The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated as “anger” or similar in English in this verse is translated with a variety of solutions (Bratcher / Nida says: “Since anger has so many manifestations and seems to affect so many aspects of personality, it is not strange that expressions used to describe this emotional response are so varied”).
Chichewa: “have a burning heart” (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation) (see also anger burned in him)
Citak: two different terms, one meaning “angry” and one meaning “offended,” both are actually descriptions of facial expressions. The former can be represented by an angry stretching of the eyes or by an angry frown. The latter is similarly expressed by an offended type of frown with one’s head lowered. (Source: Graham Ogden)
In Akan, a number of metaphors are used, most importantly abufuo, lit. “weedy chest” (the chest is seen as a container that contains the heart but can also metaphorically be filled with other fluids etc.), but also abufuhyeε lit. “hot/burning weedy chest” and anibereε, lit. “reddened eyes.” (Source: Gladys Nyarko Ansah in Kövecses / Benczes / Szelid 2024, p. 21ff.)
“to beg” or “to ask,” (full expression: “to ask with one’s heart coming out,” which leaves out selfish praying, for asking with the heart out leaves no place for self to hide) (Tzotzil)
“to raise up one’s words to God” (implying an element of worship, as well as communication) (Miskito, Lacandon) (source of this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
Shilluk: “speak to God” (source: Nida 1964, p. 237)
Mairasi: “talk together with Great Above One (=God)” (source: Enggavoter, 2004)
Ik: waan: “beg.” Terrill Schrock (in Wycliffe Bible Translators 2016, p. 93) explains (click or tap here to read more):
What do begging and praying have to do with each other? Do you beg when you pray? Do I?
“The Ik word for ‘visitor’ is waanam, which means ‘begging person.’ Do you beg when you go visiting? The Ik do. Maybe you don’t beg, but maybe when you visit someone, you are looking for something. Maybe it’s just a listening ear.
When the Ik hear that [my wife] Amber and I are planning trip to this or that place for a certain amount of time, the letters and lists start coming. As the days dwindle before our departure, the little stack of guests grows. ‘Please, sir, remember me for the allowing: shoes, jacket (rainproof), watch, box, trousers, pens, and money for the children. Thank you, sir, for your assistance.’
“A few people come by just to greet us or spend bit of time with us. Another precious few will occasionally confide in us about their problems without asking for anything more than a listening ear. I love that.
“The other day I was in our spare bedroom praying my list of requests to God — a nice list covering most areas of my life, certainly all the points of anxiety. Then it hit me: Does God want my list, or does he want my relationship?
“I decided to try something. Instead of reading off my list of requests to God, I just talk to him about my issues without any expectation of how he should respond. I make it more about our relationship than my list, because if our personhood is like God’s personhood, then maybe God prefers our confidence and time to our lists, letters, and enumerations.”
In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning (click or tap here to read more):
For Acts 1:14, 20:36, 21:5: kola ttieru-yawur nehla — “hold the waist and hug the neck.” (“This is the more general term for prayer and often refers to worship in prayer as opposed to petition. The Luang people spend the majority of their prayers worshiping rather than petitioning, which explains why this term often is used generically for prayer.”)
For Acts 28:9: sumbiani — “pray.” (“This term is also used generically for ‘prayer’. When praying is referred to several times in close proximity, it serves as a variation for kola ttieru-yawur nehla, in keeping with Luang discourse style. It is also used when a prayer is made up of many requests.”)
For Acts 8:15, 12:5: polu-waka — “call-ask.” (“This is a term for petition that is used especially when the need is very intense.”)
Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.
Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Timothy 2:8:
Uma: “My desire is that every time there are-services, men lift up their hand praying. But it must be those whose actions are holy, it isn’t appropriate if they pray while being angry or arguing.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Wherever the ones trusting in Isa gather to worship God, it is my wish that the men pray, the men who wholeheartedly/entirely follow God. They ought to be angry with no one and they ought not to quarrel/fight.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And because of this, as for the men in all the towns whose abandoning evil behavior is firm, I want them to pray to God. They must have no anger toward their fellows and they must have no doubts.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “I want then furthermore that in all congregations of believers, the men be the ones who lead in your praying, but they must be holy and also have no one they are angry-with or quarreling-with when they raise their hands to pray.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “I want hopefully that, as for the men/males in every place which is a gathering-place of believers, they are always/often praying. But it’s necessary that their lives are in harmony with the will of God, there being no anger or quarreling.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “I want that men everywhere pray to God. When they lift their hands to pray, they must give their hearts to God, having their hearts contain all that is good, not having hearts burning to argue with their fellowmen.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and Aramaic all have one term only that refers to what can be expressed in English as “sky” or “heaven(s)” (as a physical and spiritual entity). While there is a slight overlap between the meaning of the two English terms, “sky” (from Old Norse sky meaning “cloud”) typically refers to the physical entity, and “heaven” (from Old English heofon meaning “home of God”) typically refers to the spiritual entity. While this enriches the English lexicon, it also forces English Bible translators to make decisions that can be found only in the context in the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts. Most versions tend to use “heaven(s)” even if the meaning is likely “sky,” but the Contemporary English Version (NT: 1991, OT: 1995, DC: 1999) is an English translation that attempted to be more specific in the separation of the two meanings and was used as the basis for the links to verses used for this and this story (“sky”).
Norm Mundhenk (in The Bible Translator 2006, p. 92ff. ) describes the difficulty that English translations face (click or tap here to see more):
“A number of years ago an old lady asked me a question. What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away’? I do not remember what answer I gave, but I was surprised at how concerned she seemed to be about the verse. It was only later, after I had left her, that I suddenly realized what it was that she was so concerned about. She knew that death could not be far away, and all her life she had looked forward to being with God in heaven. But this verse said that ‘heaven will pass away’! What did that mean for her hopes? In fact, of course, in this verse Jesus was talking about the skies or the heavens, not about Heaven as the place of God’s presence. If I had realized the problem in time, I could easily have set the lady’s mind at rest on this question that was troubling her so much. However, I suspect that she is not the only person to be misled by the wording of this verse. Therefore, it is very surprising to find that even today many English versions (including the New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Good News Translation) still say ‘heaven and earth’ in verses like Matt 24:35 and its parallels (Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33). The Contemporary English Version (CEV) and Phillips’ translation seem to be aware of the problem, and in Mark 13:31 both of these have ‘earth and sky’ instead of ‘heaven and earth.’ But in some other passages (such as Matt 5:18) the traditional wording is still found in both of those translations. The New Century Version (NCV) does have ‘earth and sky’ more consistently, and the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) has ‘sky and earth’ in these passages. (Although ‘sky and earth’ is closer to the Greek, it seems more natural in English to say ‘earth and sky’; but either way, at least the meaning is correct.)
“Louw and Nida’s Lexical Semantics of the Greek New Testament (publ. 1992) suggests that the Greek expression being translated here, ho ouranos kai he ge is ‘a more or less fixed phrase equivalent to a single lexical unit’ and that it means everything that God created, that is, the universe. They then quote Mark 13:31 as an example, using ‘heaven and earth’ in their translation of it. However, they go on to say that there ‘may be certain complications involved in rendering ho ouranos kai he ge as ‘heaven and earth,’ since ‘heaven’ might be interpreted in some languages as referring only to the dwelling place of God himself. The referents in this passage are ‘the sky and the earth,’ in other words, all of physical existence, but not the dwelling place of God, for the latter would not be included in what is destined to pass away.’ In my opinion, English itself is one of the languages where the word ‘heaven’ will be interpreted as referring only to the dwelling place of God himself, and translations into English should not use ‘heaven’ in these passages. It is probably because these passages are so very familiar that translators do not realize the meaning they are giving their readers when they use the expression ‘heaven and earth’ here. In modern English we might talk about a rocket ‘soaring into the heavens,’ but we would certainly not describe it as ‘soaring into heaven,’ because ‘heaven’ is not another way of referring to the sky or to outer space.
“In fact, it is surely important in all languages to have some way of distinguishing the concept of ‘sky’ from the concept of ‘dwelling place of God.’ In these passages translators should never use a term meaning ‘the dwelling place of God.’ It may not be necessary to use a term meaning ‘sky’ either, if there is some other expression in the language which gives the correct meaning of ‘everything that has been created’ or ‘the universe.’ There are of course places in the New Testament where Heaven, as the place where God lives, is contrasted with the earth. In these passages, translators should be careful to give the correct meaning. A good example of this is in the Lord’s Prayer, in Matt 6:10: ‘Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ Similarly, 1 Cor 15:47 says that ‘the first man [a reference to Adam] was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.’ Passages like these are referring to Heaven, not to the sky. Other NT passages where heaven refers to God’s dwelling place, in contrast with earth, are Matt 5:34-35, 16:19, 18:18, Acts 7:49, James 5:12, and Rev 5:3.
“Sometimes in the New Testament, the word ‘heaven’ is used because of the Jewish reluctance to use the name of God. ‘Heaven’ in these cases is used in place of ‘God’ and refers to God himself. This is the case in the many references in Matthew to ‘the kingdom of heaven’ where other gospels have ‘the kingdom of God’ (e.g., compare Matt 4:17 with its parallels in Mark 1:15 and Luke 10:9). It is also most likely the case in references like Matt 16:1, Luke 20:4, 5, John 3:27, and even perhaps Col 1:5.
“There are some places, such as Matt 11:25, where God is called ‘Lord of heaven and earth.’ Since God is of course the Lord of Heaven as well as of the universe, it may not matter so much which interpretation is given in these passages (others are Luke 10:21 and Acts 17:24). Nevertheless, the intended meaning here is likely to be ‘the universe.’ This is because this expression in Greek, as Louw and Nida say, is a set expression referring to everything that has been created. Acts 17:24 in fact combines the idea of the creation of the universe with the idea of God as Master or Lord of the universe. (…)
“Old Testament background The use of ‘heaven and earth’ in the New Testament is very similar to what we find in the Old Testament, because it is largely based on the Old Testament.
“The Old Testament begins with the story of creation, which is presented as the creation of the heavens and the earth, with lights to shine in the heavens and give light to the earth. Birds are created to live in the heavens, animals to live on earth, and fish to live in the sea (Gen 1:1-2:4).
“As we can see from the way the creation story is told, it is meant to be understood as the creation of the universe. Although in English the regions above the earth have traditionally been called ‘the heavens’ in the story of creation, they cannot be called ‘Heaven,’ in the sense of the place where God dwells. In terms of modern English, it would probably be better to say ‘the sky and the earth’ or ‘the earth and the sky.’ The story of creation then becomes an important theme throughout the Old Testament. (…)
“In most passages, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, when ‘heaven and earth’ or ‘the heavens and the earth’ are mentioned, the meaning is the created universe. It is not a reference to Heaven, as the dwelling place of God. In English, translators have not been careful to keep this distinction clear, and this is probably true in many other languages as well. However, as we have seen, this can lead to real confusion for ordinary Bible readers. It is better if translators find ways to make the meaning clear in these passages. ‘Heaven’ should be mentioned only in passages which clearly mean the dwelling place of God. In other passages, an expression should be used which means only ‘sky.’ Or else, the whole expression ‘heaven and earth’ can be translated in a way to show that the whole universe is meant.”
Other languages that have a semantic distinction similar to English include (click or tap here to see more):
Mossi: saase — “sky”; nyingeri — “the up above”(source for Loma and Mossi: Bratcher/Nida)
Roviana: mamaṉa — “sly”; maṉauru — “heaven” (an old word, meaning “empty, open space of the sky”) (source: Carl Gross)
Kayaw: mô̄la or “canopy-under”/mô̄khû̄la or “canopy-above-under” — “sky” (atmosphere where there is just air); mô̄khû̄ or “canopy-on/above” — “heaven” (invisible abode of God and angels)
Mairasi: Sinyavi — an indigenous term that is used for both “sky” and heaven”; Surga — loanword from Sanskrit via Indonesian referring to “heaven” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Kamo: yamba, which, when capitalized (Yamba), means “God” (source: David Frank)
In some languages, such as Wandala, the vocabulary for terms for either “heaven” or “sky” is much richer than just to include those two distinction. While zhegela, the term that is specifically used for the physical sky was only used in early translations of the New Testament for “sky,” other terms such as samaya (used for both “sky” and “heaven”), zlanna (specifically used for the perfect abode of God and the goal of the faithful, as in Matthew 8:11), kwárá (a locational term used to speak of a chief’s rule [lit., “voice”] such as Matthew 3:2), or sleksire (“chieftaincy,” “kingship,” or “royalty” [originally from slekse “chief”] and used where there are no locational overtones, such as in Matthew 16:28) are used. (Source: Mona Perrin in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 51ff.)
The English translation by Sarah Ruden (2021) uses “sky” throughout. Ruden explains (p. li): “The Greek word ouranos refers evenhandedly to the physical sky and the place—often pictured as a royal court — where supreme divinity resides. ‘Sky’ seems generally better, first of all in avoiding the wackier modern imagery that comes with the English ‘heaven.’ And even when a supernatural realm is meant, ‘sky’ will often do, because the divine realm was thought to be located there, in addition to the weather and the heavenly bodies, whereas ‘heaven’ to us is fundamentally a religious term, and the ancients did not tend to separate linguistic domains in this way. I have retained the plural ‘skies’ where I see it in the Greek, because it is a Hebraism familiar in English translations of scripture and (I hope) not too archaic or jarring.”
I desire seems to denote the apostolic authority of Paul; the intention is to issue an order, but to do it bluntly would be to violate the cultural standards of politeness. It would not be out of place for Paul of course to give a direct command to Timothy, but these passages are in fact addressed not only to him but to the whole Christian community. It may be necessary in translation to ensure that this component of command is understood, without of course violating the standards of politeness in the receptor culture. In some cultures the politeness will be achieved by saying, for example, “I earnestly request that,” or “I ask that,” or even “I humbly entreat you.”
The context of this verse is the same as verse 1, that is, the community gathered for worship; that is probably what in every place is referring to; hence Good News Translation “in every church service.” Other ways of saying this are “whenever the believers meet together to worship God,” “whenever the Christians worship,” or “whenever you [the Christians] meet to worship God.” It is possible, though not very likely, to take “in every place” to mean “everywhere” (New International Version), that is, in all the Christian churches. At that time Christians in Ephesus probably had their worship in homes, but they could have met somewhere else on certain occasions. In view of this it is preferable to use a term for worship that does not refer exclusively to a formal worship service inside a church. Or one may translate in a general way, as, for example, “When you come together to worship God….”
The word for men is the exclusive word for males, which means that this is addressed specifically to the male members of the church. It does appear from this verse that every adult male member can lead the congregation in worship or prayer. What is not clear is whether this was the exclusive right of men. In view of 2.12 it seems likely that the intention of this verse is to identify men as those who have the right to lead in worship, and to deny this right to women. However, since verse 8 does not say explicitly that only men can pray, it may be best to omit any information regarding the rights of women to lead in the worship service, or to imply here in any way that women should not lead.
The lifting of hands while praying was the usual posture of prayer among people of that day, both Jews and non-Jews (see, for example, Psa 141.2; 143.6). It is probable that the early Christians adopted this same posture in their worship services. This gesture is mentioned as a matter of fact, not as a part of the command to pray.
The expression holy hands is misleading and most probably unnatural in many languages. Here hands stands for the whole person; it is the person and not his hands that is holy. The word holy itself is often difficult to translate because it is used in a variety of ways, and traditional translations in many receptor languages have tended to stress the component of “forbidden” or “taboo.” In the present context holy seems to have both a spiritual and a moral sense. People are holy when they are set apart for God’s use, hence Good News Translation “men who are dedicated to God.” But people are also holy when they refrain from doing any kind of evil act and instead live lives that are acceptable to God. This ethical sense seems to be in focus here, since hands are connected to actions. If this is so, one may translate “men who live lives acceptable to God and lift up….”
Two of these actions that these men should refrain from are mentioned, namely, anger and quarreling. This may mean that these men have shown in their lives that they are not slaves to anger nor do they quarrel with others. It may also mean that, before these men join in the prayers, they should be cleansed, which probably means that they should confess any sins related to anger and quarreling and should receive God’s forgiveness. Some commentators note that these are two of the sins of the false teachers mentioned in 1.3; this is therefore both an appeal to the men not to imitate the false teachers, and a subtle denunciation of the false teachers themselves. Anger in many languages will be expressed in psychological terms; for example, “have a hot heart (or stomach, or liver).” Translators are urged to read A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark, page 106, for a list of excellent examples of how a number of languages have translated anger idiomatically. It includes, for example, “to have a hot (or a split, or a cut) heart,” “fire of the viscera,” or “pain in the heart.” Quarreling here refers to arguing with others using words. It doesn’t mean that they were physically fighting.
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• Therefore, whenever you (or, the believers) meet together to worship God, I am requesting that the men pray. These must be men who live lives acceptable to God, and when they lift up their hands to pray, they must do so without having anger in their hearts or quarreling with others.
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 2:2a, Paul told Timothy whom believers should pray for. Here in 2:8, he told him how the men should pray. They should pray, “lifting holy hands,” and “without anger or disputing.”
2:8a
Therefore: This translates the Greek word oun. This Greek word connects this verse with 2:1–7. Some translations leave the connection implicit here. You should use the method in your language that most clearly conveys that 2:8 is the result of previous verses, that is, God wants Christians to pray for everyone. Therefore, men should pray, lifting holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.
I want: Because Paul was an apostle (as he mentioned in 2:7b), he had authority to tell believers what he wanted them to do. He could also expect them to obey him. Therefore, when Paul wrote I want, he meant “I command.”
the men: The Greek word here that the Berean Standard Bible translates as men means males as opposed to females. It seems that Paul was speaking here about a problem that specifically affected the male believers.
everywhere: At the time when Paul was writing this letter, believers often met in each others’ houses to pray and worship God. The words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as everywhere probably refer to all the different places where believers met. (Ferguson (1991).) For example, the New Living Translation (2004 Revision) says:
wherever you assemble
2:8b
to pray, lifting up holy hands: At the time when Paul was writing, people normally prayed standing up. They also often lifted their hands while they prayed. (Stott, page 82, refers the reader to the following references about standing for prayer: Nehemiah 9:5; cf. Genesis 18:22; 1 Samuel 1:26; Mark 11:25; Luke 18:11, 18:13; Revelation 7:9. He refers to the following references about “lifting” or “spreading” hands in prayer: Psalm 28:2; Lamentations 3:41; cf. Exodus 9:29, 17:11–12; 1 Kings 8:22; Nehemiah 8:6; Psalms 63:4, 134:2, 143:6.) This was also a common way to pray in the Old Testament. See Psalm 134:2, Lamentations 2:19 for examples.
holy hands: Before men pray they should be sure to give themselves totally to God. Paul was emphasizing this when he said that men’s hands should be holy.
2:8c
without anger or dissension: Here Paul mentioned specifically in what sense the men should be holy when they prayed. They should not feel angry toward anyone and they should not be continually quarreling with anyone. Jesus said something similar in Matthew 5:23–24.
anger: Paul was saying that a person should not pray while he is angry with someone else. He was probably thinking mainly that believers should not be angry at each other. He meant that people should stop being angry so that they can pray.
dissension: Paul meant that people should resolve their arguments and quarrels before they pray.
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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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