Lord

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The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.

In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.

In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:

  • referring to “God,” especially in Old Testament quotations,
  • meaning “master” or “owner,” especially in parables, etc.,
  • as a form of address (see for instance John 4:11: “Sir, you have no bucket”),
  • or, most often, referring to Jesus

In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.

Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”

When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).

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Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):

  • Navajo (Dinė): “the one who has charge”
  • Mossi: “the one who has the head” (the leader)
  • Uduk: “chief”
  • Guerrero Amuzgo: “the one who commands”
  • Kpelle: “person-owner” (a term which may be applied to a chief)
  • Central Pame: “the one who owns us” (or “commands us”)
  • Piro: “the big one” (used commonly of one in authority)
  • San Blas Kuna: “the great one over all” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Guhu-Samane: Soopara (“our Supervisor”) (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.)
  • Balinese: “Venerated-one” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Yanesha’: “the one who carries us” (source: Nida 1952, p. 159)
  • Northern Emberá: Dadjirã Boro (“our Head”)
  • Rarotongan: Atu (“master or owner of a property”)
  • Gilbertese: Uea (“a person of high status invested with authority to rule the people”)
  • Rotuman: Gagaja (“village chief”)
  • Samoan: Ali’i (“an important word in the native culture, it derives from the Samoan understanding of lordship based on the local traditions”)
  • Tahitian: Fatu (“owner,” “master”)
  • Tuvalu: Te Aliki (“chief”)
  • Fijian: Liuliu (“leader”) (source for this and six above: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1994, p. 329ff. )
  • Bacama: Həmə miye: “owner of people” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
  • Hopi: “Controller” (source: Walls 2000, p. 139)
  • Iyansi: Mwol. Mwol is traditionally used for the “chief of a group of communities and villages” with legal, temporal, and spiritual authority (versus the “mfum [the term used in other Bantu languages] which is used for the chief of one community of people in one village”). Mwol is also used for twins who are “treated as special children, highly honored, and taken care of like kings and queens.” (Source: Kividi Kikama in Greed / Kruger, p. 396ff.)
  • Ghomala’: Cyəpɔ (“he who is above everyone,” consisting of the verb cyə — to surpass or go beyond — and pɔ — referring to people. No human can claim this attribute, no matter what his or her social status or prestige.” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn )
  • Binumarien: Karaambaia: “fight-leader” (Source: Oates 1995, p. 255)
  • Warlpiri: Warlaljamarri (owner or possessor of something — for more information tap or click here)

    We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.

    New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.

    Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )

  • Mairasi: Onggoao Nem (“Throated One” — “Leader,” “Elder”) or Enggavot Nan (“Above-One”) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Obolo: Okaan̄-ene (“Owner of person(s)”) (source: Enene Enene)
  • Angami Naga: Niepu (“master,” “owner”)
  • Lotha Naga: Opvui (“owner of house / field / cattle”) — since both “Lord” and YHWH are translated as Opvui there is an understanding that “Opvui Jesus is the same as the Opvui of the Old Testament”
  • Ao Naga: Kibuba (“human master,” “teacher,” “owner of property,” etc.) (source for this and two above: Nitoy Achumi in The Bible Translator 1992 p. 438ff. )
  • Seediq: Tholang, loan word from Min Nan Chinese (the majority language in Taiwan) thâu-lâng (頭儂): “Master” (source: Covell 1998, p. 248)
  • Thai: phra’ phu pen cao (พระผู้เป็นเจ้า) (divine person who is lord) or ong(kh) cao nay (องค์เจ้านาย) (<divine classifier>-lord-boss) (source: Stephen Pattemore)
  • Arabic often uses different terms for adonai or kurios referring to God (al-rabb الرب) and kurios referring to Jesus (al-sayyid الـسـيـد). Al-rabb is also the term traditionally used in Arabic Christian-idiom translations for YHWH, and al-sayyid is an honorary term, similar to English “lord” or “sir” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
  • Tamil also uses different terms for adonai/kurios when referring to God and kurios when referring to Jesus. The former is Karttar கர்த்தர், a Sanskrit-derived term with the original meaning of “creator,” and the latter in Āṇṭavar ஆண்டவர், a Tamil term originally meaning “govern” or “reign” (source: Natarajan Subramani).
  • Burunge: Looimoo: “owner who owns everything” (in the Burunge Bible translation, this term is only used as a reference to Jesus and was originally used to refer to the traditional highest deity — source: Michael Endl in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 48)
  • Yagaria: Souve, originally “war lord” (source: Renck, p. 94)
  • Aguacateco: Ajcaw ske’j: “the one to whom we belong and who is above us” (source: Rita Peterson in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 49)
  • Konkomba: Tidindaan: “He who is the owner of the land and reigns over the people” (source: Lidorio 2007, p. 66)
  • Chichewa: Ambuye Ambuye comes from the singular form Mbuye which is used to refer to: (1) someone who is a guardian or protector of someone or group of people — a grandparent who has founded a community or village; (2) someone who is a boss or master over a group of people or servants and has absolute control over them; (3) owner of something, be it a property, animals and people who are bound under his/her rule — for people this was mostly commonly used in the context of slaves and their owner. In short, Mbuye is someone who has some authorities over those who call him/her their “Mbuye.” Now, when the form Ambuye is used it will either be for honorific when used for singular or plural when referring to more than one person. When this term is used in reference to God, it is for respect to God as he is acknowledged as a guardian, protector, and ruler of everything. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation).
  • Hdi uses rveri (“lion”) as a title of respect and as such it regularly translates adon in the Old Testament. As an address, it’s most often with a possessive pronoun as in rvera ɗa (“my lion” = “my lord” or “sir”). So, for example, Genesis 15:2 (“O Lord God”) is Rvera ɗa Yawe (“My lion Yahweh”) or Ruth to Boaz in Ruth 2:13: “May I find your grace [lit. good-stomach] my lion.” This ties in nicely with the imagery of the Lord roaring like a lion (Hosea 11:10; Amos 3:8; Joel 3:16). Better still, this makes passages like Revelation 5:5 even richer when we read about rveri ma taba məndəra la Yuda, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”. In Revelation 19:16, Jesus is rveri ta ghəŋa rveriha “the lion above lions” (“lord of lords”). (Source: Drew Maust)

Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient Greek Septuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”

See also Father / Lord.

Translation commentary on 2 Thessalonians 3:6

The text of this verse is in doubt at two places. First, King James Version Moffatt Knox Revised Standard Version Phillips New English Bible Translator’s New Testament Rigaux, etc., use a text which reads our Lord Jesus Christ, while the reading of the UBS Greek text, followed by Jerusalem Bible Barclay Best Bijbel in Gewone Taal Bible en français courant Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, omits our. The manuscripts which omit our are few in number but they are “great authorities” (Rigaux, p. 703). Despite the textual problem, it is not possible in some languages to translate “the Lord”; rather, one must always use our Lord so as to specify the relation which Christ has to those to whom he is Lord.

Second, the text translated we gave them (literally “they received from us”) is uncertain. The three main variants are (1) “they received,” a difficult reading with good manuscript support, followed by Translator’s New Testament Bible en français courant Best Rigaux as well as Good News Translation and the UBS Greek New Testament; (2) “you received,” an easier and therefore less probable reading followed by most translations, including Revised Standard Version New English Bible Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Bijbel in Gewone Taal; and (3) King James Version‘s “he received,” which is not well attested. The difficulty about “they received” is that it does not, strictly speaking, agree with “every brother” earlier in the verse; but “every brother” is clearly plural in meaning, as Good News Translation‘s all brothers shows.

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ must be modified in some languages if it is to be comprehensible. One may say, for example, “as representing our Lord Jesus Christ,” or “on the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ,” or even “because this is what our Lord Jesus Christ would say.” In this context Paul is obviously asserting that he is speaking on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ.

General commentaries discuss what may have been involved in “keeping away from” the brothers whom Paul criticizes, or in “having nothing to do with” them (v. 14). The expression Paul uses in this verse simply means “to put a distance between oneself and someone else.” Keep away from is entirely adequate (cf. Revised Standard Version Jerusalem Bible; Moffatt “shun,” Knox Translator’s New Testament “have nothing to do with,” Phillips “don’t associate with,” New English Bible “hold aloof from,” Barclay “withdraw yourselves from”). It is important to avoid an expression which would suggest “put out of your company,” “excommunicate,” or “thrust aside.” The focus here is not on forceable exclusion of such persons from the fellowship, but on refusal to associate with them. Note that in this statement they are still regarded as brothers, which may be translated as “fellow believers.” One may therefore render this expression as “have nothing to do with all of those fellow believers who are living a lazy life.”

It may not be possible in some languages to speak of living a lazy life, but it is usually possible to say “who are lazy,” though this is not precisely what Paul is saying. A closer equivalent may be “who refuse to work,” or “who do not work as they should.”

Instructions in Greek is the singular noun “tradition.” Paul has used it in the plural in 2.15. The whole phrase is literally “keep (yourselves) away from every brother lazily walking and not according to the tradition which they received from us.” “Walk” is a common Hebrew idiom for “behave.” “Tradition” in this context does not imply antiquity; it is simply the handing on of something which did not originate with Paul himself. Paul must therefore be referring to the body of teaching (in this context, concerning behavior rather than doctrine) which he shared with the other apostles, and which he no doubt believed went back to Jesus himself. In 1 Corinthians 15.3 the same word for “received” is used, and Good News Translation‘s I passed on translates the verb which corresponds to the noun used here for “tradition.” However, the 1 Corinthians passage consists of doctrinal teaching. The ethical teaching had already been given by Paul to the Thessalonians, either during his visit or in an earlier letter or both (cf. v. 4), and the lazy “busybodies” had heard it together with the rest of the community. This teaching, as Paul will soon emphasize, had been confirmed by the apostles’ example. However, it is difficult to include something so personal as an example within the “tradition” itself (though cf. Best, p. 335), especially since Paul insists in verse 9 that he had the right to behave differently. The translation “tradition” (King James Version Knox Revised Standard Version New English Bible Jerusalem Bible Barclay Translator’s New Testament) misleadingly suggests antiquity and formality. Good News Translation‘s instructions (cf. Bijbel in Gewone Taal Bible en français courant Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Biblia Dios Habla Hoy; Moffatt “rule,” Phillips “teaching”) does not by itself convey the idea of “handing on,” but this is expressed by some translations in other ways (Bible en français courant “the teaching which we transmitted to them”; Translator’s New Testament “the tradition which we passed on to them”).

Other key words in this verse have been already discussed. For command, see the introduction to this section and the notes on 2 Thess. 3.4. For living a lazy life, see the introduction to this section and the notes on 1 Thess. 5.14.

It may be difficult in some languages to have two relative clauses both attributive to brothers. The second relative clause, who do not follow the instructions that we gave them, is an indirect amplification of the first, who are living a lazy life. The logical relation may be expressed in some languages as “who are living a lazy life; in this respect they do not follow the instructions that we gave them,” or “… this mean that they are not following the instructions we gave them.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Thessalonians 3:6

Section 3:6–15

Paul warned those among the Thessalonian believers who were lazy and told them that they should work

It seems that there were some believers in Thessalonica who had stopped working. This was probably because they thought the Lord Jesus was going to come back soon or that the Lord Jesus had already come back (see 2 Thessalonians 2:2). Therefore they had decided that there was no point in continuing to work. Paul warned people not to behave in this way. He reminded them how he and his companions had worked for their food when they stayed at Thessalonica so that they would not burden the other believers there. They did this in order to be a good example for the Thessalonians to follow, even though as apostles they had the right to be supported. Paul had already mentioned those who would not work in 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12 and 5:14. But it seems that that warning had not had any effect.

Paragraph 3:6–10

3:6

This is a long sentence in the Greek text. You may need to divide it into several sentences in your translation.

3:6a

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: This is a strong command or warning. Paul used this full expression to show that this was not just a command from himself, it had the full authority of the Lord Jesus.

brothers: See the note on 1:3a.

3:6b

to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life: Paul was warning the Thessalonians that they should not associate with undisciplined people among the believers. It probably means that they should avoid eating with them or meeting them socially. Paul said more about this in 3:14c and 3:15a.

He did not mean that the Thessalonian believers should refuse to let these people attend meetings or exclude them completely. Avoid using a term that would make your readers think that this was what Paul was saying.

any brother who leads an undisciplined life: The word ataktōs, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as undisciplined, is related to the word used in 1 Thessalonians 5:14a. It usually means “disorderly.” As was discussed there, commentators suggest two possible meanings for the word, and the same problem occurs here. The two possibilities are:

(1) It refers to a specific form of disorderliness, that of being idle. Paul was therefore referring to a group of Thessalonian believers who had stopped working because they thought that Christ would return very soon. See 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12.

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, New Century Version, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (2004 Revision), The Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible)

(2) The word should be understood literally and, therefore, refers to those who were unruly or disorderly, that is, they refused to obey or respect their leaders.

(King James Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, God’s Word)

The commentators are evenly divided between these two views. However, it is clear from the rest of this section that idleness was a real problem among the believers at Thessalonica. Therefore, it is recommended that you follow the first option (1). Related words occur in 3:7b and 3:11a, so make sure you translate them the same way.

brother: Even if you normally translate the term brother (when referring to a Christian brother) using a kinship term, in this context it may be better to translate it “believer.”

3:6c

the tradition: The Greek word paradosis , which the Berean Standard Bible translates as tradition, is the same word that Paul used in 2:15b. It refers to something passed down from one generation to another. Paul used the word to emphasize that what he had taught the Thessalonians was not just his own ideas but something that had been passed on to him from Jesus and that he in turn was passing on to them.

you received from us: There is a textual problem with this part of the verse (In the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament, the evidence is fairly evenly balanced for the two readings “you” and “they.” It is more likely, however, that parelabosan is the original. See the discussion in the SSA for more details.):

(1) Some Greek manuscripts have the word parelabete (you received). This is followed by most English translations.

(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version (2011 Revision), NET Bible, God’s Word, Revised English Bible, Contemporary English Version, New American Standard Bible, New Century Version, New Living Translation (2004 Revision), New Jerusalem Bible)

(2) Other Greek manuscripts have parelabosan, “they received.”

(Good News Translation, New Revised Standard Version)

There is no great difference in meaning between the two possibilities. It is therefore recommended that you follow the majority of English versions and use the second person plural pronoun “you” to make it clear that everyone in Thessalonica had received the same teaching from Paul and his companions and that it was not just something that had been given to the lazy people.

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Sung version of 2 Thessalonians 3

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