The Hebrew that is translated as “the poor” in English is translated in Chichewa as “people without power.” In Chichewa context this refers to those who are in the lower class in terms of both social status and political influence in a community. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
In Cherokee it is translated as “those who are not doing well.” “The concept of poverty was unknown to Cherokee prior to European arrival due to the sharing of resources among clan members and the shared and welfare tradition known as gadugi (ᎦᏚᎩ). In contrat, the concepts of rich and poor play a large role in the world and message or the New Testament (…) This phrase (‘those who are not doing well’), still used today for ‘poor,’ speaks to a more general understanding of well-being than the presence of monetary resources.” (Source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 45)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 15:11:
Kupsabiny: “Truly, there will be poor people in the land/world in all days. So, I am telling you, you should be people who assist your brothers who are poor/orphans in your land.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “There will always be poor ones in your land. Therefore, I have been commanding you be generous to your fellow Israelites who are hungry or in need in your country!” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “There will always be poor (people) in your (plur.) nation, therefore I am commanding you (plur.) to be generous to them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “If you do that, Yahweh will bless you in everything that you do. There will always be some poor people in your land, so I command you to give generously to poor people.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The closing command is based on the fact that there would always be Israelites in need of help.
The poor will never cease out of the land: that is, “There will always be some Israelites who are poor or in need” (Good News Translation; similarly Contemporary English Version). This is simply a statement of fact, not an expression of God’s will for his people. Jesus has this verse in mind as he rebukes his disciples (John 12.8).
You shall open wide your hand: another use of the compound form for emphasis (see verse 8 for the figure of an open hand).
To the needy and to the poor: these two phrases modify to your brother. They may mean exactly the same, or they may indicate temporary and permanent impoverishment. An alternative translation model may be “to those who have few possessions and need help.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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