devil

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The Greek that is translated in English as “devil” (itself via late Latin from Greek diabolos: “accuser, slanderer”) is sometimes translated with indigenous specific names, such as “the avaricious one” in Tetelcingo Nahuatl, “the malicious deity” in Toraja-Sa’dan (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel), or in Yoruba as èṣù. “Èṣù is thought of as bringing evil, but also as giving protection. The birth of a child may be attributed to him, as the names given to some babies show, Èṣùbiyi (Èṣù brought this forth), and Èṣùtoyin (Èṣù is worthy of praise).” (Source: John Hargreaves in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 39ff. . See also this article by Tunde Adegbola: Èṣù is not Satan: A Christian apologist’s perspective .)

Other translations include:

  • Muna: Kafeompu’ando seetani or “Master of the evil-spirits” (source: René van den Berg)
  • Mairasi: owe er epar nan or “headman of malevolent spirits” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Central Subanen: Palin or “Perverter” (incl. in 2 Cor. 6:15) (source: Robert Brichoux in OPTAT 1988/2, p. 80ff. )
  • Huehuetla Tepehua: “chief of demons”
  • Ojitlán Chinantec: as “head of the worldlings” (source for the last two: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125).
  • Mandarin Chinese móguǐ (魔鬼), literally “magical ghost.” This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32)
  • Uma: “King of Evil-ones” (source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “leader of demons” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “the bad man” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Kupsabiny: “the Enemy” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
In Lak and Shughni it is translated with terms of feminine gender. Vitaly Voinov tells this story (click or tap here to see the rest of this insight):

“In the Lak language of Dagestan, the names ‘Iblis’ and ‘sheytan’ (referring to Satan and his minions, respectively) in this language were borrowed from the Arabic Islamic tradition, but they entered Lak as feminine nouns, not masculine nouns. This means that they grammatically function like nouns referring to females in Lak; in other words, Laks are likely to think of Iblis as a woman, not a man, because of the obligatory grammatical patterning of Lak noun classes. Thus, when the team explained (in Russian) what the Lak translation of Jesus’ wilderness temptation narrative at the beginning of Matthew 4 said, it sounded something like the following: ‘After this, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Iblis… .The temptress came to Jesus, and she said to Him…’

“Since this information (that the devil is a female spirit) is part of the very name used for Satan in Lak, nothing can really be done about this in the translation. The Lak translator did not think that the feminine gender of Iblis should cause any serious misunderstandings among readers, so we agreed to leave it in the translation. Prior to this, I had never heard about languages in which the devil is pictured as a woman, but recently I was told by a speaker of the Shughni language that in their language Sheytan is also feminine. This puts an interesting spin on things. The devil is of course a spirit, neither male nor female in a biologically-meaningful sense. But Bible translators are by nature very risk-aversive and, where possible, want to avoid any translation that might feed misleading information to readers. So what can a translator do about this? In many cases, such as the present one, one has to just accept the existing language structure and go on.”

See also unclean spirit / evil spirit, demon, and Beelzebul.

he must be well thought of by outsiders

The Greek in 1 Timothy 3:7 that is translated in English as “he must be well thought of by outsiders” or similar is translated in Duna as “You must appoint a man of whom not only the Christians, but outsiders too, speak well.” Glenda Giles (in The Bible Translator 1974, p. 238ff. ) explains this expansion: “I found that translation helpers understood this as excluding the need for an elder to be well thought of by Christians too.”

complete verse (1 Timothy 3:7)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Timothy 3:7:

  • Uma: “Thus also, a religion leader must be one who is above reproach [lit., not accuse-able] in the sight of people who are not Kristen people. For if he is not like that, he will be criticized, with the result that the King of Evil-ones will tempt him and cause-him-to-fall.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But a person who is titled leader he ought to be a person respected/honored even by people who do not follow Isa Almasi because if there is something they can find fault within him and-then they speak (evil) against him perhaps he will be tempted to do evil and that is what the leader of demons wants.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “His behavior must always be good so that the people who are not believers in Christ may respect him, for if they don’t, they might gossip about him and he will be trapped by Satan.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “It is also necessary that his behavior be good in the perception of non believers lest they criticize him and that’s how-he-is-caught in the snare of the Devil.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And it’s also necessary that he is respected and spoken-well-of even by people who haven’t believed. For as long as his nature/ways are not good, he will be criticized/ridiculed by others and he may be defeated by Satanas.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “It is necessary for him to talk well in order that the people who are not believers will look well upon him. Then the people will not be able to say that he is walking incorrectly. Because the devil is seeking how to spoil the word of the preacher.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 1 Timothy 3:6 – 3:7

From the family, attention is now focused on the person’s own faith experience. He must not be a recent convert. The Greek word is the source of the English word “neophyte”; literally it means “newly planted” and is used here figuratively to refer to new believers. Good News Translation captures the meaning in a positive manner, “he must be mature in the faith,” and one may also express this as “he must have believed in Jesus for a long time,” or “he must have been a Christian for a long time,” or even “he must believe strongly in Jesus.” However, in many languages Revised Standard Version‘s model will be the more natural way to translate this clause; for example, “he must not be a person who has only recently believed in Jesus.” The danger of being a recent convert is that he may fall into the temptation of being puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. The word translated puffed up comes from a root word that means “smoke,” hence the suggestion that puffed up with conceit could be translated “in a cloud land of conceit.” If such a figurative expression does not occur in the receptor language, another metaphor could be substituted, as, for example, Good News Translation “swell up with pride,” “have a heart full of pride,” or “have a very high heart.” If no equivalent metaphor exists, then as a last resort the meaning of the metaphor can be translated, for example, as “become arrogantly proud.”

The expression the condemnation of the devil can be taken to refer to the judgment executed by the devil, in which case it is connected with the following verse, which mentions the snare of the devil. Most commentaries and translations, however, understand the construction as an objective genitive, which means that the devil is the receiver rather than the doer of the action, hence, the judgment that was meted out to the devil, a meaning that is made clear in Good News Translation, “be condemned, as the Devil was.” The agent in this case is God, and this information can be made explicit in the translation if so desired; for example, “and have God condemn (or, punish) him as he [God] condemned the Devil” (see 1.20 for comments on the devil or “Satan”). It is not at all clear what judgment the verse is referring to; some commentators suggest that this reflects a common theme in the New Testament writings, namely, that in the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Devil suffered a decisive defeat that will be finalized at the end time (see, for example, Matt 25.41; Luke 10.18; Rev 20.10).

A final qualification of the candidate for the episcopal office is that he must be well thought of by outsiders. Outsiders are most probably non-Christians, hence Good News Translation “people outside the church.” The conduct of the bishop should be such that even those who do not belong to the believing community cannot help but be impressed by his irreproachable behavior. Many languages will restructure this clause; for example, “Also people who do not believe in Jesus should respect (or, think well of) him,” or even idiomatically as in many Asian languages, “he should have much face before those who are outsiders (or, do not believe in Jesus).” If this is not the case, it is likely that he will fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. The reproach would come from the outsiders who would say terrible things against the church leader, perhaps accusing him of hypocrisy. Fall into reproach may also be rendered as “so that people who do not believe will not say evil things about him,” or following Good News Translation‘s model, “he will not lose face (or, be disgraced) before….” The expression the snare of the devil is similar in construction to that of “the condemnation of the devil” in the previous verse and is likewise ambiguous. Taken as an objective genitive it refers to the trap that is meant to catch the Devil. More likely, however, it should be taken as a subjective genitive, referring to the trap that the Devil has laid for the arrogant and boastful. A literal translation will of course retain the ambiguity. Those translations that resolve the ambiguity show preference for the latter interpretation; for example, Good News Translation “fall into the Devil’s trap,” or Revised English Bible “be caught in the devil’s snare.” One may also translate “the Devil won’t be able to trap him,” “and have the Devil trap him,” or “have the Devil as it were catch him in a trap.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• He must have believed in Jesus for a long time so that he will not have a heart full of pride and have God condemn (or, punish) him as he [God] condemned the Devil. People outside the church (or, who do not believe in Jesus) should respect him. Then they will not say evil things about him (or, make him lose face), and the Devil won’t be able to trap him.

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 .

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 Timothy 3:7

3:7a

Furthermore, he must have a good reputation with outsiders: Paul meant that even those who are not believers must think well of a person who becomes an overseer.

outsiders: When Paul referred to outsiders, he was referring to those who were not believers.

3:7b

so that he will not fall into disgrace: This gives the reason that an overseer must have a good reputation. If he does not, he will fall into disgrace. This means that those who are not believers will have good reasons to criticize and accuse him. Because he is a leader among the believers, they may also say the same things about other believers.

3:7c

and into the snare of the devil: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “fall” in 3:7b is implicit in this part of the verse. However, in some languages it may be better to say:

and be trapped by the devil

When Paul talked about falling into a snare, he was using a metaphor. He was saying that an overseer who has a bad reputation is like an animal that has been caught in a trap. He cannot easily escape and so can no longer do the work that God has given him to do.

the snare of the devil: Paul was referring to the snare that the devil sets for people when he tempts them. Just as people set traps to catch animals, the devil sets traps to tempt people to become proud or sin in other ways.

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