The Greek in 3 John 1:4that is translated in English as “I have no greater joy” is translated in Sinasina is translated as “this happiness of mine surpasses all other happiness” since there is no comparative form (such as “greater”).
truth
Nida (1947, p. 230) says this about the translation of the concept of “truth”: “The words for ‘truth’ and ‘true’ are not always the most readily discovered in aboriginal languages. In some instances the only expression which corresponds to ‘true’ is something like ‘it happened.’ A falsehood is something that ‘did not happen.’ In a good many languages the meaning of ‘truth’ is expressed by the words signifying ‘straight’ and ‘direct.’ Untruth is accordingly ‘crookedness.’ An abstract noun such as English “truth” is quite difficult to find in some instances. Only an expression such as ‘true statement’ or ‘true word’ will be found to correspond to English ‘truth.’”
The Greek, Latin, Ge’ez, and Hebrew that is usually translated in English as “truth” is translated in Luchazi with vusunga: “the quality of being straight” (source: E. Pearson in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 160ff. ), in Obolo as atikọ or “good/correct talk” (source: Enene Enene), and in Ekari as maakodo bokouto or “enormous truth” (esp. in John 14:6 and 17; bokouto — “enormous” — is being used as an attribute for abstract nouns to denote that they are of God [see also here]; source: Marion Doble in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 37ff. ).
Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) tells of the translation into Kui which usually is “true-thing.” In some instances however, such as in the second part of John 17:17 (“your word is truth” in English), the use of “true-thing” indicated that there might be other occasions when it’s not true, so here the translation was a a form of “pure, holy.”
The translation committee of the Malay “Good News Bible” (Alkitab Berita Baik, see here ) wrestled with the translation of “truth” in the Gospel of John:
“Our Malay Committee also concluded that ‘truth’ as used in the Gospel of John was used either of God himself, or of God’s revelation of himself, or in an extended sense as a reference to those who had responded to God’s self-disclosure. In John 8:32 the New Malay translation reads ‘You will know the truth about God, and the truth about God will make you free.’ In John 8:44 this meaning is brought out by translating, ‘He has never been on the side of God, because there is no truth in him.’ Accordingly Jesus ‘tells the truth about God’ in 8:45, 46 (see also 16:7 and 8:37a). Then, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’ (John 14:6) becomes ‘I am the one who leads men to God, the one who reveals who and what God is, and the one who gives men life.” At 3:21 the translation reads ” … whoever obeys the truth, that is God himself, comes to the light …’; 16:13a appears as ‘he will lead you into the full truth about God’; and in 18:37 Jesus affirms ‘I came into the world to reveal the truth about God, and whoever obeys God listens to me.’ On this basis also 1:14 was translated ‘we saw his glory, the glory which he had as the Father’s only Son. Through him God has completely revealed himself (truth) and his love for us (grace)’; and 1:17 appears as ‘God gave the law through Moses; but through Jesus Christ he has completely revealed himself (truth) and his love for us (grace).'” (Source: Barclay Newman in The Bible Translator 1974, p. 432ff. )
The German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) has followed a somewhat similar path to the Malay committee 50 years earlier in the gospel of John. In John 1 it translates “truth as “God’s nature,” in John 3 as “God’s will,” in John 8 as “God’s reality,” in John 14 as “encountering God,” and in John 16 as “God’s truth.”
happiness / joy
The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “joy” or “happiness” is translated in the Hausa Common Language Bible idiomatically as farin ciki or “white stomach.” In some cases, such as in Genesis 29:11, it is also added for emphatic purposes.
Other languages that use the same expression include Southern Birifor (pʋpɛl), Dera (popolok awo), Reshe (ɾipo ɾipuhã). (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
See also Seat of the Mind / Seat of Emotions, rejoiced greatly / celebrated, the Mossi translation of “righteous”, and joy.
joy
The Greek, Latin, Ge’ez, and Hebrew that is translated with “joy” or “gladness” in English is translated with various strategies:
- Baoulé: “a song in the stomach” (see also peace (inner peace))
- Bambara: “the spirit is made sweet”
- Kpelle: “sweet heart”
- Tzeltal: “the good taste of one’s heart”
- Uduk: “good to the stomach”
- Mískito: “the liver is wide open” (“happily letting the pleasures flooding in upon it”) (source for this and above: Nida 1952)
- Mairasi: “good liver” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
- Noongar: koort-kwabba-djil or “heart very good” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “refreshed heart” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.).
See also Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling,” happiness / joy, and exceeding joy.
complete verse (3 John 1:4)
Following are a number of back-translations of 3 John 1:4:
- Uma: “There is nothing that I am more happy about than this, hearing news that says my child(ren) continually follow the true teaching.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “There is nothing that makes my liver happy other than when I hear that my children are remaining/steadfastly with the true teaching.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “What I am really happy about is the fact that I heard the news that my children in the faith are obeying the true doctrine.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “because there is no best cause-of-my-happiness if not my having heard that my children are following the true teaching.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “Nothing can exceed my happiness when I have received news that the lives of my like children are in harmony with the truth.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- Tenango Otomi: “There is no greater joy except the joy I have when I hear that my children are taking hold of the true word.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
- Yatzachi Zapotec: “There is nothing else that I rejoice over like this that I know you are walking with the truth, you and the other people who are like my children.”
- Eastern Highland Otomi: “There is no other joy greater than the joy I have when I hear that my children follow the Word.”
- Isthmus Zapotec: “Nothing makes my happier than to hear my children following that which is true.” (Source for this and three above: John Beekman in Notes on Translation 12, November 1964, p. 1ff.)
Translation commentary on 3 John 1:4
This verse further develops “I greatly rejoiced.”
No greater joy can I have than this, to hear that … may have to be restructured; for example, “nothing makes me happier than to hear that…” (Good News Translation), ‘the greatest joy I can have is to hear that…,’ or in two sentences, ‘I always rejoice when I hear that…; there is nothing else I rejoice over so much (or this is the greatest joy I ever have).’ For joy see 1 John 1.4.
For to hear that, or ‘to be told that,’ ‘to learn that,’ compare also comments on 1 John 2.7. The connection with the next clause may have to be specified; for example, ‘to hear a report that,’ ‘to hear (other) people tell that.’
For my children, or ‘those who are to me like children,’ ‘those who belong to (or follow) me,’ ‘my followers/disciples,’ compare also comments on the diminutive form, “my little children,” in 1 John 2.1.
Quoted with permission from Haas, C., de Jonge, M. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on The Third Letter of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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