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 4:13:
Uma: “There isn’t anything that is hidden in his sight. Everything is plain and clear/exposed to him. It is to him that we must admit/confess our behavior.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “There is nothing whatsoever that one can hide from God because all that he created is open/visible in his sight. And in the future all of us (incl.) have to face him confessing/saying-the-truth about all we (incl.) have done.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “As for God, nobody can hide from Him. He can always see anything that we are doing, and if there is anything we are doing, He is the one to check up on us.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Even whatever creature, it is not able-to-hide-from God. It’s as if they are all naked in his sight, because he knows absolutely-everything about them. And he is the one to-whom-we -answer/will-answer for all that we have done and thought.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “There is really nothing that can be hidden from God. All things are clear in his sight, and he is the one to whom we will all answer for everything that we have done.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “And now, concerning whatever word is in our thoughts, there is not a word which we can hide from God, thinking that he doesn’t know what our thoughts are. Because there is nothing of our thoughts closed to him, God knows all that we think. And it is God we will submit to for judgment concerning how we have walked.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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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 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-mae (御前) or “before (God)” in the referenced verses. In some cases in can also be used in reference to being before a king, such as in 1 Samuel 16:16.
This verse is divided into three unequal parts. The first two, beginning There is nothing and everything, balance one another. The subject being discussed is no longer the word of God, as in verse 12, but God himself. It may be more natural in translation to put the positive statement, beginning everything, first. The contrast between these first two parts of the verse is indicated in Greek by a “but” which, like the “and” at the beginning of the verse, is omitted in most modern translations.
In place of the so-called anticipatory expletive There followed by the real subject appearing in the predicate of the clause, is nothing…, most languages employ some such expression as “nothing can be hidden from God,” “nothing exists which people can hide from God,” “… can keep God from seeing,” or “… can keep God from knowing about.”
Nothing is literally “no creature,” that is, nothing which God has made. Good News Translation transfers the idea of “creature” (Revised Standard Version) to the second part.
From God could grammatically be “from it” (that is, “God’s word”), and his eyes could be “its eye,” but the context makes this practically impossible.
Everything in all creation is literally “all things.” Good News Translation keeps the weightier expression until last by expressing the idea of “creature, created thing” (so Revised Standard Version) in the second part instead of in the first.
Exposed and lies open is literally “naked and exposed.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, like King James Version, avoids speaking of God’s eyes, and therefore translates “open to (his) view.” It may be awkward in some languages to speak of everything “exposed and lying open before God’s eyes.” A more natural expression may be “he sees everything in all creation just as it really is.”
The third part of the sentence, beginning And it is to him, may mean (a) “with whom we have to do,” as in King James Version, Revised Standard Version, Phillips; (b) “to whom we must give account,” “with whom we have to reckon” (New English Bible); (c) “of whom we speak” (Zürcher Bibel); or (d) “before whom we speak.” Meaning (c) would be a very weak ending to such an emphatic sentence. Meaning (b) may fit the context best, in which case judges in verse 12 could refer to the final judgment. However, since both present and future aspects of judgment are probably included, the more general rendering of New English Bible is probably best.
It would be possible to render And it is to him that we must all give an account of ourselves as “And he is the one who will judge us.” But this seems to be inadequate, for the Greek text focuses upon some kind of “reckoning.” The interpretation followed in Good News Translation may be rendered in some languages as “we must explain to God all that we have done,” “we must justify to God what we have done,” or “God is the one to whom we must defend the reasons for what we have done.”
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 4:12 the author said that God’s word is like a sword which cuts people open and shows what they are like inside. In 4:13 the author indicates that God sees every person and everything that he created, and he knows all about them. No one can hide anything from him, and everyone must give an account to him for what they do.
The statements in 4:13a and 4:13b are parallel, and 4:13b repeats the idea of 4:13a. The parallel parts are indicated here by underlining or bolding:
13a And before himno creature is hidden
13b but all are naked and laid bareto the eyes of the one
13c to whom we must render an account.
In some languages it is more natural to combine these statements. For example:
13a–b No one can hide anything from God, and he is the one 13c to whom we must give an account.
4:13a
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight: The word hidden refers here to something that is not able to be seen or known. The clause indicates that God can see everything and everyone that he created. Nothing can be hidden from God so that he does not see it.
Some other ways to translate the statement are:
No creature can hide from God (God’s Word) -or-
There is really nothing that can be hidden from God. -or-
God can see every one of his creatures, and none of them is hidden from him.
creation: The word creation refers to anything that God created. God created everything.
4:13b
everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes: The words uncovered and exposed mean “uncovered, bare,” and they are used in a figurative way here. It indicates that God knows everything about every creature, just as people can see the whole body of a naked person. Even if a person tries to hide something about himself from God, God will still see it clearly. He will know all about it.
Some other ways to translate this meaning are:
everything is uncovered…for him to see (God’s Word) -or-
whatever creature, it is as if they are all naked in his sight
exposed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as exposed occurs only here in the Bible. It probably refers to the custom of exposing the neck of a person or animal in order to cut his throat and kill him. Here the word is used as a figure of speech. It indicates that everything (and every person) is completely known to God, and God has power over each one.
Some other ways to translate this figure of speech are:
exposed/clear -or-
there is nothing of our thoughts closed to him -or-
He can always see anything that we are doing/thinking
4:13c
of Him to whom we must give account: The phrase of Him to whom we must give account refers to God. It indicates that God is the judge of what people do and think throughout their lives. He is the one to whom we will explain the way we have lived.
Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
And he is the one to whom we will answer for all that we have done and thought. -or-
It is to him that we must admit/confess our behavior. -or-
This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done. (New Living Translation (2004))
give account: The phrase give account means “give an answer for our actions” or “say why we have done what we have done.” See the preceding note for translation examples.
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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