death vs. life

The terms in the verse in 2 Corinthians that are translated as “death” and “life” in English are translated in Ixcatlán Mazatec as “physical death” and “spiritual life.”

The verse in Ephesians (in English: “dead”) is comparably translated as “spiritually dead.”

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (2Cor. 4:12)

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.

complete verse (2 Corinthians 4:12)

Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Corinthians 4:12:

  • Uma: “So, we (excl.) constantly face death. But we (excl.) don’t-mind / It doesn’t-bother us (excl.), for because of that work of ours(excl.), you get good life forever.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then, we (excl.) endure persecution up to/including that we (excl.) almost die because of our (excl.) preaching so that this becomes your good (lit. comes home for your good), because finally you will live forever.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “That’s why we are never free from danger of death, because we spread the Good News. However, never mind this because by means of this, it is possible for you to have eternal life.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Therefore it is true that we (excl.) are facing death, but the result of it is that you gain life that has no end.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But, even though death is always like chasing us, the outcome is that you can now find life without end.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “While the people search how to kill me, I, while I live, search for how to have you meet up with the new life.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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 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).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 2 Corinthians 4:12

So translates a Greek word which indicates that verse 12 is the consequence of verse 11. Good News Translation captures this meaning with the words “This means that” (likewise Contemporary English Version). Others have rendered this transition word “then” (Moffatt) and “thus” (Revised English Bible), showing the logical connection.

Death is at work in us: Paul and his co-workers suffer and are in danger of dying or of being put to death. The Greek verb is at work may be translated as an active verb with death as the subject (so nearly all interpreters). This verb may, however, be passive in both form and meaning (as are the verbs in verses 10-11), so that the sense will be that the power of God (4.7) is at work bringing life and death. This is the interpretation behind the Anchor Bible translation: “death is made active [by the power of God] in us.” On the basis of grammar and context, either interpretation is possible. However, as already noted, most translations have chosen the active meaning of the verb rather than the passive. One African language has worded this verse as follows: “we have agreed to struggle with death so that you might find life.” Phillips provides another good model: “We are always facing physical death, [so that you may know spiritual life].”

Though the Greek does not make explicit the relationship of the two parts of this verse, the sense is that Paul and his co-workers suffer and risk death, with the result that the Corinthians have spiritual life (4.15). In view of this contrast between life and death, the conjunction but will be crucial in most languages. However, as indicated above, it may be possible to show the cause and effect relationship explicitly.

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 .