7Look at what is before your eyes. If you are confident that you belong to Christ, remind yourself of this, that just as you belong to Christ, so also do we.
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding the addressee).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Corinthians 10:7:
Uma: “Recognize/Discern what you see! If there are those there who say that they are Kristus’s portion, they should make their hearts clear, so that they will know that we (excl.) as well are Kristus’ portion the same as they are.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “You, that is only what you look at, at the outside of a person not what is in his liver. There are people there with you who say that they only are the servants of Almasi, they say. Na, they should think that we (excl.) are also servants of Almasi like they are.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Carefully think about that you already understand, because there are some of you who suppose mistakenly that they alone are the true servants of Christ. It’s necessary that they understand that as for us, we are also true servants of Christ.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Your failing is that you respect the status of people based on what you can-see. Because there are those there who say that they are the proper representatives of Cristo, but if they say that, they ought to remember that we (excl.) also are Cristo’s proper representatives.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Your mistake/sin is, all you look at always is the outward circumstances of a person. This is the truth, if anyone is sure that Cristo is the one who appointed him, it would be good if he thinks this through well so that he will comprehend that, as for us (excl.), it is also like that that Cristo really is the one who appointed us (excl.) as his servants.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Why is it that you only see the person’s body and you do not know what word is in the person’s heart? Concerning the people who are against me, they say they are workers for Christ, but they should know about the word that I myself also am Christ’s worker.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The Greek Christos (Χρηστός) is typically transliterated when it appears together with Iésous (Ἰησοῦς) (Jesus). In English the transliteration is the Anglicized “Christ,” whereas in many other languages it is based on the Greek or Latin as “Kristus,” “Cristo,” or similar.
When used as a descriptive term in the New Testament — as it’s typically done in the gospels (with the possible exceptions of for instance John 1:17 and 17:3) — Christos is seen as the Greek translation of the Hebrew mashiaḥ (המשיח) (“anointed”). Accordingly, a transliteration of mashiaḥ is used, either as “Messiah” or based on the Greek or Latin as a form of “Messias.”
This transliteration is also used in the two instances where the Greek term Μεσσίας (Messias) is used in John 1:41 and 4:25.
In some languages and some translations, the term “Messiah” is supplemented with an explanation. Such as in the GermanGute Nachricht with “the Messiah, the promised savior” (Wir haben den Messias gefunden, den versprochenen Retter) or in Muna with “Messiah, the Saving King” (Mesias, Omputo Fosalamatino) (source: René van den Berg).
In predominantly Muslim areas or for Bible translations for a Muslim target group, Christos is usually transliterated from the Arabic al-Masih (ٱلْمَسِيحِ) — “Messiah.” In most cases, this practice corresponds with languages that also use a form of the Arabic Isa (عيسى) for Jesus (see Jesus). There are some exceptions, though, including modern translations in Arabic which use Yasua (يَسُوعَ) (coming from the Aramaic Yēšūa’) alongside a transliteration of al-Masih, Hausa which uses Yesu but Almahisu, and some Fula languages (Adamawa Fulfulde, Nigerian Fulfulde, and Central-Eastern Niger Fulfulde) which also use a form of Iésous (Yeesu) but Almasiihu (or Almasiifu) for Christos.
In Indonesian, while most Bible translations had already used Yesus Kristus rather than Isa al Masih, three public holidays used to be described using the term Isa Al Masih. From 2024 on, the government is using Yesus Kristus in those holiday names instead (see this article in Christianity Today ).
Other solutions that are used by a number of languages include these:
Dobel: “The important one that God had appointed to come” (source: Jock Hughes)
Noongar: Keny Mammarap or “The One Man” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Mairasi: “King of not dying for life all mashed out infinitely” (for “mashed out,” see salvation; source: Lloyd Peckham)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “One chosen by God to rule mankind” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Bacama: Ma Pwa a Ngɨltən: “The one God has chosen” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
Binumarien: Anutuna: originally a term that was used for a man that was blessed by elders for a task by the laying on of hands (source: Desmond Oatridges, Holzhausen 1991, p. 49f.)
Noongar: Keny Boolanga-Yira Waangki-Koorliny: “One God is Sending” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uab Meto: Neno Anan: “Son of heaven” P. Middelkoop explains: “The idea of heavenly power bestowed on a Timorese king is rendered in the title Neno Anan. It is based on the historical fact that chiefs in general came from overseas and they who come thence are believed to have come down from heaven, from the land beyond the sea, that means the sphere of God and the ghosts of the dead. The symbolical act of anointing has been made subservient to the revelation of an eternal truth and when the term Neno Anan is used as a translation thereof, it also is made subservient to a new revelation of God in Jesus Christ. The very fact that Jesus came from heaven makes this translation hit the mark.” (Source: P. Middelkoop in The Bible Translator 1953, p. 183ff. )
In Finnish Sign Language both “Christ” and “Messiah” are translated with a sign signifying “king.” (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
“Christ / Messiah” in Finnish Sign Language (source )
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient GreekSeptuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew mashiah was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments (click or tap here to read more):
“Another important word in the New Testament that comes from the Septuagint is christos, ‘Christ.’ Christ is not part of the name of the man from Nazareth, as if ‘the Christs’ were written above the door of his family home. Rather, ‘Christ’ is an explicitly messianic title used by the writers of the New Testament who have learned this word from the Septuagint’s translation of the Hebrew mashiach, ‘anointed,’ which itself is often rendered in English as ‘Messiah.’ To be sure, one detects a messianic intent on the part of the Septuagint translator in some places. Amos 4:13 may have been one of these. In the Hebrew Bible, God ‘reveals his thoughts to mortals,’ but the Septuagint has ‘announcing his anointed to humans.’ A fine distinction must be made, however, between theology that was intended by the Septuagint translators and that developed by later Christian writers. In Amos 4:13 it is merely possible we have a messianic reading, but it is unquestionably the case that the New Testament writers exploit the Septuagint’s use of christos, in Amos and elsewhere, to messianic ends.”
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
A major question of interpretation in verses 7-11 is whether Paul is referring to a specific person or whether he is speaking hypothetically, that is, speaking as if such a person may exist. The words If any one may refer to a particular person. If they do, then the verb translated as “they say” in verse 10 may refer to this particular individual (the Greek verb is singular). And the words “Let such people” in verse 11 may also be referring to the particular person first mentioned in verse 7 (the Greek is singular, “such a person”). See comments on 11.20 and 21, where the same pronoun is used and refers to Paul’s opponents in Corinth.
Look at what is before your eyes: these words may be translated as a command as in Revised Standard Version (also New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nouvelle version Segond révisée), as a statement of fact as in Good News Translation (also New American Bible, New International Version, Contemporary English Version and Bible en français courant), or as a question (King James Version). If this expression is taken as a command, the readers are being asked to consider what is self-evident, but if it is a statement, they are apparently considering only outward appearance. Most translations choose one of the first two possibilities, but the context does not decisively favor one interpretation over the others. This being the case, it may be better simply to follow the exegetical choice of the major language translation most likely to be consulted by readers of the receptor language. However, it is very unlikely that this should be translated as a question.
Christ’s: literally “of Christ,” that is, “belongs to Christ.”
Let him remind himself: this rather awkward English command in the third person may be more naturally stated as “that person should remember” or “let him reflect further” (Knox).
As he is Christ’s, so are we: there may be many different ways of wording this statement. The point is that the person Paul has in mind should realize that Paul and his associates are as much Christians as he is. Moffatt, taking the plural as referring to Paul alone, translates “I ‘belong to Christ’ as much as he does.” Or as Knox puts it, “we belong to Christ’s cause no less than himself.”
The pronoun we does not include the readers.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellingworth, Paul. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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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