complete verse (2 Peter 1:15)

Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Peter 1:15:

  • Uma: “That is why I also am exerting effort, so that later after I am dead, you can still remember all this.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Therefore I really strive to remind you so that you always remember what I said here when I have died.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And because of this I will do as much as I can so that you will not forget what I have taught you.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “I thus put-forth my efforts (lit. ability) so that even though I leave this earth, there will still be that-which remains-unchanged which will cause-you -to-remember these-things that I have said.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore I will strive to make a way/trail by which these things won’t get removed from your mind/thinking, even though I am no longer here in the world.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “I do all I can to speak the word to you in order that when I have died, always the word I told you will come to mind.” (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 Peter 1:15

Will see to it translates the same verb used in verse 5 (Revised Standard Version “make every effort”) and in verse 10 (Revised Standard Version “be the more zealous”). The future tense of the verb has created some problems for translation and interpretation. Some possible ways of understanding the future tense are as follows:

1. It is possible that Peter is here referring to a future effort that will remind his readers of these things even after his death. This effort most probably includes a letter, but one which is not the same as the present letter. Some have even speculated that such a letter was written, but that it has been lost. Others conjecture that what is meant here is Mark’s Gospel, since the ancient church regarded it as related to Peter and enshrining his testimony regarding Jesus Christ. Most if not all of this is of course speculative, that is, based only on what some think is possible.

2. The verse does not refer to the writing of any letter, either in the present or in the future, but to Peter’s effort of insuring that his testament (that is, the things mentioned in the present letter) is preserved and remembered even after his death.

The verb see to it can be rendered in many different ways; for example, “try as hard as I can” or “do whatever I can to.”

Departure is a very dignified euphemism, or way of avoiding the unpleasant word “death.” (The same euphemism is used in Luke 9.31.) A literal translation may give the wrong idea, such as the departure of the soul from the body, which is a Greek but not a Christian idea. Instead of translating literally, an equivalent euphemism can be used in the translation; for instance “after I am gone” (New English Bible) or “after I have passed away.” It is advisable to use the same expression as in verse 14 if a euphemism is used there. If no euphemism is available, then the meaning can be stated directly, as in Good News Translation “after my death.”

You may be able at any time to recall these things is literally “you may be able always to have remembrance of these things.” These things refers to the contents of Peter’s testament, which as suggested above is perhaps identical to the present letter. It is important for the readers of Peter’s letter to have continuous access to these important matters, even and especially after Peter’s death, since that is the main purpose of a testament. The expression for recall appears only here in the whole letter. For you may be able Good News Translation has “provide a way for you”; this is an excellent model for translators. Another way to say this is “cause you to.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• I will try very hard, then (or, as hard as I can), to give you a way (or, cause you) to remember these matters continually after I have passed away (or, died).

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Second Letter from Peter. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Peter 1:15

1:15

after my departure: Peter spoke of his death as a “departure.” It will be better to translate the meaning directly as “death,” because a literal translation may cause people who read it to think that Peter was physically leaving the place where he was.

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