pride

The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin that is translated as “pride” in English is translated as “continually boasting” (Amganad Ifugao), “lifting oneself up” (Tzeltal), “answering haughtily” (Yucateco) (source: Bratcher / Nida), “unbent neck” (like llamas) (Kaqchikel) (source: Nida 1952, p. 151), or “praising oneself, saying: I am better” (Shipibo-Conibo) (source: Nida 1964, p. 237).

In the Hausa Common Language Bible it is idiomatically translated as girman kai or “bigness of head.” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Gal. 5:26)

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 writer and the readers of this letter).

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

complete verse (Galatians 5:26)

Following are a number of back-translations of Galatians 5:26:

  • Uma: “Let us not be proud [make our hearts high], let us not anger/upset each other [lit., make-hurt each other’s heart] or be envious of one another.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “We (incl.) ought not to be proud/conceited. Let’s not cause our (incl.) companion to be angry and let’s not be jealous of our (incl.) companion.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “We must not be puffed up; we must not fight with other people; we must not be jealous of our companions.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “We shouldn’t be proud (lit. cause-to-be-high our bodies), and neither should we challenge-one-another and envy-one another.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “We must no longer be conceited, provocative, and envious of one another.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “We can’t be arrogant now. We can’t be arguing. We can’t be envious of each other.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Galatians 5:26

This verse is closely connected with the previous one, as indicated by the absence of any connectives. One may understand this verse as expressing negatively in three points what Paul means by being controlled by the Spirit, but it is also possible to understand the Greek as one initial point, that is, being proud, manifested by being “irritated” and “jealous.”

It is very possible that Paul has in mind the Galatian situation, and is applying this concept of the Christian life to the actual state of affairs in the Galatian churches. A general application of this concept, however, without necessarily excluding the Galatian situation, is perhaps the best way to understand this verse.

The word translated proud is used only here in the whole New Testament; it can be literally rendered “vain-gloried.” In its use in secular literature, it is often associated with boastfulness and has the sense of “glorying in vain things” or “seeing value in things not really valuable.” Here it probably means either “conceited” (New English Bible, Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible) or “boastful” (New American Bible). The rendering “ambitious” (Phillips, Knox) is taken from a cognate word usually translated “vanity” or “excessive ambition.” Proud may often be rendered as “always saying how great we are,” or, as expressed idiomatically, “always saying, Look at me.”

The phrase translated irritate one another is also used only once in the New Testament. In accordance with its secular usage, it means either “to provoke” (Jerusalem Bible, Revised Standard Version) or “to challenge” (New English Bible, New American Bible). The meaning of the underlying Greek term may be expressed idiomatically in some instances as “always putting one’s self ahead of others.”

The phrase translated jealous of one another is also used only once in the New Testament, although its nominal form is used in many other places. It means “to be jealous” (New American Bible, New English Bible, Phillips) or “to be envious of one another” (Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, Knox).

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Galatians 5:26

5:26a

Let us not become conceited: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as conceited means “proud” or “boastful.” It is what people do when they think of themselves as better than others.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

We must not be proud (Good News Translation)
-or-
Let us not be arrogant/boastful
-or-
We must not become someone who always tells people how great he is

5:26b

provoking and envying one another: In Greek, this phrase is literally “provoking one another and envying one another.” The Berean Standard Bible has translated one another only once, and some other English versions do the same. For example:

provoke or envy each other (God’s Word)

In some languages it will also be natural to translate this phrase only once.

provoking…one another The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as provoking…one another refers to “irritating” and “annoying” fellow believers. It was used in Greek of someone challenging another person to a fight, and it can be translated that way. For example:

challenging one another (New American Standard Bible)

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

make trouble with each other (New Century Version)
-or-
let us not irritate each other

envying one another: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as envying refers to jealousy among believers. It is the verb form of the noun used in 5:21a. It refers to emotions that lead to attempts to destroy another person or his possessions because of feelings of envy.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

let us not be jealous of one another
-or-
we must not be envious of one another

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