The Greek that is translated in English as “brother” or “brother and sister” (in the sense of fellow believers), is translated with a specifically coined word in Kachin: “There are two terms for brother in Kachin. One is used to refer to a Christian brother. This term combines ‘older and younger brother.’ The other term is used specifically for addressing siblings. When one uses this term, one must specify if the older or younger person is involved. A parallel system exists for ‘sister’ as well. In [these verses], the term for ‘a Christian brother’ is used.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae)
In Matumbi is is translated as alongo aumini or “relative-believer.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
In Martu Wangka it is translated as “relative” (this is also the term that is used for “follower.”) (Source: Carl Gross)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is often translated as Mitchristen or “fellow Christians.”
The Greek that is often translated as “church” in English is translated into Avaric as imanl’urazul ahlu: “the community of believers” or “the believing people.”
Magomed-Kamil Gimbatov and Yakov Testelets (in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 434ff. ) talk about the genesis of this term (click or tap here to read more):
“The word ‘Church’ presents particular difficulties, as we might expect when we think that even many Christians do not understand it correctly. When people today say ‘church,’ they often mean a particular building, or an organization consisting chiefly of clergy (priests and monks). It is even harder to find a word or combination of words which adequately translates the meaning for people unfamiliar with Christianity. Surprisingly, the Greek word ekklesia, indicating in the classical language ‘an assembly of the people,’ ‘a gathering of citizens,’ has come into Avar and other Dagestani languages in the form kilisa. This, like the word qanch (‘cross’), is an ancient borrowing, presumably from the time before the arrival of Islam, when Dagestan came under the influence of neighboring Christian states. In modern usage, however, this word indicates a place of Christian worship. Thus it is completely inappropriate as a translation of its New Testament ancestor ekklesia.
“We were obliged to look at various words which are closer to the meaning of the Greek. Some of these words are dandel’i (‘meeting’), danderussin (‘assembly’), the Arabic-derived mazhlis (‘meeting, conference’), zhama’at (‘society, community’), ahlu (‘race, people, family, group of people united by a common goal or interest’, as in the Arabic phrase ahlu-l-kitab ‘people of the Book’ or ‘people of the Scriptures’), which describes both Jews and Christians, and ummat (‘people, tribe’). In Islamic theology the phrase ‘Mohammed’s ummat’ means the universal community of Muslims, the Muslim world, in the same way as the Christian world is known as ‘Isa’s ummat.’ None of these descriptions on their own, without explanation, can be used to translate the word ‘Church’ in the New Testament. Thus, after long consideration, we adopted the phrase imanl’urazul ahlu, meaning ‘the community of believers,’ ‘the believing people,’ This translation corresponds closely to New Testament teaching about the Church.
“It is interesting that the same word ahlu with the meaning ‘tribe, community’ has been used by translators for different reasons in the introduction to the Gospel of Luke in order to translate the expression in the original Greek pepleroforemenon en hemin pragmaton (πεπληροφορημένων ἐν ἡμῖν πραγμάτων), which the Russian Synodal translation renders ‘about the events well-known amongst us’ (Luke 1:1). The expression ‘amongst us’ cannot be translated literally into Avar, but has to be rendered ‘among our people’; and here the same term was used as for the word ‘church’, literally ‘among our tribe, community (ahlu).'”
In Kamo “church” is fang-balla (“owners of writing-people”) when referring to the church community and “house of writing-people” when referring to a church building. David Frank explains: “In Kamo culture, Christianity was associated with writing, so Christianity is called balla, which they say means ‘people who write.’ Christianity is balla, and Christians are called fang-balla, which means ‘owners of Christianity.’ That is the term that is used for the church, in the sense of people, rather than a building. In Philemon 1:1b-2a, Paul says he is writing ‘To our friend and fellow worker Philemon, and to the church (fang-balla ‘owners of Christianity) that meet in your house.’ The word fang “owner’ is very productive in the Kamo language. A disciple is an ‘owner of learning,’ an apostle is an ‘owner of sending,’ a believer is an ‘owner of truth,’ a hypocrite is an ‘owner of seeing eyes.’ The expression ‘house of writing-people’ is used in Matthew 16:18, which reads in Kamo, ‘And so I tell you Peter, you are a rock, and on top of this rock foundation I will build my house of writing-people, and never even death will not be able to overcome it.” (See also Peter – rock)
In Bacama there also is a differentiation between the building (vɨnə hiutə: “house of prayer”) and the community (ji-kottə: “followers”) (source: David Frank in this blog post ).
In 16th-century Classical Nahuatl, a transliteration from Spanish (Santa Yglesia or Santa Iglesia) is typically used rather than a translation, making the concept take on a personified meaning. Ottman (p. 169) explains: “The church building, or more precisely the church complex with its associated patio, has a Nahuatl name in common usage — generally teopan, something like ‘god-place,’ in contradistinction to teocalli, ‘god-house,’ applied to a prehispanic temple — but the abstract sense is always Santa Iglesia, a Spanish proper name like ‘Dios’ or ‘Santa María’, and like ‘Santa María’ often called ‘our mother.’ As a personified ‘mother,’ in the European tradition as well as in Nahuatl, She instructs Her children or chastises them; as Bride of Christ, She both longs for Her heavenly rest and bears witness to it, in the ‘always-already’ of eschatological time; as successor to the Synagogue, the blindfolded, broken-sceptred elder sister who accompanies Her in painting and sculpture, She represents the triumphant rule of truth. ‘The Church’ can mean the clerical hierarchy; it can also, or simultaneously, mean the assembly of the faithful. It dispenses grace to its members, living and dead, yet it is also enriched by them, living and dead, existing not only on earth but in purgatory and in heaven.”
In Lisu the building (“church”) is called “house of prayer” (source: Arrington 2020, p. 196) whereas in Highland Totonac the community is referred as “those who gather together” (source: Hermann Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. ), in Huehuetla Tepehua as “those who gather together who have confidence in Christ” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), in Uma as “Christian people” (source: Uma Back Translation), in Kankanaey as “the congregation of God’s people” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation), and in Tagbanwa as “you whom God separated-out as his people because of your being-united/tied-together with Jesus Christ” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).
In American Sign Language, “church” (as in the community of believers) is made up of the combination of the signs for “Jesus-into-heart” (signifying a believer), followed by the sign for “group.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Church” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
While British Sign Language also uses a sign that focuses on a group of people believing in Jesus (see here ), another sign that it uses combines the signs for “ringing the (church) bells” and a “group of people.” (Source: Anna Smith)
“Church” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Following are a number of back-translations of Hebrews 2:12:
Uma: “Yesus said to God like this: ‘I make-big your name to my relatives. In the meeting of your followers I sing praising you.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “He said to God, ‘I tell my siblings about what you have done and I praise you there in their gathering.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “There is a written word of His which says, ‘As for You, God, I will tell my brothers about You. I will sing praises to You in the midst of all who worship You.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Because he said to God, ‘I am telling about you (sing.) to my brothers. I am singing to praise you (sing.) in our (excl.) gathering.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “For what he caused-to-be-written in the past says, ‘I will really relate your (sing.) goodness to my siblings. In the presence of all the people worshipping you I will sing my praise of you (sing.).'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Jesus spoke to his Father the words which are written in the Holy Book which say: ‘There where the people are who are my siblings, there I will tell who you are. There where very many people gather together, there I will sing to you hymns,’ he said.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Translators of different languages have found different ways with what kind of formality God is addressed. The first example is from a language where God is always addressed distinctly formal whereas the second is one where the opposite choice was made.
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight
Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.
As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.
In these verses, in which humans address God, the informal, familiar pronoun is used that communicates closeness.
Voinov notes that “in the Tuvan Bible, God is only addressed with the informal pronoun. No exceptions. An interesting thing about this is that I’ve heard new Tuvan believers praying with the formal form to God until they are corrected by other Christians who tell them that God is close to us so we should address him with the informal pronoun. As a result, the informal pronoun is the only one that is used in praying to God among the Tuvan church.”
In Gbaya, “a superior, whether father, uncle, or older brother, mother, aunt, or older sister, president, governor, or chief, is never addressed in the singular unless the speaker intends a deliberate insult. When addressing the superior face to face, the second person plural pronoun ɛ́nɛ́ or ‘you (pl.)’ is used, similar to the French usage of vous.
Accordingly, the translators of the current version of the Gbaya Bible chose to use the plural ɛ́nɛ́ to address God. There are a few exceptions. In Psalms 86:8, 97:9, and 138:1, God is addressed alongside other “gods,” and here the third person pronoun o is used to avoid confusion about who is being addressed. In several New Testament passages (Matthew 21:23, 26:68, 27:40, Mark 11:28, Luke 20:2, 23:37, as well as in Jesus’ interaction with Pilate and Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well) the less courteous form for Jesus is used to indicate ignorance of his position or mocking (source Philip Noss).
In Dutch and Western Frisian translations, however, God is always addressed with the formal pronoun.
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-na (御名) or “name (of God)” in the referenced verses.
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
The writer begins a series of three quotations. He says: the writer thinks of the Old Testament words (Psa 22.22) as spoken by Jesus. Jesus remains the subject of the verb. To God is not in the Greek but is implied. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy weakens the meaning by translating “as scripture says.”
In order to indicate clearly that the following statement is a quotation from Scripture, it would be possible to translate He says to God as “He says to God by using words from the holy writings.” However, the reference system may itself be sufficient to indicate to readers that the words are a quotation.
A literal rendering of I will tell my brothers what you have done could be a reference only to Jesus’ own kin. It may therefore be necessary to translate “I will tell my followers what you have done.” Though the term brothers in a number of biblical contexts can be translated as “fellow believers,” such an expression would not be appropriate in this context.
The two halves of this quotation are parallel; see the discussion on parallelism in 1.7. In an Old Testament setting, my brothers … in their meeting means fellow members of the people of God (Israel) gathered for worship in the Temple. For the writer of Hebrews, it means Jesus’ followers gathered in worship.
Tell … what you have done is literally “proclaim your name,” which means “tell people what you are like,” for the “name” and the person are one (see comment on 1.4).
The Greek word for meeting became in New Testament times the common term for describing Christians meeting for worship, and only later became the specifically Christian word “church” (King James Version). I will praise you in their meeting may be expressed as “I will praise you when they gather for worship” or “when they gather to worship you, I will praise you.”
In some languages it is necessary to indicate praise by suggesting something of the content; for example, I will praise you may be expressed as “I will say how wonderful you are.” Sometimes even direct discourse is required; for example, I will praise you may be rendered as “I will say to them, ‘You are truly great.’ ”
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 .
In 2:12–13 the author of Hebrews quotes four statements from the OT. He indicates that these quotations were statements that Jesus said to God or about God. The quotations support what the author said about Jesus not being ashamed to call us his relatives (“brothers and sisters”). He is not ashamed to become human like us and suffer as a human being.
2:12
This verse is a quotation from Psalm 22:22. Psalm 22 is called a “messianic psalm” because it tells about the Messiah whom God promised to send to save people. The author of Hebrews quotes words that the Messiah spoke in the psalm. He indicates that Jesus spoke these words to God.
Verse 12 has two parallel poetic lines. In some languages it may be more natural to combine the two parts of the quotation into one sentence or to change the order of the parts. See the General Comment on 2:12a–b at the end of 2:12b for an example.
2:12a
He says: The words He says introduces another quotation from the OT. In the quotation, Jesus spoke to God. In many languages it may be helpful to begin a new sentence here and introduce the quotation in a fuller way. For example:
He says to God (Good News Translation) -or-
For he said to God (New Living Translation (2004))
I will proclaim Your name to My brothers: This statement is a quotation from Psalm 22. The author of Hebrews quotes it as a poetic way to say that Jesus will tell people about God. He will tell them about God’s character and about what he has done.
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
I will tell my people what you have done (Good News Translation) -or-
I will make your fame known to my brothers (Revised English Bible) -or-
Then, I will tell my fellow Israelites about you (New Century Version)
to My brothers: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to My brothers includes both male and female siblings here, as it usually does in the New Testament.
In this quotation Jesus referred to believers as his brothers to indicate that they are part of God’s family with him. They are God’s sons and daughters. The word brothers does not refer here to members of Jesus’ physical family while he was on earth.
2:12b
I will sing Your praises: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I will sing Your praises is more literally “I will sing praise/hymns to you.” It has a similar meaning to “I will proclaim your name” in 2:12a. It means that Jesus will sing praise to God.
Some other ways to translate the clause are:
I will praise you with songs/hymns.
Your: As in 2:12a, Your refers to God.
in the assembly: The phrase in the assembly is parallel to the phrase “to my brothers” in 2:12a. The word in means “among” or “in the presence of.” The word assembly refers to the group of God’s people who are meeting together. Some other ways to translate in the assembly are:
in their meeting (Good News Translation) -or-
among all your people (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
when they come together (Contemporary English Version)
assembly: The Greek word which the Berean Standard Bible translates as assembly refers to a group of people who are meeting together. In the New Testament the word is often translated as “church.” In the OT, which is quoted here, it was used for the whole Israelite community. See church, other uses in Key Biblical Terms.
General Comment on 2:12a–b
The two statements in 2:12 have similar (parallel) meanings. The parallel phrases are indicated here with underlining or italics (the order has been adjusted to match the Greek):
12a I will proclaim your nameto my brothers
12b in the assemblyI will sing your praises.
Notice that in Greek, the order of the similar phrases are reversed in 2:12b. This makes the phrase a chiasm, which emphasizes that Jesus claims us as his brothers and sisters. In some languages this order may not have that meaning, and it may be confusing. If that is true in your language, you may need to express this emphasis in a different way. For example, in some languages it may be more emphatic to begin the two clauses with this part of the meaning. For example:
To my brothers, I will declare your name. In the presence of the congregation, I will praise you.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.