Following are a number of back-translations of Ephesians 5:21:
Uma: “and we submit one to another as our [way of] respecting/honoring Kristus.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Humble yourselves/cause yourselves to be low towards your companion because of your honoring Almasi.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Show respect, each one of you, to each other because of your respect for Christ.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Another-thing also, submit-to-one-another (lit. cause-yourselves -to-be-ruled-by-one-another) because of your respecting/esteeming Cristo.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And something else also, be submissive to one another, the sign that you now have respect for Cristo.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Now because you revere God, each of you help the others.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Mokole: “You who know the honor of Christ, bow your heads to one another.” Mokole grammar doesn’t know a passive voice and the translation has to therefore render anything that is passive in the active form. (Source: Hilary Deneufchâtel in Le Sycomore 17/1, 2024, p. 21ff. )
The Greek Christos (Χρηστός) is typically transliterated when it appears together with Iésous (Ἰησοῦς) (Jesus). In English the transliteration is the Anglicized “Christ,” whereas in many other languages it is based on the Greek or Latin as “Kristus,” “Cristo,” or similar.
When used as a descriptive term in the New Testament — as it’s typically done in the gospels (with the possible exceptions of for instance John 1:17 and 17:3) — Christos is seen as the Greek translation of the Hebrew mashiaḥ (המשיח) (“anointed”). Accordingly, a transliteration of mashiaḥ is used, either as “Messiah” or based on the Greek or Latin as a form of “Messias.”
This transliteration is also used in the two instances where the Greek term Μεσσίας (Messias) is used in John 1:41 and 4:25.
In some languages and some translations, the term “Messiah” is supplemented with an explanation. Such as in the GermanGute Nachricht with “the Messiah, the promised savior” (Wir haben den Messias gefunden, den versprochenen Retter) or in Muna with “Messiah, the Saving King” (Mesias, Omputo Fosalamatino) (source: René van den Berg).
In predominantly Muslim areas or for Bible translations for a Muslim target group, Christos is usually transliterated from the Arabic al-Masih (ٱلْمَسِيحِ) — “Messiah.” In most cases, this practice corresponds with languages that also use a form of the Arabic Isa (عيسى) for Jesus (see Jesus). There are some exceptions, though, including modern translations in Arabic which use Yasua (يَسُوعَ) (coming from the Aramaic Yēšūa’) alongside a transliteration of al-Masih, Hausa which uses Yesu but Almahisu, and some Fula languages (Adamawa Fulfulde, Nigerian Fulfulde, and Central-Eastern Niger Fulfulde) which also use a form of Iésous (Yeesu) but Almasiihu (or Almasiifu) for Christos.
In Indonesian, while most Bible translations had already used Yesus Kristus rather than Isa al Masih, three public holidays used to be described using the term Isa Al Masih. From 2024 on, the government is using Yesus Kristus in those holiday names instead (see this article in Christianity Today ).
Other solutions that are used by a number of languages include these:
Dobel: “The important one that God had appointed to come” (source: Jock Hughes)
Noongar: Keny Mammarap or “The One Man” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Mairasi: “King of not dying for life all mashed out infinitely” (for “mashed out,” see salvation; source: Lloyd Peckham)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “One chosen by God to rule mankind” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Bacama: Ma Pwa a Ngɨltən: “The one God has chosen” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
Binumarien: Anutuna: originally a term that was used for a man that was blessed by elders for a task by the laying on of hands (source: Desmond Oatridges, Holzhausen 1991, p. 49f.)
Noongar: Keny Boolanga-Yira Waangki-Koorliny: “One God is Sending” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uab Meto: Neno Anan: “Son of heaven” P. Middelkoop explains: “The idea of heavenly power bestowed on a Timorese king is rendered in the title Neno Anan. It is based on the historical fact that chiefs in general came from overseas and they who come thence are believed to have come down from heaven, from the land beyond the sea, that means the sphere of God and the ghosts of the dead. The symbolical act of anointing has been made subservient to the revelation of an eternal truth and when the term Neno Anan is used as a translation thereof, it also is made subservient to a new revelation of God in Jesus Christ. The very fact that Jesus came from heaven makes this translation hit the mark.” (Source: P. Middelkoop in The Bible Translator 1953, p. 183ff. )
In Finnish Sign Language both “Christ” and “Messiah” are translated with a sign signifying “king.” (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
“Christ / Messiah” in Finnish Sign Language (source )
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient GreekSeptuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew mashiah was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments (click or tap here to read more):
“Another important word in the New Testament that comes from the Septuagint is christos, ‘Christ.’ Christ is not part of the name of the man from Nazareth, as if ‘the Christs’ were written above the door of his family home. Rather, ‘Christ’ is an explicitly messianic title used by the writers of the New Testament who have learned this word from the Septuagint’s translation of the Hebrew mashiach, ‘anointed,’ which itself is often rendered in English as ‘Messiah.’ To be sure, one detects a messianic intent on the part of the Septuagint translator in some places. Amos 4:13 may have been one of these. In the Hebrew Bible, God ‘reveals his thoughts to mortals,’ but the Septuagint has ‘announcing his anointed to humans.’ A fine distinction must be made, however, between theology that was intended by the Septuagint translators and that developed by later Christian writers. In Amos 4:13 it is merely possible we have a messianic reading, but it is unquestionably the case that the New Testament writers exploit the Septuagint’s use of christos, in Amos and elsewhere, to messianic ends.”
In Greek this verse is a participial clause, related to what precedes; verses 19 and 20 both begin with participles also (verse 19 “speaking among yourselves”; verse 20 “giving thanks always”), and this participle “submitting (to one another),” like the other two, is syntactically dependent on the main verb in verse 18, “be filled with the Spirit.” All editions of the Greek New Testament join this verse to the preceding section (as do New American Bible, Translator’s New Testament, and others), but most modern translations (Moffatt, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and others) join it to what follows. As Beare points out, the participle is often used in the New Testament in an imperatival sense, and here it points forward, not backward; the following verse does not have a verb, which must be supplied from verse 21. So Good News Translation joins verse 21 with what follows.
For the verb “to submit” (also 1.22; 5.24) see the discussion in the next verse. Each Christian is to make his or her interests subordinate to those of his or her fellow Christian. In a number of languages the closest equivalent of submit yourselves to one another is “be willing to obey one another.” One might also employ such expressions as “be willing to accept orders from one another” or “willingly accept what others say you should do.”
“In the fear of Christ” is how New English Bible translates the last phrase in the verse; Translator’s New Testament “out of reverence for Christ.” This is the basic attitude that makes obedience to this command possible (compare Mark 10.43-45). See similar exhortations in Romans 12.10; Philippians 2.3.
The phrase because of your reverence for Christ may be turned into a clause, for example, “because of the way in which you revere Christ.” Or else the translation may be “in order to honor Christ” or “as proof of your reverence for Christ.” But in many languages there may not be a fully satisfactory word for either reverence or “revere.” The closest equivalent may be “regard Christ as Lord” or “regard Christ as one who should be obeyed.”
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 .
In 4:17–5:20, Paul taught the Ephesian Christians to behave differently than pagans (people who do not know God). For the next three sections, Paul taught about how Christians should behave in their relationships in their families and at work. In this first section, he dealt with the duties of wives and husbands. He described the marriage relationship as a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church.
Here are some other examples for a heading for this section:
Paul’s advise to wives and husbands (God’s Word)
-or-
How a wife and a husband should live together
Paragraph 5:21–24
Some English versions make verse 5:21 part of the previous section, and begin this section with 5:22. However, since Paul began to talk about a new topic—submitting—in 5:21, other versions make 5:21 the beginning of a new section.
You may want to consult your national version and use it as a model to follow.
5:21
Submit to one another: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Submit means “to surrender or yield (oneself) to the will or authority of another person.”
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Place yourselves under each other’s authority (God’s Word)
-or-
Yield to obey each other (New Century Version)
-or-
accept orders from other people
Some languages have special ways to talk about submitting, for example:
Each of you should be willing to put yourself under the others
-or-
Each of you should bow your head to the others
-or-
Among God’s people you are to be underneath ⌊them⌋
out of reverence for Christ: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as out of reverence for Christ is literally “in the fear of Christ.” The Berean Standard Bible and most modern translations use words like “reverence,” “respect,” or “honor,” instead of “fear.” These words are closer to the true meaning in this context.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
because you honor Christ
-or-
out of respect for Christ (God’s Word)
-or-
in order to honor Christ
-or-
You are to regard Christ’s name highly
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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