The Greek, and Latin that is translated as “creation” in English is translated in Lisu as ꓟꓵ ꓚꓰꓼ ꓟꓲ ꓚꓰꓼ — my tshe mi tshe, verbatim translated as “place — make — earth — make.” This construction follows a traditional four-couplet construct in oral Lisu poetry that is usually in the form ABAC or ABCB. (Source: Arrington 2020, p. 58)
In American Sign Language it is translated with a sign that signifies creating out of nothing. (Source: RuthAnna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Creation” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Peter 3:4:
Uma: “they will say: ‘Yesus promised to come later. Yet where is he! We(excl.) don’t believe it, for since our (incl.) ancestors died long ago, this world hasn’t changed. Everything has been just the same since the world was first created until now.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “they say, ‘Did Isa Almasi not promise that he would come back? Na, where is he now? Our (incl.) forefathers have died,’ they say, ‘but this world has not changed since it was first created.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “‘Where is Christ maybe, for He promised long ago that He would return here to the earth, but we cannot believe anything like that for starting with the time long ago when our first ancestors died, until now nothing has changed; things are just the same, starting from the creating of the world until now.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “saying, ‘Jesus promised to return, isn’t that so? Where is he then? Our ancestors have already died and he has not yet come. Since the creation of the world until now, it is just the same with nothing having changed.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “For they will say, ‘Didn’t Cristo promise that he would indeed return? Well where is he, for he hasn’t come yet? Our parents are almost all dead already, but look-at-this he isn’t here yet. Really nothing has changed, for everything is going on according to the natural course of the world from its creation.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “They will say, ‘You say that Christ said he would come. Well, then, where is he now? How many days have passed since our ancestors have died and still we see that things are just like when the world began,’ they will say.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
For coming see comments on 1.16. The second coming of Jesus Christ as judge is a very important part of apostolic teaching and is echoed in some words of Jesus recorded in the Gospels (for instance, Matt 24.3; Mark 9.1). The delay of this event created tremendous problems for the early church, as can be seen in some of Paul’s letters, such as his letters to the Thessalonians. This same problem is a major concern of the readers of 2 Peter. Apparently some people (most probably the false teachers mentioned in chapter 2) have been raising questions about this doctrine, or even denying its truth, and making fun of those who still hold on to it. So these people ask Where is the promise of his coming? In the Old Testament, doubts or denials are frequently expressed in the form of a rhetorical question with the same structure as above, as in Mal 2.17, “Where is the God who is supposed to be just?” (Good News Translation) or Jer 17.15, “Where are those threats the Lord made against us? Let him carry them out now!” (Good News Translation; see also Psa 42.3; Jer 17.15; Luke 8.25). So this rhetorical question form is very appropriate to express the cynical attitude of those who reject the Parousia because of its delay. Promise here refers to statements regarding the Parousia; these may be Old Testament prophecies, or teachings of the apostles, or even the very words of Jesus himself in which he spoke of his imminent return. Where is the promise seems to ask for the location of the promise, but in fact this is an idiomatic expression that means “Where is the fulfillment of the promise?” The aim of the question is not to find out where these promises are, but to express doubt and skepticism regarding them. Good News Translation offers a model for restructuring:
• “He promised to come, didn’t he? Where is he?”
Another way is to put this in the passive:
• “Hasn’t it been promised that he would come? What happened to that promise?”
(See also Knox: “What has become of the promise that he would appear?”) Another possibility is to change the rhetorical question into statements such as
• “His promise to come is not true! He is not coming at all!”
Or even:
• “He lied when he said, ‘I am coming again.’ Actually he is not coming at all.”
In restructuring rhetorical questions, translators must make sure that the impact of the text is retained in the translation, namely, that this is an emphatic statement.
Some commentators take fathers to refer to important people in the Old Testament, since the word was used with this meaning in the literature of that time. In the present context, however, it makes more sense to take it as referring to the first generation of Christians, that is, the first Christian disciples who were given the promise of the early return of Christ, and in whose lifetime this event was expected to happen. “Died” is literally fell asleep, a euphemism or indirect way of referring to dying. Ever since marks the beginning of the period that concerns the doubters: the period from the death of the first-generation Christians to the time of the writing of the letter. The sense of the Greek is captured in Good News Translation: “Our fathers have already died, but….” (See also New English Bible “Our fathers have been laid to their rest, but still….”)
All things have continued as they were: the Lord’s return has been proclaimed as coming with upheavals of various kinds in the world. The mockers contend that all things are exactly the same, and in fact things have been this way ever since the beginning of creation. The regularity of the world and the stability of existence are used as arguments against the Parousia. Creation refers to “the creation of the world” (Good News Translation, also New English Bible “since the world began”), with God as the agent, hence we can also say “from the time God created the world.” The statement all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation is of course an exaggeration, but this should be clearly marked in the translation. One way of doing it is shown in Good News Translation, where an exclamation point is used at the end of the statement. Similar rhetorical devices may be employed as far as they are appropriate in the receptor language.
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 .