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 Ephesians 1:15 – 1:17

For this reason relates what follows to what has come before; the prayer is made as a consequence of all that God has done for the readers in the salvation he wrought through Christ. In some languages the phrase For this reason may be best expressed as “Because of all that God has done.” In this way one may refer to all that has been said in the previous verses. The writer recalls the readers’ faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for all of God’s people (see Col 1.4; Philemon 5). Translator’s New Testament translates the first phrase by “the faith you have because Jesus is your Lord,” saying that the preposition “in” does not mean in the New Testament the goal or object of faith (which is always indicated by “upon” or “into” with the verb “to have faith”) but the realm of faith. But translators as a whole have not so understood the expression “faith in”; Barth translates “faithfulness … to the Lord Jesus.”

Your faith in the Lord Jesus may be conveniently expressed in some languages as “how you trusted in the Lord Jesus.” In a number of languages the concept of “faith,” “trust,” or “believe in” is expressed idiomatically, for example, “to put one’s whole weight on” or “to lean against” or “to hand oneself over to.” What is important in such a context is to indicate the degree of commitment and dependence and to avoid expressing merely intellectual acceptance of some truth. Similarly, your love for all of God’s people may also be restructured as a clause, for example, “how you love all God’s people” or “how you love all those who belong to God.”

Some very important Greek manuscripts have in verse 15 “your faith in the Lord Jesus and for all the saints” (omitting the Greek expression for “the love”); this makes for a strange phrase in Greek, and it seems likely that the omission of “the love” was accidental. But Beare says that “the love” should unquestionably be omitted as a later addition, and he translates the text: “the faith which prevails among you, which rests on the Lord Jesus and is shown toward all the saints.” Certainly the text without “the love” is the harder reading and therefore more likely to be the correct one; it is much easier to understand why “the love” would have been inserted into the text than why it would have been deleted from the text, if it was originally a part of it.

I have not stopped giving thanks: this is admittedly an exaggerated way of saying that the writer, whenever he prays, always thanks God for the readers (see Col 1.9). The expression not stopped involves a kind of double negative with respect to giving thanks, and therefore it may be best to use a positive expression, for example, “I am always giving thanks.” Such a positive expression may also provide a means of avoiding what might be regarded as an undue exaggeration in the literal statement “I have not stopped.”

At the end of verse 16 remember means “make mention of, speak (to God) about.” The writer always mentions the readers whenever he prays to God. A literal rendering of I remember you in my prayers might suggest that he had conveniently forgotten about the believers, except in his prayers. Therefore, I remember you in my prayers may be expressed as “whenever I pray to God I mention you” or “… speak to him about you.”

Verses 17-19a give the content of the prayer on behalf of the readers. The conjunction at the beginning of verse 17 in Greek does not express the purpose of the prayer but gives its contents. Good News Translation, in order to make the proper transition, has used a verb and ask (compare New English Bible “I pray that”).

The prayer is addressed to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is also called “the Father of glory” (Revised Standard Version); see the similar phrase in Acts 7.2 and “the Lord of glory” in 1 Corinthians 2.8. The genitive phrase “of glory” functions as an attributive adjective, the glorious Father. The noun “glory,” with reference to God, always has an implicit reference to the visible manifestation among his people of God’s saving power. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible translates “the Father to whom belongs the glory,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “the one to whom belong all power and glory.”

The expression the God of our Lord Jesus Christ involves some very subtle problems for some languages. The phrase of our Lord Jesus Christ suggests a kind of possessive relationship, but in many languages it is impossible to speak of God being possessed. For example, one cannot say “my God” but only “the God whom I worship.” Similarly, the statement the God of our Lord Jesus Christ must be rendered in many languages as “the God whom our Lord Jesus Christ worshiped.” Furthermore, in some languages a term for “God” is so exclusively unique that one cannot use the definite article “the” in connection with “God.” Therefore, one may need to translate the first part of verse 17 as “I ask God, whom our Lord Jesus Christ worshiped” or “… worships.”

There is also a difficulty involved in the phrase the glorious Father. In many languages one cannot speak of “the … Father,” since a term for “father” must always be possessed, for example, “his father” or “my father” or “their father,” etc. A person is a father only because of the relationship to an offspring. It would, of course, be possible to render the glorious Father as “his glorious Father,” thus referring to Jesus Christ, but it is more likely that the phrase the glorious Father refers in this context to one who is related as Father to believers. The glorious Father may thus be rendered as “our Father who is wonderful” or even “our Father in heaven who is wonderful,” in order to avoid a wrong reference to an earthly father.

It is also important in the rendering of the glorious Father to indicate clearly that this is in apposition to God and not to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The phrase that follows, “a spirit of wisdom and of revelation” (Hdb|fig:Table_EPH1-14.jpg), may refer to the readers’ own spirit (Beare, Abbott); so, apparently, Revised Standard Version “a spirit of wisdom and of revelation” (also Twentieth Century New Testament, New American Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible; also Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “to give you wisdom”). But most take “spirit” here to mean God’s Spirit (so Salmond, Robinson); some translate “the spiritual gifts of wisdom and insight” (Translator’s New Testament; also Phillips, New English Bible); the Spanish common language translation (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) has “spiritual wisdom to understand his revelation.” Good News Translation and others take it to mean God’s Spirit. Translators will have to decide whether or not the word “Spirit” alone is enough or whether it will be better to say explicitly “God’s Spirit.” “Wisdom” here is understanding of spiritual realities, God’s truth. So “make you wise in spiritual things” is one way of translating this; another way would be “make you wise in things of God.” Good News Translation has make you wise and reveal God to you. Barclay has “make you wise in heavenly things.” The Greek word for “revelation” means “disclosure, uncovering.” Here it refers to the action of the Spirit in disclosing spiritual truths. It seems impossible, given the meaning of the word and its use elsewhere in the New Testament (see its use in 3.3), to take it to mean a person’s own “insight” or “vision” (as New English Bible, New American Bible, Phillips, Translator’s New Testament translate it). As Salmond says, the word can only refer to the divine action (and so “spirit” here is God’s Spirit, not the human spirit); so Good News Translation reveal God to you.

In some languages it is necessary to use the phrase “Holy Spirit” rather than merely “Spirit,” since the term “Spirit” without some qualification would most likely refer to some evil spirit.

It is important to avoid a statement which will suggest merely the accumulation of knowledge, for wisdom implies the correct use or application of knowledge and not merely the accumulation of facts.

A literal rendering of reveal God to you might be “to cause you to see God,” but this is not what is intended. It is, therefore, better to translate reveal God to you as “cause you to know the truth about God” or “cause you to know who God really is.”

At the end of verse 17, “in the knowledge of him” (Hdb|fig:Table_EPH1-14.jpg) refers to knowledge of God, and this is the purpose or goal of the action of God’s Spirit in making the readers wise and revealing God to them, so Good News Translation renders so that you will know him. Some want to understand the compound Greek noun to mean “complete knowledge” (see especially the use of the compound verb in 1 Cor 13.12), but it seems better to take it to mean here “directed knowledge,” that is, knowledge directed toward a particular truth.

In rendering so that you will know him, it is important to avoid an expression which will mean merely “so that you will recognize him.” In this type of context the phrase “knowledge of him” means more than “facts about.” The implication is that an individual should have some essential experience of God. When, for example, the Scriptures speak of “knowing suffering” or “knowing joy,” this is not information about suffering or joy but the actual experience of such states.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1982. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ephesians 1:15

Section 1:15–23

Paul prayed for the believers at Ephesus

Paul started the next section by thanking God for the faith and love of the Christians in Ephesus. Then he prayed that they might know God better. Specifically, he prayed that they might know the good things that they can hope for in the future, the blessings that God has promised to his people and the greatness of God’s power. This is the power that raised Jesus from death and put him in the place of highest honor in heaven.

In Greek this whole section is one very long sentence. You will probably need to break it into several shorter sentences in your translation.

Here are some other examples for a heading for this section:

Paul’s prayer (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)
-or-
Paul’s prayer for spiritual wisdom (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Thanksgiving and prayer (New International Version)

Paragraph 1:15–23

1:15a

For this reason: The Berean Standard Bible translates the Greek phrase here as For this reason. It refers to everything that God has done for us in 1:3–14.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

That is why (New Century Version)
-or-
Because of all this
-or-
Because of everything that God has done
-or-
Therefore

The phrase For this reason is connected to 1:16a. The meaning is:

1:15a Because of all this…1:16a I have not stopped giving thanks for you.

Here are some other ways to translate this verse:

• Repeat some form of 1:16a after 1:15a. For example:

1:15a Because of everything that God has done, ⌊I thank him⌋. 1:15b–c Ever since I heard that you believe in the Lord Jesus and love all the saints, 1:16a I never stop giving thanks for you.

• Translate it literally. For example:

1:15a Because of everything that God has done, 1:15b-c and ever since I heard that you believe in the Lord Jesus and love all the saints, 1:16a I never stop giving thanks for you.

• Move 1:15a to the end of verse 15. For example:

1:15b I, too, have heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus 1:15c and your love for all of God’s people. 1:15a For this reason… (God’s Word)

• Move 1:15a to the beginning of verse 1:16. The Contemporary English Version does this by translating For this reason as “So” at the beginning of 1:16:

1:15b I have heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus 1:15c and your love for all of God’s people. 1:16a So I never stop being grateful for you,… (Contemporary English Version)

1:15b

your faith in the Lord Jesus: The word faith refers here to the action of trusting and believing in Jesus.

Here are some other ways to translate the word faith in this context:

confidence
-or-
trust

In many languages, the noun faith will be clearer if you translate it as a verb. For example:

you trusted/believed in the Lord Jesus

See faith, Meaning 1, in the Glossary for more information.

Lord Jesus: The word Lord is a translation of the Greek word that means “lord, master or leader.” It is a term of respect. In this verse, it is a title associated with Jesus.

1:15c

your love for all the saints: The word love here is a noun in the Greek text. It refers to man’s affection and concern for other believers. If it is more natural in your language to translate love as a verb, you can say:

you love all of God’s people

See love, Meaning 2 in the Glossary for more information.

saints: The word saints means “people set apart for God.” It does not refer to a special group of “holy people.” All Christians are saints.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

God’s people
-or-
people who belong to God

See Holy, Meaning 1, special use, in the Glossary for more information.

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