comfort, encourage

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “encourage” or “comfort” is translated in Enlhet as “become calm of the innermost.” “Innermost” or valhoc is a term that is frequently used in Enlhet to describe a large variety of emotions or states of mind (for other examples see here). (Source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. )

In Bacama it is translated as “(to) cool stomach” (source: David Frank in this blog post ), in Yatzachi Zapotec as “cause hearts to mature,” in Isthmus Zapotec “hearts may lie quiet” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.) and in Thai “give heart power to” (source: Bratcher / Hatton 2000).

See also Seat of the Mind / Seat of Emotions and consolation.

mourn

The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “mourn” or similar in English is translated in Newari as “have one’s heart broken” or “have a bursting heart” (source: Newari Back Translation).

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (2Cor. 7:7)

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 7:7)

Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Corinthians 7:7:

  • Uma: “Our(excl.) hearts became strong again seeing Titus arrive. And more than that, we (excl.) were happy to hear the news that he brought from you. He said how you comforted his heart while he was with you. He also said that you missed/longed-for me wanting to meet with me. He said that your hearts were sorry. He also said that you wanted to make-up with us (excl.) with your whole hearts. Hearing that, we (excl.) were even more happy.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Not just his coming made us (excl.) glad, but also what he told us (excl.). He said that his liver was really encouraged because of you. He also said that you really want to see me. Great is your regretting about what happened to you and he says you are happy to defend me/take my side. Therefore I am now really much more glad.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And it was not only the arrival of Titus that made us happy, but also the news he brought that he was very happy about you. He told us that you really want for me to visit there. He told us also that you were asking forgiveness from me. And he also told us that you are anxious to do what I want, and because of this, my joy increased.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “And it wasn’t only his coming that strengthened our (excl.) minds, but even moreover what he reported concerning your making-him -happy. Because he said that you reportedly greatly-desire to see me and reportedly extreme is your repentance/regret on account of the evil that you did previously. He also said that you are reportedly already eager to act-in-my -interest and defend me, so I was even-more made-happy.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And it wasn’t just the arrival of Tito that comforted us (excl.), but rather also the news-he -told us as to how his mind/inner-being was happy because of you. For he related how you are-eagerly-awaiting-my -arrival. He also related that you are very grieved about the things you did which were not good that I set-(you) -straight-about, and how you are now standing up for me to those there who are belittling me. Therefore after I heard that news, I was very happy.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Not only did I rejoice when I saw Titus again, but also I rejoiced the more when he told me that you very much paid attention to him while he was there with you. Because Titus is very happy about you. And he told me that you were sad because of how you heart my heart. He told me that you very much remember me. Upon hearing this word I overflowingly rejoiced.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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).

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

Translation commentary on 2 Corinthians 7:7

The fact of Titus’ arrival in Macedonia was a source of comfort for Paul, but the good news that Titus brought regarding the Corinthians was also a source of comfort. On the interpretation and translation of comfort, see comments on 1.4 and 7.6.

Comfort with which he was comforted: the related noun and verb are used together similarly in 1.4, 6. Because a passive form occurs here, some languages will require that an active formulation be used. Some may say “the comfort which he received [from you]” or “the way in which you comforted him.”

The Corinthians were longing to see Paul and to reassure him of their love for him. They were mourning because of the strained relationship between themselves and Paul that occurred because of their failure to deal with the divisive issue (see 2.5-11). And they had a zeal for Paul. How their zeal was expressed is not stated, but it probably took the form of being eager to restore the broken relationship with Paul and to support and defend him. Following the form of the Greek, many translations do not state how they showed their zeal. Other translations such as Good News Translation and Bible en français courant “how ready you are to defend me” do imply that the Corinthians wished to restore the broken relationship.

The Greek is literally “your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me.” Though only the last noun, zeal, has the words for me, Paul is most likely the implied object for the first two nouns also. It is also possible, however, that the implied object is the pronoun “us,” that is, Paul and his co-workers.

The meaning of these three nouns will have to be elaborated in some receptor languages. It may be necessary to say something like the following: “how you sincerely wanted to see me, how sorry you were about what had happened, and how eager you were to support me.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 Corinthians 7:7

7:7a and not only by his arrival,

but not only by means of his coming,
-or-
In addition to that,

7:7b but also by the comfort he had received from you.

but ⌊we (excl.) were encouraged⌋ by the news of you (plur.) encouraging him.
-or-

⌊God comforted us⌋ when we heard that you comforted him.

7:7c He told us about your longing,

For he reported to us that you really wanted to see me,
-or-
He told us that you desired very much to see me,

7:7d your mourning, and your zeal for me,

that you sorrowed much, and that you were eager ⌊to do anything⌋ for me,
-or-
that you were very sad/sorry, and that you are strongly committed to me.

7:7e so that I rejoiced all the more.

so now I rejoiced even more.
-or-
So ⌊all those things made⌋ my joy even greater ⌊than before⌋.

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