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.
Following are a number of back-translations of Hebrews 2:3:
Uma: “So, how much heavier the punishment of God on people who do not regard/pay-attention-to the news of goodness [salvation] that the Child of God delivered to us! For that news is better than the words delivered by angels long ago. So, if we do not pay attention to that goodness [salvation], we will certainly not be released from punishment! The Lord Yesus himself was the first to spread that news of goodness [salvation]. And people who heard that news from his very lips, they were the ones who recounted it to us, with the result that we know that it is true.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Therefore how shall we (dual) escape from God’s wrath if we (dual) disregard (lit. not do what) this great salvation? The Lord Isa, he is hep the first one to spread/make-known about this salvation, then those who heard him made sure to us (incl.) that this is true.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “In the same also, as for us (incl.) human beings, we also cannot avoid the punishment of God if we pay no attention to and we do not obey, that which was taught to us about the powerful setting us free from punishment. The first one who told about this was our Lord Jesus; and the people who heard Him, they’ve testified here to us that these things are true.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “If like that is what happened to those who didn’t obey what angels told, will we indeed (rhet. quest.) be able-to-escape punishment if we ignore the extremely-valuable salvation of people that the Lord Jesus spoke-of? Because the Lord Jesus was the first to tell concerning this salvation of ours, and the ones who heard him, they confirmed the truth of it to us.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well, if it’s like that, it’s certain we will not be able to run away if we still disregard this far-from ordinary salvation. The Lord Jesus was the first one to explain about this salvation and then, those who heard him, they have also testified about it to us.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Therefore now, how much greater will be the punishment we will meet up with if we do not pay attention to the good news which tells us how to save our souls? Because the Lord Jesus Christ himself told how our souls would be saved. Concerning the people who believed the word he spoke, they were assured that this word is true. Therefore they passed the word on to us.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “survive,” “escape,” “save,” or similar in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) in these verses with pulumuka, describing someone whose life was in danger but who has freed himself or herself. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.
In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.
In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:
referring to “God,” especially in Old Testament quotations,
meaning “master” or “owner,” especially in parables, etc.,
as a form of address (see for instance John 4:11: “Sir, you have no bucket”),
or, most often, referring to Jesus
In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.
Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”
When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).
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Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):
Iyansi: Mwol. Mwol is traditionally used for the “chief of a group of communities and villages” with legal, temporal, and spiritual authority (versus the “mfum [the term used in other Bantu languages] which is used for the chief of one community of people in one village”). Mwol is also used for twins who are “treated as special children, highly honored, and taken care of like kings and queens.” (Source: Kividi Kikama in Greed / Kruger, p. 396ff.)
Binumarien: Karaambaia: “fight-leader” (Source: Oates 1995, p. 255)
Warlpiri: Warlaljamarri (owner or possessor of something — for more information tap or click here)
We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.
New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.
Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )
Mairasi: Onggoao Nem (“Throated One” — “Leader,” “Elder”) or Enggavot Nan (“Above-One”) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Obolo: Okaan̄-ene (“Owner of person(s)”) (source: Enene Enene)
Lotha Naga: Opvui (“owner of house / field / cattle”) — since both “Lord” and YHWH are translated as Opvui there is an understanding that “Opvui Jesus is the same as the Opvui of the Old Testament”
Seediq: Tholang, loan word from Min Nan Chinese (the majority language in Taiwan) thâu-lâng (頭儂): “Master” (source: Covell 1998, p. 248)
Thai: phra’ phu pen cao (พระผู้เป็นเจ้า) (divine person who is lord) or ong(kh) cao nay (องค์เจ้านาย) (<divine classifier>-lord-boss) (source: Stephen Pattemore)
Arabic often uses different terms for adonai or kurios referring to God (al-rabb الرب) and kurios referring to Jesus (al-sayyid الـسـيـد). Al-rabb is also the term traditionally used in Arabic Christian-idiom translations for YHWH, and al-sayyid is an honorary term, similar to English “lord” or “sir” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
Tamil also uses different terms for adonai/kurios when referring to God and kurios when referring to Jesus. The former is Karttar கர்த்தர், a Sanskrit-derived term with the original meaning of “creator,” and the latter in Āṇṭavar ஆண்டவர், a Tamil term originally meaning “govern” or “reign” (source: Natarajan Subramani).
Burunge: Looimoo: “owner who owns everything” (in the Burunge Bible translation, this term is only used as a reference to Jesus and was originally used to refer to the traditional highest deity — source: Michael Endl in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 48)
Yagaria: Souve, originally “war lord” (source: Renck, p. 94)
Aguacateco: Ajcaw ske’j: “the one to whom we belong and who is above us” (source: Rita Peterson in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 49)
Konkomba: Tidindaan: “He who is the owner of the land and reigns over the people” (source: Lidorio 2007, p. 66)
Chichewa: AmbuyeAmbuye comes from the singular form Mbuye which is used to refer to: (1) someone who is a guardian or protector of someone or group of people — a grandparent who has founded a community or village; (2) someone who is a boss or master over a group of people or servants and has absolute control over them; (3) owner of something, be it a property, animals and people who are bound under his/her rule — for people this was mostly commonly used in the context of slaves and their owner. In short, Mbuye is someone who has some authorities over those who call him/her their “Mbuye.” Now, when the form Ambuye is used it will either be for honorific when used for singular or plural when referring to more than one person. When this term is used in reference to God, it is for respect to God as he is acknowledged as a guardian, protector, and ruler of everything. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation).
Hdi uses rveri (“lion”) as a title of respect and as such it regularly translates adon in the Old Testament. As an address, it’s most often with a possessive pronoun as in rvera ɗa (“my lion” = “my lord” or “sir”). So, for example, Genesis 15:2 (“O Lord God”) is Rvera ɗa Yawe (“My lion Yahweh”) or Ruth to Boaz in Ruth 2:13: “May I find your grace [lit. good-stomach] my lion.” This ties in nicely with the imagery of the Lord roaring like a lion (Hosea 11:10; Amos 3:8; Joel 3:16). Better still, this makes passages like Revelation 5:5 even richer when we read about rveri ma taba məndəra la Yuda, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”. In Revelation 19:16, Jesus is rveri ta ghəŋa rveriha “the lion above lions” (“lord of lords”). (Source: Drew Maust)
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient GreekSeptuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”
How … shall we escape…? refers to a real future event, that is, the last judgment, and so Barclay‘s “how can we escape…?” (compare Translator’s New Testament) is too weak.
How, then, shall we escape must be amplified in some instances to indicate from what one is to escape. Furthermore, the meaning of escape in this context is not that of “escaping from prison” or “getting out of confinement” but rather “avoidance.” Accordingly, How, then, shall we escape…? may be rendered as “How, then, can we possibly avoid being punished…?”
Such a great salvation: great is explicit in the text; Knox‘s “such a message of salvation” is weaker. Pay no attention to … salvation and also a … salvation are stylistically awkward, at least in English. “Pay no attention to the news of such great salvation” is smoother and is what the text means. Several translations make explicit the implied contrast between two “messages,” the law and the gospel: Knox “a message of salvation,” Barclay “a way to salvation,” and Translator’s New Testament “an offer of salvation.”
It may be necessary to make specific the relationship of persons to such a great salvation, that is to say, attention should not be paid to the fact of someone else being saved but to the possibility of the people themselves being saved. Therefore if we pay no attention to such a great salvation may be rendered “if we pay no attention to how God wants to save us in such a wonderful way.”
The Lord in this context must mean Jesus, since God is mentioned separately in verse 4. The Lord was a common title of God in the Old Testament, and the writer of Hebrews has previously shown no hesitation in applying to Jesus Old Testament texts which he believed called Jesus “Lord” and “God” (1.8, 10). However, the writer often uses the name “Jesus” without any title (2.9; 3.1; 6.20; 7.22; 10.19; 12.2, 24; 13.12), so the translator should not replace The Lord by “Jesus” in this passage. If there is any real danger of misunderstanding, “The Lord Jesus” may be used. The emphatic expression The Lord himself may be expressed as “It was the Lord who” or “It was indeed the Lord who.”
The Greek word for announced is usually used of speech rather than writing; King James Version has “spoken.”
The adverb first, though related to the verb announced, must in some languages be related to the subject, since the Lord was the first one to make such an announcement. Therefore The Lord himself first announced must be rendered as “The Lord was the first one to announce.” Otherwise a literal translation of The Lord himself first announced might mean that the first among many statements which the Lord made was a statement about salvation.
Again, the expression this salvation must be expressed in some instances as “this way in which God saves.”
Him after heard is implied, but Barclay‘s “those who actually heard it from his own lips” seems too strong. The context distinguishes between (a) those who heard Jesus directly, and (b) those who handed on the message to the writer and his readers. The two groups are distinguished but not sharply contrasted; both those who heard Jesus with their own ears, and those who heard the message indirectly, are said to “hear” (see Heb. 2.1).
Proved (Moffatt, Knox, Jerusalem Bible, Barclay “guaranteed”; Phillips, New English Bible, Translator’s New Testament “confirmed”): this verb corresponds to the adjective translated true in verse 2. It is important in selecting a rendering of proved to avoid any implication of “argument” or “reasoned discussion.” Here the meaning is “to demonstrate clearly,” and obviously this was by experience. Accordingly, proved to us that it is true may be rendered as “showed clearly to us that it is true” or “… to be trusted.”
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 .
Hebrews 2:3a–b is the second part of the conditional sentence which began at 2:2a. This second part of the sentence is a rhetorical question based on the condition. In some languages it is more natural to change the order of 2:3a and 2:3b. See the General Comment on 2:2–3 at the end of 2:3b for more information.
2:3a–b
how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?: In this clause the author compared the terrible results of neglecting God’s salvation with the results of disobeying the law in 2:2. If a person disobeyed the law, they were certainly punished. So also we certainly will be punished if we neglect God’s way of salvation. This clause is a rhetorical question that emphasizes that we will not escape punishment.
Some ways to translate the rhetorical question are:
• As a rhetorical question or a rhetorical question that includes a response. For example:
is it possible that we can escape being punished if we neglect such a great salvation? -or-
will we indeed escape punishment if we neglect God’s great salvation? ⌊No, we will surely be punished.⌋
• As an emphatic statement. For example:
So we also will surely be punished if we do not pay attention to God’s great salvation. -or-
We shall certainly not escape if we disregard this great salvation.
Translate this clause in a way that is natural in your language.
we: The pronoun we is inclusive and refers to the author and anyone who hears or reads this letter.
escape: In this context the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as escape means “to avoid.” It refers back to avoiding the “punishment” that was mentioned in 2:2, the penalty of being punished by God. In some languages you may need to make that clear here also. For example:
how shall we escape ⌊God’s punishment⌋ ? -or-
⌊ God⌋will certainly ⌊punish⌋ us
2:3b
if we neglect such a great salvation: This clause gives another condition that is connected to the question “how shall we escape?” This condition is different from the condition in 2:2, which referred to a fact about the past: Everyone who disobeyed the law was justly punished. Here in 2:3b, the condition is present or future. It refers to the possibility that we may ignore God’s great salvation.
Some other ways to translate this condition are:
if we disregard the great salvation -or-
on those of us who will not pay attention to this great salvation
we: The pronoun we refers to both the readers and the author, as it did in 2:1b.
neglect: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as neglect means “disregard, ignore.” The word is also used in Matthew 22:5 when people disregarded the invitation to a feast. See the translation examples in the preceding note.
such a great salvation: The phrase such a great salvation refers to the message about the great salvation that God has spoken of through his Son. The phrase indicates that this salvation is the greatest and most powerful salvation.
For more information, see the note on 1:14a–b, and see save, sense B, in Key Biblical Terms.
In some languages it is more natural to use a verb rather than the noun salvation in your translation. Some ways to translate using a verb are:
the powerful way that God now offers to save us -or-
this great way of being saved (Contemporary English Version)
salvation: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as salvation refers to being rescued from evil or danger. In this context it refers to being rescued from sin. It implies that the people who are saved will not be judged and condemned because of sins. They will be reconciled with God and his people. Some other ways to translate it here are:
deliverance -or-
freedom ⌊from sin/judgment⌋
See the preceding note for examples of using a verb to translate salvation.
General Comment on 2:2–3
Hebrews 2:2–3 is one long sentence. You may need to divide it into several different sentences. For example:
2 The message ⌊about the law⌋ which the angels brought could not be changed. Those who broke the law or who disobeyed it were justly punished. 3 So how can we escape ⌊being punished by God⌋ if we ignore ⌊the message about⌋ such a great salvation? -or-
2 Angels brought a message which could not be changed. God rightly punished those who broke the law or who disobeyed it. 3 So we also cannot escape if we pay no attention when God offers to save us so wonderfully.
In the Greek text the parts of 2:1–3 are arranged as a chiasm to emphasize the contrast between the message spoken by the Lord and the message received through angels. -or-
God verified what they said (God’s Word)
2:4b
through signs, wonders, various miracles: This phrase tells how God confirmed that the message was true. He caused the people who spoke the message to do signs, wonders, and miracles. These three words have similar meanings. They all refer to actions that are done by supernatural power.
The word signs implies that the actions have a meaning. The word wonders implies that people are amazed by the actions. The word miracles implies that the actions are done by supernatural power.
In some languages it is more natural to use verbs to describe the actions. In other languages it is more natural to use only one or two words to refer to them. You should translate the meaning in a natural way in your language. Some other ways to translate the phrase are:
he caused them to do amazing miracles to show that the message was true -or-
God helped them to do this work in that they did miracles before the people -or-
all kinds of miracles and wonders (Good News Translation)
These words also occur together in Acts 2:22; 2 Corinthians 12:12 and 2 Thessalonians 2:9. If you have translated these passages, see how you translated the words there. See also the notes on each word below. For more information, see miracle, sign, wonder, mighty work in Key Biblical Terms.
signs: The word signs refers to miracles that have a meaning. They show or prove something. Here the signs showed that Jesus’ message about God’s way of salvation was true.
wonders: The word wonders refers to amazing events or actions. It often occurs with the word “signs” to refer to actions that God causes his messengers to be able to perform.
various miracles: The Greek word for miracles is the plural of the noun “power.” It can refer to a miraculous act of healing or to another act which cannot be done by human power or knowledge. The word various means “many kinds.” Other ways to translate the phrase various miracles are:
many kinds of miracles (New Century Version) -or-
other powerful acts (God’s Word)
2:4c
and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will: The phrase and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will is another way by which God showed that the message of salvation was true. In some languages it may be helpful to translate 2:4c as a separate sentence. For example:
He also confirmed the message by causing the Holy Spirit to distribute special abilities. He did this just the way he wanted to do it.
gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will: Scholars differ over the exact meaning of this phrase. The most likely meaning is that when God gives his Holy Spirit to people, the Holy Spirit causes them to have the various powers and abilities that God wants them to have. Through using these abilities (gifts), his people show that the message of salvation is true.
Some ways to translate this meaning are:
and with other gifts from the Holy Spirit as he wanted (God’s Word) -or-
and he gave them other kinds of power from the Holy Spirit, just as he decided to give ⌊to each one⌋
Holy Spirit: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Holy Spirit refers to the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is God, together with God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit is “spirit” in the sense that he is a living being who does not have a physical body. He is “holy” in the sense that he is God and unique from every other being. He is perfect in every way and is completely pure and sinless.
Some ways to translate Holy Spirit are:
Spirit/Breath of God -or-
Holy/Sacred Spirit
Do not imply that the Holy Spirit is like the ghost of a dead person or that God has died.
according to His will: The phrase according to His will means “just as God wanted.” In some languages it is more natural to translate the phrase His will with a verb or clause. For instance:
just as he wanted (New Century Version) -or-
as he himself chose
See also the examples in the preceding note.
General Comment on 2:4a–c
In Greek this verse is the final part of a sentence that began in 2:2. Most English versions begin a new sentence here. Some ways to translate this verse are:
God himself confirmed their witness with signs and marvels and miracles of all kinds, and by distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the various ways he wills. (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
At the same time God added his witness to theirs by performing all kinds of miracles and wonders and by distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his will. (Good News Translation)
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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