complete verse (Ephesians 4:4)

Following are a number of back-translations of Ephesians 4:4:

  • Uma: “All of us who believe in Yesus Kristus, it is like we are all just one-body, and just one is the Holy Spirit who is in the hearts of us all. The hope of us all is the same, because God called us to become his children.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “We (incl.) all have been made one figuratively like the body of Almasi. His body is only one. God’s Spirit also is only one. Likewise there is only one (thing) that we (incl.) all expect/hope for because we (incl.) have been equally chosen by God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “For as for us (incl.), all believers, we are only one body. And there’s only one Holy Spirit who guides us; and there’s only one immortality that we are expecting because we have been made believers.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “All of us who have been united-with Cristo, we are like only-one body and the Spirit of God who is in us is only-one. We also have only-one hope because of God’s calling us.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Because we, (we are) just like one body-entity, and the Espiritu Santo who indwells our body is one-only. Like that too, the good (situation) that we are hoping-for/expecting in the future is one-only, we whom God inspired (lit. put it in our minds) to submit to him.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “All we believers are like we are one person in how God sees us. And it is the one Holy Spirit we walk with. Concerning the word we await to happen, it is one word which God calls us with.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Ephesians 4:4 – 4:6

Here the writer passes from exhortation to exposition and bases his appeal for unity on the sevenfold unity revealed by the Christian event. Abbott’s classification is worth quoting: “First, the oneness of the Church itself: one Body, one Spirit, one Hope. Next the source and instrument of that unity: one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism; and lastly, the unity of the Divine Author.”

(1) One body: this is the church, the body of Christ; it is one and indivisible. A literal rendering of there is one body might be misleading, because it might suggest that there was simply one body lying someplace. It may, therefore, be better to translate there is one body as “we form one body” or “we constitute just one body” or “we all belong to one body.”

(2) One Spirit: God’s Spirit, his gift to his people (see 2.18). It may be more meaningful and accurate to translate “there is just one Spirit” or “there is only one Holy Spirit.” The two, one body and one Spirit, may be joined as follows: “Because all of you have the same Spirit, you form with one another a single body.”

(3) One hope to which God has called you: see 1.18. It may be difficult to translate there is one hope, especially for languages in which hope is always a verb rather than a noun. Furthermore, in this context the reference of hope is that which is hoped for. Therefore, the second part of verse 4 may be rendered as “just as there is one thing that we may hope for and it is to this that God has called you” or “… and this is what God has called you to do” or “… invited you to do.”

(4) One Lord: Jesus Christ, the Lord of the church (compare 1 Cor 8.6). It may be more satisfactory to translate “there is only one Lord.”

(5) One faith: the Christian message is one, not many, and it calls for the same faith, belief, commitment from all who accept it. It is doubtful that here the Greek word for “faith” means “creed” (as Murray would define it). In this context one faith must refer to “one way in which we may trust God” or “… trust Christ.”

(6) One baptism: there is one initiatory rite, in which all believers engage, and it is the one symbolic and public demonstration of the believer’s response to God’s grace in Christ. It is quite unlikely that by “one baptism” the writer meant one form of baptism (among various forms), or that the rite was administered only once (not twice or several times). The emphasis in the noun baptisma is not on the action described by the verb baptizō “to dip,” but on the object or result of the act.

A literal translation of one baptism can be misunderstood, either as a single form of baptism or as baptism on only one occasion. The reference here is to the fact that this baptism was a baptism as a follower of Christ and not, for example, as a disciple of John. Accordingly it may be more satisfactory to translate one baptism as “one person in whose name we are baptized” or “one person for whom we are baptized.” Or else, “one purpose for which all of us are baptized.”

(7) One God: he is called one God and Father of all mankind, and his relation to mankind is expressed by three prepositional phrases: “who is over all and through all and in all” (New English Bible). The “all” in these three phrases has the same meaning as the preceding “all” in “one God and Father of all,” that is, all people, mankind, humanity as a whole. This means taking the Greek “of all” (twice) and “for all” as masculine, not neuter (so Abbott; Robinson prefers what he calls “the wider reference” of the neuter, that is, including inanimate creation as well). Such languages as French, Spanish, and Portuguese distinguish between the masculine and neuter forms, unlike English, where “all” may be either masculine or neuter.

A literal translation of one God and Father of all mankind can be misleading, since the use of “and” may imply two persons not one. Therefore the phrase Father of all mankind must often be made an appositional expression, for example, “one God, Father of all mankind” or “one God, who is Father of all mankind” or “… Father of all people.”

“Over all” means Lord of all (see Barclay “who reigns over all”; also Bible en français courant); “through all” is represented in Good News Translation by works through all (so Translator’s New Testament, New American Bible, Barclay); and “in all” means that he is present in all people. The Greek text does not in any way restrict the “all,” the clear implication being that all people are meant; but Moffatt, Goodspeed have “all of us” three times, thereby restricting the reference to Christians. This is not impossible, but it seems better in translation to do as most translations have done and say simply “all” or “all people.”

Who is Lord of all may be rendered as “who is Lord over all people” or “who is Lord ruling all people” or “who is the one who rules all people.”

The phrase works through all is difficult to understand and to translate in a completely adequate manner. To translate “he does his work by using all people” can be misleading for it may imply that God is exploiting people. It may also be possible to say “he causes all people to do what he wants them to do,” but this should not be translated in such a way as to imply that all people always do what God wants them to do.

The final statement is in all may be even more difficult to fully comprehend, but its equivalent in many languages is “dwells in all people.”

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 4:4

4:4a

There is one body: The phrase one body refers to the group of believers called the church. This group of Christians is the body of Christ (1:23). All of us believers are like ⌊parts of⌋ the same body. So, another way to translate this phrase is a simile. For example:

We are like one body

one Spirit: The phrase one Spirit refers to the Holy Spirit. All believers have the same Holy Spirit living/dwelling in them.

4:4b

just as you were called to one hope: The clause just as you were called to one hope is a comparison. There is one body and one Spirit just as there is one hope. (See General Comment below for ways to translate this.)

you were called: The phrase you were called is passive. If it would be more natural in your language to use an active clause here, you can say:

just as ⌊God⌋ called you to one hope

called: As in 4:1c, here are some other ways to translate the verb called :

invited
-or-
chosen

See how you translated “calling” in 4:1c and called in 1:18b.

one hope: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hope means “to confidently expect and wait for something that we know will happen.” The meaning of the Greek word that is translated as hope is different from the modern English meaning. In modern English, hope is closer to a “wish.”

In many languages hope is easier to understand if translated as a verb rather than a noun. So you may need to say:

you are hoping for/expecting the same good things/blessings

See how you translated hope in 1:18b and 2:12d.

when you were called: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as when you were called is literally “of your calling” (as in the New Revised Standard Version). This phrase repeats the phrase “you were called” that is found earlier in 4:4b. So some translations combine these two phrases. For example:

just as there is one hope to which God has called you (Good News Translation)

Here are some other ways to translate 4:4b:

In the same way you were called to share one hope. (God’s Word)
-or-
…and God called you to have one hope. (New Century Version)
-or-
In the same way, when God called/chose you, he chose you to hope/expect the same good things/blessings.

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Commentaire sur la traduction de la lettre aux Éphésiens 4.4

4.4-6

Le leitmotiv ou thème de ce passage est le chiffre un. Plusieurs versions (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Nouvelle Bible Segond) commencent un nouveau paragraphe, mais c’est clair que l’auteur poursuit le même thème : l’unité de la communauté chrétienne. Paul passe de l’exhortation à l’exposition de plusieurs vérités. Son appel à l’unité (Éph. 4.4) est basé sur sept constats, tous exprimés par le mot un ou un seul : un seul corps, un seul Esprit, une seule espérance, un seul Seigneur, une seule foi, un seul baptême, un seul Dieu. Dans Éph. 4.6, le mot tous est répété quatre fois. La majorité des versions rendent un en grec par un seul. La Bible de Jérusalem propose une autre expression : « Il n’y a qu’un Corps », qui s’avérera difficile dans la plupart des langues. En grec ces expressions sont parallèles et rythmiques. Les traducteurs devraient essayer d’imiter le style de Paul, en utilisant, si possible, le même rythme, en utilisant des expressions ou même des phrases parallèles.

Il y a un seul corps : il s’agit de l’Église, le corps du Christ. Pour corps, voir Éph. 1.23 ; Éph. 2.16 ; Éph. 3.6. Dans certaines langues, le mot « peau » est une façon figurée de parler du corps. Dans d’autres, il va falloir parler d’une seule « personne ». Il faudrait éviter des mots qui parlent d’un corps mort, c’est-à-dire un cadavre ! La Bible de Jérusalem met une majuscule ici mais ceci n’est pas recommandé, même s’il s’agit du corps de Christ. La plupart des traductions commencent une nouvelle phrase ici, en ajoutant une expression comme Il y a, implicite en grec. Au lieu de dire il y a, on pourrait aussi dire « nous formons » ou « nous appartenons à un seul corps ».

et un seul Esprit se réfère à l’Esprit de Dieu, l’Esprit Saint (voir Éph. 2.18). On pourrait dire, « il y a un seul esprit de Dieu » ou « L’Esprit de Dieu est un ». Bien qu’il s’agisse du Saint Esprit, il vaut mieux suivre l’auteur en parlant de l’Esprit tout court ou en cas d’ambiguïté, de « l’Esprit de Dieu ».

de même que votre vocation vous a appelés à une seule espérance : les mots vocation et appelés proviennent de la même racine, appeler. Voir Éph. 4.1. Dans beaucoup de langues, il faudrait être plus explicite : « Dieu vous a appelés » ou « Dieu vous a choisis pour vous donner… »

Pour espérance, voir Éph. 1.18. L’accent est mis sur le fait que l’espérance est unique, ce qui ressort bien dans la Bible en français courant. Dans le contexte présent, espérance désigne surtout la réalité que les croyants espèrent obtenir, plutôt qu’une vertu abstraite. L’idée peut être exprimée à l’aide d’un verbe, par exemple, « Dieu vous a choisis pour que vous espériez (ensemble) la même chose » ou « Dieu vous a appelés à attendre une seule chose ».

Source: Zogbo, Lynell. La lettre aux Éphésiens – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2011.