Version says:
He gave himself as a payment to free all people.
and the New Living Translation (2004 Revision) says:
He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.
In some languages it will not be possible to keep the figure of speech about paying a ransom. If this is true in your language, you could follow the Revised English Bible which says:
who sacrificed himself to win freedom for all mankind
However if you translate that way, the verse will not explain the way that Jesus’ death sets people free from sin. So try to keep the figure of speech if you can.
A similar Greek word lutron occurs in Matthew 20:28 and Mark 10:45. In those verses, Jesus said that he came “to give his life as a ransom for many.” Try to translate ransom in the same way here as you did in these other passages.
for: The Greek word huper that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for means “on behalf of, in the place of” in this context.
all: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as all here refers to all people. It includes all human beings: men, women, and children. (There is debate as to whether Christ actually died for all people, meaning every single person (this is called universal atonement), or only for the elect (this is called limited atonement). John Stott’s statement at this point is worth mentioning: “As with the statement that God desires all people to be saved, so with the statement that Christ gave himself for all people, it is possible to argue that ‘all’ means ‘all kinds and classes’ and not ‘absolutely everybody’. Yet it is probably wiser to concede that Scripture appears to affirm both positions in an antinomy [a logical contradiction which cannot be resolved] which we are at present unable to resolve. Whatever we may decide about the scope of the atonement, we are absolutely forbidden to limit the scope of world mission. The gospel must be preached to all, and salvation must be offered to all” (page 71).)
2:6b
the testimony that was given at just the right time: The Greek text here literally says “the testimony in its own times.” In most languages it is necessary to supply a verb here. The Berean Standard Bible does so by using the verb given. Paul had mentioned Christ’s sacrifice in 2:5b–6a. Here he said it was the message that has been told to people (by God).
the testimony: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as testimony refers to something that proves something else. In this verse Paul said that Jesus’ death was a testimony, or proof, that God wanted all people to be saved (2:4a) and to come to know the truth (2:4b). The Good News Translation makes this clear by translating this verse part as:
That was the proof at the right time that God wants everyone to be saved
at just the right time: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as at just the right time means that God announced his message to people at the exact time he had chosen. For example, the New Living Translation (2004 Revision) says:
This is the message that God gave to the world at the proper time.
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, NET Bible, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
General Comment on 2:5–6
As stated above, these verses possibly contain a saying that believers used to recite. Some English versions try to show this by using a poetry format. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:
5aThere is only one God,
5band Christ Jesus
is the only one
who can bring us
to God.
5cJesus was truly human, 6aand he gave himself to rescue all of us. 6bGod showed us this at the right time.
Another way to indicate this is to use quotations marks for the saying. However, scholars do not agree about where the saying ends. It may end with 2:6b, or 2:6b may have been a comment made by Paul. If it was a comment, it was not part of the saying (See the New Revised Standard Version). Therefore, it is recommended that you do not use any special formatting here.
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.
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®).
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