devil

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The Greek that is translated in English as “devil” (itself via late Latin from Greek diabolos: “accuser, slanderer”) is sometimes translated with indigenous specific names, such as “the avaricious one” in Tetelcingo Nahuatl, “the malicious deity” in Toraja-Sa’dan (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel), or in Yoruba as èṣù. “Èṣù is thought of as bringing evil, but also as giving protection. The birth of a child may be attributed to him, as the names given to some babies show, Èṣùbiyi (Èṣù brought this forth), and Èṣùtoyin (Èṣù is worthy of praise).” (Source: John Hargreaves in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 39ff. . See also this article by Tunde Adegbola: Èṣù is not Satan: A Christian apologist’s perspective .)

Other translations include:

  • Muna: Kafeompu’ando seetani or “Master of the evil-spirits” (source: René van den Berg)
  • Mairasi: owe er epar nan or “headman of malevolent spirits” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Central Subanen: Palin or “Perverter” (incl. in 2 Cor. 6:15) (source: Robert Brichoux in OPTAT 1988/2, p. 80ff. )
  • Huehuetla Tepehua: “chief of demons”
  • Ojitlán Chinantec: as “head of the worldlings” (source for the last two: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125).
  • Mandarin Chinese móguǐ (魔鬼), literally “magical ghost.” This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32)
  • Uma: “King of Evil-ones” (source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “leader of demons” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “the bad man” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Kupsabiny: “the Enemy” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
In Lak and Shughni it is translated with terms of feminine gender. Vitaly Voinov tells this story (click or tap here to see the rest of this insight):

“In the Lak language of Dagestan, the names ‘Iblis’ and ‘sheytan’ (referring to Satan and his minions, respectively) in this language were borrowed from the Arabic Islamic tradition, but they entered Lak as feminine nouns, not masculine nouns. This means that they grammatically function like nouns referring to females in Lak; in other words, Laks are likely to think of Iblis as a woman, not a man, because of the obligatory grammatical patterning of Lak noun classes. Thus, when the team explained (in Russian) what the Lak translation of Jesus’ wilderness temptation narrative at the beginning of Matthew 4 said, it sounded something like the following: ‘After this, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Iblis… .The temptress came to Jesus, and she said to Him…’

“Since this information (that the devil is a female spirit) is part of the very name used for Satan in Lak, nothing can really be done about this in the translation. The Lak translator did not think that the feminine gender of Iblis should cause any serious misunderstandings among readers, so we agreed to leave it in the translation. Prior to this, I had never heard about languages in which the devil is pictured as a woman, but recently I was told by a speaker of the Shughni language that in their language Sheytan is also feminine. This puts an interesting spin on things. The devil is of course a spirit, neither male nor female in a biologically-meaningful sense. But Bible translators are by nature very risk-aversive and, where possible, want to avoid any translation that might feed misleading information to readers. So what can a translator do about this? In many cases, such as the present one, one has to just accept the existing language structure and go on.”

See also unclean spirit / evil spirit, demon, and Beelzebul.

heartless

The Greek that is translated as “heartless” in English is translated as “don’t love their fellows” in Chicahuaxtla Triqui, as “don’t delight in people” in Hopi, and as “didn’t love like people should” in Huehuetla Tepehua. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

live in pleasure

The Greek that is translated as “live in pleasure” or similar in English is translated in Low German idiomatically with the reduplicative in Suus un Bruus lewen, literally “live speedily and noisily” (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006).

The same phrase is also used for akratés (ἀκρατής) in 2 Timothy 3:3, often translated into English as “without self-control.”

See also dissolute living / wild living.

complete verse (2 Timothy 3:3)

Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Timothy 3:3:

  • Uma: “they will not be loving, and they will not want to get along / be in-harmony. They will just continually speak-behind-the-backs-of others, they will not control their own desires, they will be cruel/mean, and they will hate what is good.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “They do not pity/have mercy/are kind to their companions. They are/will-be not willing to forgive their companions. They (will) always slander their companions. They (will) satisfy (themselves) giving-in to all their wishes. They are/will-be very cruel. All that is good they (will) hate.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “They will not love their companions; they will never forget their anger; they will be gossipers; they will not control the evil desires of their bodies. They will be arrogant and they will hold in disgust every kind of good work.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Even their children and parents, they won’t love (them). If moreover they hate/have-a-grudge-against someone, they will absolutely not forgive (him). They will speak-evil-about their companions, they won’t be-able-to-control themselves and they will be cruel/harsh. They will exceedingly hate what is good.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The truth is, they don’t care about the situation of others. They don’t forgive, but rather, they fabricate-lies-about-people, don’t know how to control themselves, are angry/fierce, regarding what is good as disgusting.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “They will not be kind. They will not be merciful. They will speak evil of their fellowmen. They will not control their hearts. They will want to be enemies. Because they will be enemies of all that is good.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 2 Timothy 3:3

Inhuman translates a word that denotes a lack of love or affection, especially for close associates and members of one’s family; hence “heartless” (Jerusalem Bible), “no natural affection” (New English Bible), “devoid of gratitude” (Revised English Bible), “unkind” (Good News Translation), or “treat other people roughly.” This word also appears in Rom 1.31, where it is translated “heartless.”

Implacable describes an unwillingness to be reconciled to others; hence “unforgiving” (New International Version), “unappeasable” (Jerusalem Bible), “remorseless” (Phillips), “merciless” (Good News Translation).

The final group of vices deal with behavior toward others, either by words or by actions.

Slanderers translates a word that can literally be rendered “devils” but which is derived from a Greek verb that means “to slander”; hence “scandalmongers” (Revised English Bible), “gossipers.” See also in 1 Tim 3.11.

Profligates pertains to people who are completely lacking in self-control; hence “intemperate” (New English Bible), “licentious” (New American Bible, Revised), and even “violent” (Good News Translation).

Fierce describes behavior that is wild, vicious, and untamed; hence “savages” (New Jerusalem Bible), “brutal” (New International Version, New American Bible, Revised), “violent” (Revised English Bible), “brutes” (New Revised Standard Version). The word occurs only here in the New Testament.

Haters of good pertains to people who are against anything that is good; hence “hostile to all goodness” (Revised English Bible), “enemies of everything that is good” (Jerusalem Bible). The word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 3:3

3:3a

unloving: In the last days, people will not have any love or affection even for those whom it is natural to love, such as the members of their own families. Other words for this term are “heartless,” or “unfeeling.” This Greek term also occurs in Romans 1:31.

3:3b

unforgiving: This word refers to people who refuse to resolve problems between themselves and other people. They have chosen not to forgive people who have done something wrong to them.

3:3c

slanderous: People are slanderous when they tell lies about other people and try to ruin their reputation. Paul used this same word in 1 Timothy 3:11.

3:3d

without self-control: This phrase is the Berean Standard Bible’s translation of a single Greek word. It describes people who do not have the self-discipline to stop themselves from doing things they should not do, or to make themselves do the things they know they should do.

3:3e

brutal: This word can also mean “untamed,” “savage,” “cruel,” or “fierce.” Paul used this word to describe cruel people who would not hesitate to hurt other people.

3:3f

without love of good: The phrase without love of good is a literal translation of one Greek word. This word occurs only here in the New Testament, but its opposite occurs in Titus 1:8 where an overseer is to be “one who loves what is good.”

In some languages, a term like “haters” is more meaningful than a negative expression like “without love.” For example, the New Century Version has “They…will hate what is good.” Use the term that is more natural in your language.

good: This phrase refers to anything that is righteous, such as righteous actions.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.