complete verse (2 John 1:10)

Following are a number of back-translations of 2 John 1:10:

  • Uma: “So, if there are religion teachers who arrive at your village who bring teaching that is-different-than/at-odds-with this teaching, don’t ask-them-to-stop-in at your house, and don’t greet them.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Therefore if there is a person coming to you and his teaching is different, don’t receive him in your house. Don’t even greet him.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “If anyone arrives teaching a doctrine, and it is not the true doctrine taught by Christ which he teaches, don’t you bring him up into your houses. Don’t you also welcome him.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “So if there is someone who goes to you whose teaching is different, don’t have-him -enter your houses. Neither are you to (lit. Never-mind if you don’t) even greet-him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore whoever comes to you bringing different from this teaching, don’t cause him to come up into your house and don’t even greet him.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “If one arrives to where you live saying that he will teach God’s word and does not teach the word which Christ taught, do not give him a resting place at your houses, and do not greet him.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “If any person comes where you are to teach you, but he does not teach what Christ taught, you should not receive him into your houses and you should not tell him, ‘Come in, brother.'”
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “If one arrives there saying he speaks God’s Word, but if he doesn’t say the same as the teaching of Christ, but then we won’t give him hospitality in our homes, neither will we ask God’s help in regard to him.”
  • Isthmus Zapotec: “If someone comes to your house and does not follow these words, don’t receive him in your house nor say to him. ‘Come in, you are in your house.” (Source for this and two above: John Beekman in Notes on Translation 12, November 1964, p. 1ff.)

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 John 1:10

Verses 10 and 11 state what the members of the congregation have to do when a person coming to teach them proves to belong to the false teachers being discussed.

If (in the Greek followed by an indicative of the present tense) expresses an assumption that is considered a real case; hence ‘When,’ ‘At the moment that.’

Does not bring this doctrine, or ‘does not come with this teaching,’ ‘does not teach thus,’ ‘does not teach (or tell) you what Christ taught.’

Do not receive him into the house, or ‘do not accept him as a guest in your house/home.’ Living together in the house implies intimate fellowship and contact. It is undesirable to have such contact with the false teachers.

(Do not) give him any greeting is probably meant as a climax; hence ‘do not even greet him.’ The reference is to a greeting when one meets a person. It is, again, the fellowship and association implied in greeting that should be avoided, as the next verse shows.

“To give a greeting”: the Greek literally means “to tell to rejoice/be-glad,” which is a common expression for “to greet.” The same expression occurs in verse 11.

The concept of greeting is rendered in some languages by ‘to call to,’ ‘to speak kindly to.’ In other languages the rendering is a reference to the gesture one makes when meeting a person; for example, ‘to snap fingers,’ ‘to rub noses.’ Or it is built on the formula spoken on such an occasion; for example, ‘to say, “Peace to you,” ’ ‘to say, “Are you still alive?” ’ For further details on “greeting” see A Translator’s Handbook on the Gospel of Luke on 1.28 (“hail”), and for more on “to greet” see A Translator’s Handbook on the Gospel of Mark on 9.15; A Translator’s Handbook on the Gospel of Luke on 1.29.

Quoted with permission from Haas, C., de Jonge, M. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on The Second Letter of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Sung version of 2 John

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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