complete verse (Hebrews 10:32)

Following are a number of back-translations of Hebrews 10:32:

  • Uma: “Remember, relatives, the time when you got the light. At that time, many sufferings hit you because of your following the Lord. But even so, you did not retreat, you remained following him.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Remember as to how you were formerly. At that time you had only recently known the true teaching which you believed (and) you endured all kinds of difficulties. But your trust/faith did not move.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Consider the long time ago when you were first illuminated by the true doctrine which you believed in. There were very many hard trials that you had to go through; however, you endured them and they were not able to remove your faith.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Remember the way you were back then when your minds were illuminated, because even though you were greatly hardshipped, you nonetheless endured it and you were not defeated.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Consider again the past, when you were newly enlightened about this truth. Did you not hold fast even though you were-being-severely-hardshipped by many difficulties?” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Remember the past days when it was just a little while you had believed the word. Overflowingly you suffered because people warred with you. Yet your were strengthened to endure what all the people did to you.” (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 Hebrews 10:32

Revised Standard Version‘s “But” marks the contrast between warning (verses 26-31) and encouragement. The imperative Remember suggests that the readers are being asked to make some effort to recall earlier times. Many translations have “recall” ( Revised Standard Version) or some equivalent; Barclay says “Cast your minds back.” The closest equivalent of Remember in this type of context may be simply “think about.” But how it was with you may be “what happened to you.” “Former” (Revised Standard Version) simply means “earlier than the present,” hence in the past. In the past may be expressed as “before” or “before now.”

In those days is added in Good News Translation to link the two sentences; it is literally “in which,” implying “days.” A literal rendering of In those days may be too specific; “Then” or “At that time” may be better.

After God’s light had shone on you translates a single word for “having been enlightened.” The passive indicates the action of God, and “enlightened” (Revised Standard Version) refers here, as in 6.4, to a single act, probably becoming a Christian and being baptized. The writer certainly does not mean that the readers were “enlightened” in the past but are now in “darkness.” The meaning in nonfigurative terms is “when you first became Christians,” “when you first came to understand the Good News,” or “when you first believed the Good News.”

The meaning of the last part of the verse is very compressed. Good News Translation uses eleven English words to translate four Greek ones, which are literally “you-endured much struggle of-sufferings.” The picture is that of an athlete engaged in some kind of hard competition, perhaps a race (compare 12.1), or possibly a wrestling match. Who the other competitors are is not stated; the main idea is that of struggle and hardship. This struggle is made necessary by what the readers suffered. Yet despite their suffering, the readers had not given up the struggle or abandoned their faith. You suffered many things may be translated “you suffered much.”

Not defeated expresses negatively what the Greek, followed by Revised Standard Version, states positively by “endured.” The meaning is not simply that the readers suffered without complaint, but as Good News Translation makes clear, that they still survived as Christians when the sufferings had done their worst. 12.4 states that martyrdom had not been involved, so suffered here does not mean “died,” as it does for example in 2.18.

Yet were not defeated by the struggle may be expressed as “but the struggle did not defeat you,” “but even though you struggled, you did not give up,” or “… you continued strong.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .