complete verse (Ephesians 3:20)

Following are a number of back-translations of Ephesians 3:20:

  • Uma: “The power of God that works in our lives is very great. With that power he can do still more than all that we ask, he can do still more than all that we think.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Let us (incl.) praise God for because of his power that he sent/caused-to-be-here in our (incl.) livers, he can do much more than all that we (dual) can ask or even think of.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Let us praise God, because by means of His great power which He has caused to live here in us, He can do great things for He can do greater things than anything we (incl.) can think or ask for.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “May God who is all powerful be praised. Because he is able to do far more than even anything we request and even moreover what we think-about because-of the power of his Spirit who is present working in us.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore, (it’s) necessary (that), we truly praise this God, he who can do more-sufficiently and exceedingly-more than all we ask of him, or even than (what) we are thinking, according to this supernatural-power of his that we are experiencing in our lives.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “God has supreme power because he can do what he is asked. Not only what word lands on our hearts which we ask him to do, rather much more will he do than we ask. And now the power of God is what strengthens us now.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

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inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Eph. 3:20)

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 inclusive form (including the addressee).

Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.

he who, whoever

The Greek that is typically translated with a generic expressions such as “he who,” “whoever,” or “if anyone” in English is translated with the plural form (“they”) in Daga. “A literal translation of these conveys the idea that one specific unnamed individual is being dis cussed. Thus, for instance, in John 5:24 ‘he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life’ meant in Daga that there was one fortunate individual to whom it applied.”

See also love your neighbor as yourself.

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