The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is usually translated into English as “peace,” when referring to one’s inner peace, is (back-) translated with a variety of idioms and phrases:
“rest the heart” (Central Mazahua) / “rest within” (Lacandon) (source: Nida 1952, p. 40 and 128ff.) / “wait well in your heart” (Yatzachi Zapotec) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Ephesians 2:15:
Uma: “For Kristus, he is the one who unites-us / makes us at peace with God and with our companion. He gave his body to be killed to become our substitute/redemption, and with his death he freed us from the Law of the Yahudi religion with all its commands and orders. He did that in order to destroy the differences that come-between/separate the Yahudi people and those who are not Yahudi people like an earthen wall. So, we (excl.) Yahudi people along with you who are not Yahudi people, he united us / made us at peace. He united us in order to make us a new people/mankind who are connected with him. In that way Kristus made peace/unity.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Because of his death on the post, he has removed the authority of the law of the Yahudi including it’s commands. He has removed it so that we (excl.) the Yahudi and you the non Yahudi are of one liver now/already, equally trusting in him and are now/already reconciled.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “By means of His letting Himself be killed, He removed the necessity for us (incl.) to obey the Law left behind by Moses along with it’s doctrine so that we (incl.) who are two kinds of people, He might make us to be a new kind of people by means of our being made one by Him. And because of this our being against one another is removed.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Because when he died on the cross, he terminated the law of the Jews which contained many rules so that he would become-the-only-one that we (excl.) Jews and you Gentiles would follow. So now, that is the basis-of-our -getting-along-together because he made-us -new by turning-us -into what is like a single body on account of our being joined to him. He did that in order that he would bring-us all -close to God.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Because he made-a-sacrifice-of his own body, in doing that he removed that trail/way of following/obeying the laws of Moises, the laws which told all the customs of the religion of us (excl.) Jews. Well since it’s like that all who believe/obey Cristo then became like just one blood-related-group in the sight of God, no matter what their nation. He really opened up the way of reconciliation.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Concerning the death of Christ, it was that which ended the authority of the law which commanded the customs followed by the Jews. Now the two groups of people who were enemies have been newly brought together and become one group only. Because now all walk with Christ. It is he who made peace between the.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
2:1-3 I am Paul. To the people of the church in Ephesus. Remember when you were not yet Christians, when you used to live in sin just like the rest of the world. You were dead. You were controlled by the unseen spirit of the Devil- that same spirit now working in the people who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate and selfish desires of our sinful nature. We should have faced God’s anger because of our sinful ways.
2:4-5 But God is merciful and he loves us very much, even though we were dead because we were detached from Him and lived in sin just like the rest of the world. He has given us a new life and has united us with Him through Jesus Christ. It is only by God’s grace that we have been saved.
2:6-7 Just as God raised Jesus from the dead and seated him in heaven, so will He raise us from the dead and seat us in heaven because we are united with Jesus Christ. God did this so He can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
2:8-10 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. You can’t take credit for this because it is a gift from God. We are saved only by His grace through Jesus Christ. We are God’s precious creations, His masterpiece, made new in Jesus Christ so that we can live the right way according to the plan that He had for us long ago.
2:11-13 Remember that you non-Jew used to be outsiders. You were called uncircumcised by Jews who were circumcised. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
2:14-16 Jesus united Jews and non-Jews into one people when, in his own body on the cross he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and non-Jews by creating in himself one new people from the two groups, united in peace and harmony with each other and God.
2:17-18 The non- Jews [who were called outsiders] and the Jews [who were called Christians] were now united in peace. Now all of us can come to God the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
2:19-22 So now you non-Jews are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are now members of God’s family. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. Just like a house is built on a solid foundation, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles who spread the word of God. The cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. In him, we become a holy temple for the Lord. In Christ we are built together [Jews and non-Jews] and are made into a holy place where God lives through the Spirit.
Back-translation by Amakedia Wallen, coordinated by Tashi Widmer
God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).
Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.
In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.
While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”
In that system, one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and others for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.
Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”
In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)
Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”
In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )
In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)
The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.
Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are Twents as well as Indonesian and Malay. In the latter two languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).
The Greek, Hebrew, and Ge’ez that is translated in English as “Law” or “law” is translated in Mairasi as oro nasinggiei or “prohibited things” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Noongar with a capitalized form of the term for “words” (Warrinya) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
In Yucateco the phrase that is used for “law” is “ordered-word” (for “commandment,” it is “spoken-word”) (source: Nida 1947, p. 198) and in Central Tarahumara it is “writing-command.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
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 usage of an honorific construction where the morphemes rare (られ) or are (され) are affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, haikis-are-ru (廃棄される) or “abolish” is used.
Also, when the referent is God or a person or persons to be honored, the honorific prefix go- (御 or ご) can be used, as here in go-jibun (ご自分), a combination of “onseself” (jibun) and the honorific prefix go-.
He abolished: this means that, so far as Christians are concerned, what Christ did and taught made the Law of no effect; he nullified it, and it is no longer binding. In the context, the primary effect of this annulment was the abolition of the distinction between Jews and Gentiles in the eyes of God.
The Jewish Law with its commandments and rules: “the law of commandments in rules” is another phrase in Ephesians which may be translated several ways: Revised Standard Version “the law of commandments and ordinances”; New English Bible “the law with its rules and regulations” (similarly New International Version, Good News Translation, and others). It is quite certain that “the law” is the Mosaic Law, the Torah, which was the basis for the whole Hebrew religious legal system; the plural “(of) the commandments” can be taken to mean the Ten Commandments specifically or the whole range of commandments in the Law. The Greek prepositional phrase “in decrees” refers to specific rules or regulations (see Luke 2.1 and Acts 17.7, which speak of imperial decrees; in Acts 16.4 the word is used of a ruling by the apostles; and see also Col 2.14).
In translating He abolished the Jewish Law, it is important to use an expression which will not seem completely contradictory to history, for Jews have continued to follow the commandments and rules of the Law to the present time. What is meant here is that “he made the Jewish Law of no validity” or “he made it so that the Jewish Law need not be obeyed any more.”
The phrase Jewish Law must be expressed in some languages as “the rules which Jews must follow” or “… must obey.” In fact, in many languages there is no term which is an inclusive designation for a body of laws.
In some languages it is necessary to describe commandments and rules in terms of “what people must do or must not do.”
If “in his flesh” (in verse 14) goes with “abolishing the law of commandments in rules” (in verse 13), it can be taken to indicate either the crucifixion of Christ (as in the similar Col 2.14) or to the incarnation (as Barclay and Goodspeed do); but it seems difficult, if not impossible, to say that “in his flesh” here refers to the incarnation, since the whole section points to Christ’s death on the cross as the means whereby the reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles was achieved (specifically in verses 13, 16). So “in his flesh” also refers to the crucifixion of Christ.
The purpose of Christ’s reconciling work is (see Hdb|fig:Table_EPH2-14.jpg) (1) “to create the two in himself into one new man” (verse 15b) and (2) “to reconcile both in one body to God” (verse 16a).
The “one new man” that Christ creates is, so to speak, the new Adam (the name “Adam” means “man, mankind”); New English Bible “a single new humanity”; Jerusalem Bible “a single New Man”; Twentieth Century New Testament “one New Man”; Translator’s New Testament is like Good News Translationone new people. It is to be noticed that this “new humanity” is achieved not by transforming Gentiles into Jews or vice versa; both are re-created into a new people, neither Jewish nor Gentile, but Christian.
Technically speaking, the Jews and the Gentiles did not consist of two races. They were simply “two different kinds of people,” and so it may be best to translate the purpose clause as “in order to make two different kinds of people into one new kind of people” or “… to make two different tribes of people into one new tribe.” This new tribe of people could then be characterized as those “who are closely linked with Christ.”
For the verb “to create,” see 2.10.
In union with himself translates the Greek phrase “in him.” The Greek manuscripts have no accents, and so this may be accented as a reflexive, hautō (so W&H, New English Bible), but Good News Bible, Nestle, BFBS have autō, which in Hellenistic Greek often stood for the reflexive.
The verse in Greek ends with the participial phrase “making peace.” The simplest way is to take it as the result: “and so he achieved peace” (New English Bible “thereby making peace”; New International Version “thus making peace”). Another way to represent the meaning is “in this way he made different peoples be at peace with one another.” If the phrase is understood as expressing result, one may say “and so he caused people to be at peace.”
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 .
by abolishing: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as abolishing means to “destroy, cancel, or end.” In this context, Christ abolished the law in the sense that he removed the law as the way to achieve salvation. This means that people do not have to follow the law in order to be saved.
Here are some other ways this word has been translated:
ending (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
brought an end to (God’s Word)
The law Paul referred to includes the ceremonial laws concerning sacrifices and festivals. These ceremonial laws separated the Jews and the Gentiles, because the Gentiles did not follow these ceremonies. The law was a barrier between Jews and Gentiles. Christ, by his death, removed this barrier. One possible way to translate this is:
he made it so that we do not have to follow all the rules and commands of the Jewish religion ⌊in order to be acceptable to God⌋
in His flesh: The phrase in His flesh refers to Christ’s death. However, there are different views regarding which part of the verse in His flesh is connected.
The three main views are:
(1) It is connected to the verb abolished/ended in 2:15a. For example:
15a By his death he ended the whole system of Jewish law… (New Living Translation (1996))
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, King James Version, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (1996), Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, New Jerusalem Bible)
(2) It is connected to the clause destroyed/broke the wall in 2:14b. For example:
14b With his own body he broke down the wall that separated them and kept them enemies. (Good News Translation)
(Good News Translation, NET Bible, Revised English Bible, New Century Version)
(3) It is connected to the clause made the two one in 2:14b. For example:
14b in his flesh he has made both groups into one (New Revised Standard Version)
(New Revised Standard Version, God’s Word)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and the majority of English versions.
flesh: Here flesh means Christ’s body. Most commentators believe that it refers to Christ’s crucified body.
Here are some other ways this phrase has been translated:
by his death (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
Christ gave his own body (Contemporary English Version)
See flesh, Meaning 1 in the Glossary for more information.
the law of commandments and decrees: The two words commandments and decrees are a doublet. They refer to the Jewish religious laws found in the law of Moses. Some ways of translating this entire phrase are:
the whole system of Jewish law (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
the Jewish law with all its rules
-or-
the law containing rules about things which people must do and rules about things which they must not do
You should translate this phrase in a way that is natural in your language.
2:15b
to create in Himself one new man out of the two: One reason Christ abolished the law was so that he could unite both Jews and Gentiles to himself and, in this way, make one new group. This new group is the group of Christians, or the church.
one new man: The phrase one new man means “one new group.” It refers to the “one” in 2:14b.
Here are some ways to translate this phrase:
one new group of people
-or-
one new community
out of the two: The phrase the two refers to the Jews and Gentiles. See how you translated the two in 2:14b.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
from the two ⌊opposing groups⌋
-or-
out from among the Jews and Gentiles/non-Jews
2:15c
thus making peace: Christ united the Jews and Gentiles, and this made peace between them.
Here are some other ways this phrase has been translated:
so they are no longer hostile/hateful towards each other
-or-
so they now relate to each other in peaceful ways
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