The Greek and Hebrew that is often translated into English as “(the two) shall become one flesh” is translated as “become just one” in Copainalá Zoque and San Mateo del Mar Huave or with existing idiomatic equivalents such as “become one blood” in Mitla Zapotec, “become the complement of each other’s spirit” in Tzeltal (source for this and above Bratcher / Nida), “become one body” in Uab Meto (source: P. Middelkoop in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 208ff. ), “tie with wife as one, so that they tie one insides” in Luang (source: Kathy and Mark Taber in Kroneman [2004], p. 539), or “become like one body-entity” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).
In Tataltepec Chatino it is translated as “the two shall accompany each other so that they no longer seem two but are like one person,” in Choapan Zapotec as “when the man and woman live together in front of God, it is as if just one person,” and in Mezquital Otomi as “they aren’t two, it is as though they are one.” (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated with bilden eine neue Sippe or “form a new clan.” They explain (p. 417): “Usually ‘become one flesh.’ This is clearly not correct from a biological point of view. In the Old Testament, ‘flesh’ in such contexts means: ‘kinship, clan, family.’ So the idea is that the man gives up his clan and forms a new clan together with the married woman.”
“In Papiamentu the most natural order of the collocation ‘father and mother’ is mama i tata (‘mother and father’). This probably reflects the matriarchal or matrilineal nature of the Curaçaon society, and in fact, of the whole region. The mother (grandmother, aunt, great-aunt) plays a pivotal role in the web of family and social relations. Even when both parents are still alive and have a good marriage, the children will usually speak not of ‘my father’s house,’ but always of ‘my mother’s house.’
“When discussing the sensitivities surrounding the translation of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16) and the many references to them in the NT, this difference between the target language and the source language emerged. It had been taken for granted in other texts. The discussion in the Papiamentu translation team, working on the Papiamentu Common Language (PAPCL) translation, that is, the Beibel Papiamentu Koriente (1995), shows the complexity and sensitivity of the issue. Given the liturgical significance of the Ten Commandments for several churches, what seemed to be a trivial matter soon became a rather crucial decision.
“At first, following the aim of producing a natural translation, there was a general consensus to follow the natural mother-father word order. However, when reviewers from outside the translation team were told that the original order in Hebrew or Greek was often different, a heated debate developed. The underlying assumption in this discussion was that the natural order in Papiamentu reflects not only the preeminent role of women, but also — and perhaps more significantly — the lack of responsibility of the males (fathers) in the home. Thus the main question was whether the Bible translation, in following the natural language pattern, would not be endorsing the social reality of dysfunctional families, a reality caused by absentee and/or negligent fathers. In other words, the dilemma for the translation team was: Would not the translation be sanctioning this ‘deficient’ image of manhood and fatherhood by the mother-father sequence? This was accepted as being the case, and consequently the biblical pattern (father-mother) was interpreted as providing a necessary corrective to the social situation. (…)
“In practice the policy just described resulted in the following practical decisions:
“Maintain the original ‘patriarchal’ order:
Genesis 2:24 (NRSV): ‘Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother’ [PAPCL: su tata i mama]
Deuteronomy 5:16: ‘Honor your father and your mother’ [PAPCL: tata i mama]
[and numerous others]
“Alternatively, in some (less well-known) passages ‘father and mother’ has been translated as mayornan (‘parents’). This solution has the benefit of putting the focus on the equal function of the partners towards their offspring, not focusing on either gender.
Deuteronomy 33:9: ‘He [the men of the tribe of Levi] said of his father and mother’ [PAPCL: mayornan]
Luke 8:51: ‘When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother’ [PAPCL: mayornan].
“Unfortunately, the natural collocation (mother-father) seems to be so natural that, contrary to the established policy to follow the Hebrew father-mother order, the Papiamentu mother-father still appears in, for example, Judges 14:9; Proverbs 23:25; Luke 2:33; 14.26; Matthew 19:5; Mark 10:7, 19. And the last three cases, in the New Testament, are direct quotations from the Old Testament! This might serve as a warning for translators who are following an idiomatic approach, to be careful with constructions that are very much ingrained in the psyche of the translators.” (Source: Marlon Winedt in The Bible Translator 2007, p. 56ff. )
Note that in Deuteronomy 22:21 “father’s house” is translated as “parents’ house” in the PAPCL translation.
Following are a number of back-translations of Ephesians 5:31:
Uma: “In the Holy Book it is written like this: "That is why a man leaves his mother and father, and lives at-one/in-harmony with his wife, in order that they two people become like one person."” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “It is written hep in the holy-book, saying, ‘When a man takes a wife, he leaves his mother and father and becomes one with his wife, and the two of them are one body already.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Because of this there is a written word of God which says, ‘A man will go away from his mother and father and get married; and as for those two, the man and the woman, they will become one.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “There is a written word of God which says, ‘That is the reason why a man leaves his father and mother in order to take-up-residence-with his spouse, and they become one.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “That’s why, when a man has married, he now leaves his father and mother for he and his wife now share-together. Well it’s none other than they are now like one body-entity.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “It is written in the Holy Book: ‘When a man marries he leaves his father and mother in order to live with his wife. Because now these two people might be said to be only one person in that the same life they have.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The Greek text of verse 31 is composed entirely of the quotation of Genesis 2.24; there are no introductory words. Good News Translation, for clarity, has added As the scripture says (see also New English Bible, Translator’s New Testament). Since in so many languages one cannot speak of the Scriptures “saying something,” one may need to change As the scripture says to “As one can read in the writings” or “As one can read in the Holy Writings.”
The phrase which begins the quotation, For this reason, differs in the Greek text here from the Septuagint of Genesis 2.24 but has the same meaning. In this context the phrase has no clear meaning and is used only because it is part of the text cited. As Robinson remarks, Genesis 2.24 is quoted to justify the statement of the writer of Ephesians that a man who loves his wife loves himself. Barth says that “for this reason” introduces the rest of the quotation from Genesis 2.24, because the relation of Christ to the church is the fulfillment of what Genesis 2.24 says about a man becoming one flesh with his wife. This seems quite fanciful.
Because of the fact that the phrase For this reason does not point specifically to some previous statement in the text of Ephesians, it may be more satisfactory to use a somewhat more general transitional phrase or word, for example, “accordingly” or “so.”
The compound verb translated unite occurs elsewhere in the New Testament only in Mark 10.7 (where Gen 2.24 is also quoted; in the quotation in Matt 19.5 the simple form of “unite” is used; it is also used in 1 Cor 6.16, 17, where Paul also quotes from Gen 2.24). The word has a definite sexual dimension, alluding to the sexual union of husband and wife; in 1 Corinthians 6.16 Paul uses the simple form of the verb in the same sense of a man having intercourse with a prostitute.
In translating the statement a man will leave his father and mother one must avoid the implication of “desert” or “abandon.” Will leave his father and mother can often be best rendered as “will leave the home of his father and mother.” Or else in some languages it may be necessary to say “For this reason a man’s primary relationship (or, responsibility) is no longer with his father and mother, but with his wife. When he marries, he and his wife become one.”
Good News Translationthe two will become one translates the Greek “the two will become one flesh” (see Revised Standard Version). It may be impossible to translate the two will become one, especially if the predicate numeral “one” must show plural agreement with the subject. Therefore it may be necessary to translate this by “the two will become like one person.”
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 .
Verse 5:31a–b is a quotation from Genesis 2:24. It is also quoted in other places in the New Testament: Matt. 19:5, Mark 10:7–8, 1 Cor. 6:16. See how this quotation was translated in these verses and translate it here in a similar way. If you want to make it clear in your translation that this is a quotation, you can say:
As the Book of God says…”
-or-
As the scripture says (Good News Translation)
-or-
It’s written in the Bible like this
For this reason: This is the beginning of a quote from Genesis 2:24 and therefore the phrase For this reason refers to the fact that God had made woman from the rib of the man Adam. This does not give a reason for verse 30. If this is not clear in the translation you may want to include the implied information from what happened prior to this in Genesis. For example:
Because ⌊the woman was made from man’s rib⌋ a man will leave his father and mother
a man will leave his father and mother: There are several ways to translate this clause:
• As an indirect command. For example:
So a man should leave his father and mother…
• As a general statement about what usually happens:
This is why a man ⌊normally⌋ leaves his father and mother…
leave his father and mother: You can translate the phrase his father and mother as “his mother and ⌊his⌋ father” or “his parents”—whatever is natural in your language.
The phrase leave his father and mother can be translated “leave his parents’ house.” These words mean that a man’s primary relationship and duty is no longer with his parents, but with his wife. Your translation should not imply that a man should abandon or neglect his parents.
be united to his wife: He will form a close and permanent relationship with his wife. He will live with her and they will become a new family, a new household.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
and will be joined to his wife (NET Bible)
-or-
and he will live with his wife
5:31b
the two will become one flesh: The phrase the two will become one flesh means that the husband and wife will become like one person, or like one body. (Jesus uses this same figure in Matthew 19:4–6.) In God’s sight, it is like a husband and wife are no longer two separate people. It is like they are just one person.
Paul was making a very logical comparison: A husband should love his wife like Christ loves the church (5:25). That is, he should love her like he loves his own body (5:28). The church is part of Christ’s body (5:30), and since a husband and wife are one, (5:31), a wife is like part of the husband’s body.
one flesh: Here one flesh means “one person.” In the Greek, it is the same word the Berean Standard Bible translates as “body” in 5:29a. See flesh, Meaning 3 in the Glossary for more information.
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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