The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “encourage” or “comfort” is translated in Enlhet as “become calm of the innermost.” “Innermost” or valhoc is a term that is frequently used in Enlhet to describe a large variety of emotions or states of mind (for other examples see here). (Source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. )
In Bacama it is translated as “(to) cool stomach” (source: David Frank in this blog post ), in Yatzachi Zapotec as “cause hearts to mature,” in Isthmus Zapotec “hearts may lie quiet” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.) and in Thai “give heart power to” (source: Bratcher / Hatton 2000).
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (only including Paul or Paul and Timothy). (Note that in some manuscripts and therefore in some translations, the text says “your” rather than “our.”)
Source: SIL International Translation Department (1999)
Following are a number of back-translations of Colossians 4:8:
Uma: “I send him to go [to you] so that you will know how we (excl.) are, and so that he will strengthen your hearts.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “I have told him/he was commanded by me to go there to you so that he can tell you about us (excl.) here so that he can encourage your liver.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I’m sending him there to you so that you might know what is our situation and so that your concern about us might be removed.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Therefore I am sending him to you so that he will report what is happening to us (excl.) here and so he will make-your minds -happy.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “I sent him there to you so that you would know our (excl.) situation here, so that your heads would not be very-much troubled because of us (excl.).” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “It is he whom I am sending to where you are so that you will know about what I am doing here. That will put peace in your hearts.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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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).
I am sending translates what is called the epistolary aorist, that is, it looks at the action from the point of view of the recipients as they read the letter (Revised Standard Version “I have sent” could be understood to mean Tychicus had been sent before Paul wrote to the Colossians).
Languages differ considerably in the way in which they treat tense forms in letters. Sometimes the tense forms depend upon the time of the writing; in other instances, the time of the receiving of the letter, that is to say, the way in which the letter is read. In still other instances, am sending in this context may be expressed as a future since Paul would be sending Tychicus presumably after he had finished the writing. In order to avoid serious misunderstanding, it is important to adjust the tense forms to the requirements of the language in to which a translation is being made.
Cheer you up or “encourage you” (see Revised Standard Version): the same language as in 2.2. The rendering cheer you up implies that the believers in Colossae had become discouraged or at least apprehensive about what they had heard concerning Paul. Therefore, it may be appropriate to translate cheer you up as “cause you to be happy again” or, as expressed figuratively in some languages, “cause your heart to return.”
“You may know how we are” (Revised Standard Version) represents the best form of the text. Some manuscripts, however, have “he may know how you are” (compare King James Version “he might know your estate”; Moffatt). How all of us are getting along may be expressed as “what is happening to all of us” or “what all of us are experiencing.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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