7In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as a form of “save” in English is translated in Shipibo-Conibo with a phrase that means literally “make to live,” which combines the meaning of “to rescue” and “to deliver from danger,” but also the concept of “to heal” or “restore to health.”
In San Blas Kuna it is rendered as “help the heart,” in Laka, it is “take by the hand” in the meaning of “rescue” or “deliver,” in Huautla Mazatec the back-translation of the employed term is “lift out on behalf of,” in Anuak, it is “have life because of,” in Central Mazahua “be healed in the heart,” in Baoulé “save one’s head” (meaning to rescue a person in the fullest sense), in Guerrero Amuzgo “come out well,” in Northwestern Dinka “be helped as to his breath” (or “life”) (source: Bratcher / Nida), in Matumbi as “rescue (from danger)” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext), and in Noongarbarrang-ngandabat or “hold life” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
Following are a number of back-translations of Hebrews 5:7:
Uma: “When Yesus lived on this earth, he cried-out weeping, petitioning and uttering his request(s) to God. He knew that God was powerful to release him from death, but he did not follow his own will/desire, he submitted to the will/desire of God. That’s why God heard his request.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When Isa was here in this world he wept and prayed loudly and begged/implored God, because only God could save him from death. He was heard by God because his liver was lowly and he really followed/obeyed God’s commandments.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when Jesus was still here on the earth, His tears flowed and He wailed because of His strong begging and praying to God, who was able to save Him from death. And because His respect for God was great, and also His obedience to the commands of God, God heard His praying.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When Jesus was on this earth, he persisted in praying to God, crying and speaking in a loud voice (lit. making-strong his voice), because he knew that God was powerful to save him at his death. And God heard his prayer, because he humbled (lit. lowered) himself to obey what God wanted.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “As for this Jesus, when he was still here in the world, he was really calling out loudly in which tears were included in his prayers to God. For only God could save him from death. And his prayers really were answered because he really submitted-meekly/patiently to the will of God.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “When Christ lived here on earth, he prayed to God, strongly he called upon God, even crying. For God could save him so that he would not die. And God paid attention to him when he called upon him because overflowingly he honored God.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The Greek Iēsous is “only” a proper name but one with great importance. The following quote by John Ellington (in The Bible Translator1993, p. 401ff. ) illustrates this:
“In Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus Christ, Joseph is told that when Mary gives birth to a son ‘you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins’ (1:21). This name is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name [Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) which is a short form of a name meaning] ‘the Lord [Yahweh] saves.’ The name is very significant and is in itself especially dear to Christians around the world. (…) Unquestionably great importance is attached to the name of Jesus by Christians of all persuasions and backgrounds.”
While Iēsous (pronounced: /i.ɛː.suːs/) is transliterated as “Jesus” (pronounced /ˈdʒiːzəs/) in English (but was translated as “Hælend” [the “healing one”] in Old English — see Swain 2019) it is transliterated and pronounced in a large variety of other ways as well, following the different rules of different languages’ orthographies, writing systems and rules of pronunciation. The following is a (partial) list of forms of Jesus in Latin characters: aYeso, Azezi, Cecoc, Chesús, Chi̍i̍sū, Chisɔsi, Ciisahs, Ciise, Ciisusu, Djesu, Ɛisa, Ƹisa, Eyesu, Gesù, Gesû, Gesü, Ġesù, Ghjesù, Giêsu, ꞌGiê‑ꞌsu, Giê-xu, Gyisɛse, Hesu, Hesús, Hisus, Hisuw, Ià-sŭ, Iesen, Ié:sos, Iesu, Iesui, Iesusɨn, Iesusiva, Ié:sos, Ihu, Iisus, Iisussa, Ijeesu, iJisọsị, Iji̍sɔ̄ɔsi, Iosa, Íosa, Ìosa, İsa, I’sa, Isiso, Isõs, Ísu, Isus, Isusa, Iisussa, Isuthi, Itota, Îtu, Isuva, Izesu, Izesuq, Jasus, Jeeju, Jeesus, Jeesuse, Jeezas, Jehu, Jeisu, Jeju, Jejus, Jeso, Jesoe, Jesosa, Jesoshi, Jesosy, Jesu, Jesû, Jesua, Jesuh, Jesuhs, Jesuo, Jesús, Jésus, Jesúsu, Jethu, Jezed, Jezi, Jézi, Ježiš, Jezu, Jezus, Jézus, Jėzus, Jēzus, Jezusi, Jėzus, Jezuz, Jiijajju, Jíísas, Jiizas, Jíìzọ̀s, Jisas, Jisase, Jisasi, Jisasɨ, Jisaso, Jisesi, Jisɛ̀, Jisos, Jisọs, Jisɔs, Jisu, Jiszs, Jizọs, Jizɔs, Jizọsi, Jizọsu, Jòso, Jusu, Jweesus, Ketsutsi, Njises, Sesi, Sisa, Sísa, Sisas, Sīsū, Sizi, Txesusu, uJesu, Ujísɔ̄si, ŵaYesu, Xesosi, ´Xesús, Xesús, Yasu, Ya:su, Ɣaysa, Yecu, Yeeb Sub, Yeeh Suh, Yeesey, Yeeso, Yeesso, Yēēsu, Yēēsu, Yehsu, Yëësu, Yeisu, Yeisuw, Yeshu, Yeso, Yesò, Yëso, Yɛso, ye-su, Yésu, Yêsu, Yẹ́sụ̃, Yésʉs, Yeswa, Yet Sut, Yetut, Yexus, Yezo, Yezu, Yiesu, Yiisa, Yiisu, Yiitju, Yis, Yisɔs, Yisufa, Yitati, Yusu, ‑Yusu, :Yusu’, Zeezi, Zezi, Zezì, Zezwii, Ziizɛ, Zisas, Zîsɛ, Zjezus, Zozi, Zozii, and this (much more incomplete) list with other writings systems: ᔩᓱᓯ, ᒋᓴᔅ, Հիսուս, ᏥᏌ, ኢየሱስ, ያሱስ, ܝܫܘܥ, Ісус, Їисъ, 耶稣, იესო, ईसा, イエス, イイスス, イエスス, 예수, येशू, येशो, ਈਸਾ, ພຣະເຢຊູ, ජේසුස්, যীশু, ଯୀଶୁ, ཡེ་ཤུ་, ‘ঈছা, இயேசு, ಯೇಸು, ພຣະເຢຊູ, ယေရှု, ઇસુ, जेजू, येसु, เยซู, យេស៊ូ, ᱡᱤᱥᱩ, ယေသှု, యేసు, ᤕᤧᤛᤢ᤺ᤴ, އީސާގެފާނު, ਯਿਸੂ, ꕉꖷ ꔤꕢ ꕞ, ⵏ⵿ⵗⵢⵙⴰ, ଜୀସୁ, يَسُوعَ,ㄧㄝㄙㄨ, YE-SU, ꓬꓰ꓿ꓢꓴ, 𖽃𖽡𖾐𖼺𖽹𖾏𖼽𖽔𖾏, ꑳꌠ, ᠶᠡᠰᠦᠰ (note that some of these might not display correctly if your device does not have the correct fonts installed).
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In some languages the different confessions have selected different transliterations, such as in Belarusian with Isus (Ісус) by the Orthodox and Protestant churches and Yezus (Езус) by the Catholic church, Bulgarian with Iisus (Иисус) by the Orthodox and Isus (Исус) by the Protestant church, Japanese with Iesu (イエス) (Protestant and Catholic) and Iisusu (イイスス) (Orthodox), or Lingala with Yesu (Protestant) or Yezu (Catholic). These differences have come to the forefront especially during the work on interconfessional translations such as one in Lingala where “many hours were spent on a single letter difference” (source: Ellington, p. 401).
In Literary and Mandarin Chinese where transliterations of proper names between the Catholic and Protestant versions typically differ vastly, the Chinese name of Jesus (Yēsū 耶稣) remarkably was never brought into question between and by those two confessions, likely due to its ingenious choice. (Click or tap here to see more).
The proper name of God in the Old Testament, Yahweh (YHWH), is rendered in most Chinese Bible translations as Yēhéhuá 耶和華 — Jehovah. According to Chinese naming conventions, Yēhéhuá could be interpreted as Yē Héhuá, in which Yē would be the family name and Héhuá — “harmonic and radiant” — the given name. In the same manner, Yē 耶 would be the family name of Jesus and Sū 稣 would be his given name. Because in China the children inherit the family name from the father, the sonship of Jesus to God the Father, Jehovah, would be illustrated through this. Though this line of argumentation sounds theologically unsound, it is indeed used effectively in the Chinese church (see Wright 1953, p. 298).
Moreover, the “given name” of Sū 稣 carries the meaning ‘to revive, to rise again’ and seems to point to the resurrected Jesus. (Source: J. Zetzsche in Malek 2002, p. 141ff., see also tetragrammaton (YHWH))
There are different ways that Bible translators have chosen historically and today in how to translate the name of Jesus in predominantly Muslim areas: with a form of the Arabic Isa (عيسى) (which is used for “Jesus” in the Qur’an), the Greek Iēsous, or, like major 20th century Bible translations into Standard Arabic, the Aramaic Yēšūaʿ: Yasua (يَسُوعَ). (Click or tap here to see more.)
Following are languages and language groups that use a form of Isa include the following (note that this list is not complete):
In Indonesian, while most Bible translations had already used Yesus Kristus rather than Isa al Masih, three public holidays used to be described using the term Isa Al Masih. From 2024 on the government is using Yesus Kristus in those holiday names instead (see this article in Christianity Today ).
Some languages have additional “TAZI” editions (TAZI stands for “Tawrat, Anbiya, Zabur, and Injil” the “Torah, Prophets, Psalms and Gospel”) of the New Testament that are geared towards Muslim readers where there is also a translation in the same language for non-Muslims. In those editions, Isa is typically used as well (for example, the Khmer TAZI edition uses Isa (អ៊ីសា) rather than the commonly used Yesaou (យេស៊ូ), the Thai edition uses Isa (อีซา) rather than Yesu (เยซู), the Chinese edition uses Ěrsā (尔撒) vs. Yēsū (耶稣), and the English edition also has Isa rather than Jesus.)
In German the name Jesus (pronounced: /ˈjeːzʊs/) is distinguished by its grammatical forms. Into the 20th century the grammatical rules prescribed a unique Greek-Latin declination: Jesus (nominative), Jesu (genitive, dative, vocative), Jesum (accusative), from which today only the genitive case “Jesu” is still in active use. Likewise, in Seediq (Taroko), the morphological treatment of “Jesus” also occupies a special category by not falling under the normal rule of experiencing a vowel reduction when the object-specific suffix an is added “since it was felt that the readers might resent that the name has been changed that drastically.” (Compare Msian for “Moses” (Mosi) as an object, but Yisuan for “Jesus” (Yisu).) (Source: Covell 1998. p. 249)
In Lamba the name ŵaYesu consists of a transliteration Yesu and the prefix ŵa, a plural form for “proper names when addressing and referring to persons in any position of seniority or honor.” While this was avoided in early translations to avoid possible misunderstandings of more than one Jesus, once the church was established it was felt that it was both “safe” and respectful to use the honorific (pl.) prefix. (Source C. M. Doke in The Bible Translator 1958, p. 57ff. )
In virtually all sign languages, “Jesus” is signed with the middle finger of each hand pointing to the palm (or wrist) of the other in succession (signing the nails of the cross). In the context of Bible translation this has been pointed out as theologically problematic since the “semantic connections of the original name Jesus do point towards ‘salvation,’ they do not naturally lead to crucifixion.” (Source: Phil King in Journal of Translation 1 (2020), p. 33ff.)
Following is the oldest remaining Ethiopian Orthodox icon of Jesus from the 14th or possibly 13th century (found in the Church of the Saviour of the World in Gurji, Ethiopia). As in many Orthodox icons, Jesus’ right hand forms the Greek letters I-C-X-C for IHCOYCXPICTOC or “Jesus Christ.” Another interpretation of the right hand is that it shows three fingers pointing to the Trinity, while the two other fingers point to Jesus’ two natures.
Orthodox icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
The style of the following drawing of Jesus by Annie Vallotton is described by the artist as this: “By using few lines the readers fill in the outlines with their imagination and freedom. That is when the drawings begin to communicate.” (see here )
Illustration by Annie Vallotton, copyright by Donald and Patricia Griggs of Griggs Educational Service.
Jesus also has the first qualification for being a high priest, the qualification mentioned in verses 2-3. As already stated in 2.10; 4.15, he has learned through his own suffering how to understand the suffering of others.
In his life on earth may be expressed as “While Jesus was living on earth” or “While Jesus was here in the world.”
Jesus and God (twice) are not in the Greek, but are clearly implied.
Prayers and requests are similar in meaning; both imply asking God for something, whether for oneself (petition) or for someone else (intercession). The context suggests petition, especially the prayer of Jesus for himself at Gethsemane (Mark 14.32-42). In some languages it may not be possible to distinguish clearly between prayers and requests, especially since in both instances verbs may be employed rather than nouns. Therefore it may be best to translate made his prayers and requests as “prayed earnestly for,” or as expressed idiomatically in some languages, “spoke to God with his heart open” or “spoke to God from his very insides.”
Loud cries does not mean “crying” in the sense of “weeping” but “crying out, shouting.” The language is similar to that of Matthew 26.37 and Luke 22.44. With loud cries and tears to God may be expressed as “he shouted out to God and cried” or “he spoke loudly to God and at the same time wept.” It is important to relate the phrase to God as an aspect of the crying out or shouting rather than to the tears.
Save him, as the following words from death show, means “rescue him.” This is a meaning of “salvation” which was noted in 1.14; see also the comment on salvation in 5.9.
Save him from death may mean either (a) prevent him from dying (as in Psa 33.19) or (b) save him, although he had already died (as in Hos 13.14). Meaning (a) fits the situation of Gethsemane better; meaning (b) would reflect belief in the resurrection, which is not emphasized in Hebrews (though see 13.20-21). Meaning (a) should probably be chosen in languages which would naturally express (a) and (b) differently, but the author may have had both ideas in mind. In keeping with the meaning of “preventing him from dying,” one may render save him from death as “cause people not to kill him,” “to prevent people from causing his death,” or even “to rescue him so that he would not have to die.”
The single Greek word which Revised Standard Version translates “godly fear,” and Good News TranslationBecause he was humble and devoted, may mean either (a) “fear” (in the common sense of “alarm”) or (b) “piety, reverence,” as “fear of God” in church language. In this verse, meaning (a) would be that God listened to Jesus’ prayer as a result of the fear of death which it expressed, or that Jesus’ fear of death was the reason why God listened to his prayer; meaning (b) would be that God listened to Jesus because of the trustful and obedient spirit in which he prayed Yet not what I want, but what you want (Mark 14.36). Good News Translation like most translations and commentaries, follows meaning (b) with its humble and devoted; similarly Bijbel in Gewone Taal “humble submission to God,” Phillips “willingness to obey,” Jerusalem Bible “he submitted so humbly,” and New English Bible “humble submission.”
The Greek word which Revised Standard Version translates “for” may mean either “because of” or “out of.” The first meaning is more likely, especially if the words which follow “for” are understood as “fear of God,” not “fear of death.”
God heard him is literally “he was heard.” “Hear” in biblical Greek often implies “listen and respond to.” In some languages “I hear you” is a polite way of expressing disagreement; any such suggestion must be carefully avoided in translating this verse. Since the phrase God heard him implies far more than merely “listening,” it may be clearer to render God heard him as “God answered him,” “God responded to him,” or “God paid attention to what he said.”
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 .
The verses in 5:7–10 are parallel to 5:1–3 in the chiasm of 5:1–10. In Greek these verses continue the long sentence that began in 5:5. The sentence continues until the end of 5:10. Most versions divide these verses into shorter sentences. Connect the clauses in a natural way in your language.
These verses describe a time or times in Jesus’ life when he prayed with great distress. Many scholars believe that the author referred to Christ’s prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane before he was arrested and killed. Other scholars point out that there are also many other times in Jesus’ life when he prayed in distress. God heard Jesus during all those times.
5:7a
During the days of Jesus’ earthly life: The phrase During the days of Jesus’ earthly life refers to the time when Jesus lived as a mortal human being. He was a person with flesh and blood, like other people on earth. He knew that he would die.
Another way to translate During the days of Jesus’ earthly life is:
During his mortal life -or-
While he shared in human weakness
In some languages it may be helpful to translate earthly life as “life on earth,” as many English versions do. For example:
During his life on earth (God’s Word)
5:7b
He: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as He is a pronoun that is often translated as “who.” It refers back to “Christ” in 5:5 (5:5–10 is one long sentence in Greek), and some versions have the word “Christ” here.
Some versions supply the name “Jesus,” as in the New Revised Standard Version. Such versions may refer back to the phrase “Jesus, the Son of God” in 4:14. In some languages it may be helpful to refer to “Jesus Christ.” Refer to him here in a clear way in your language.
offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears: This phrase describes a time when Jesus prayed earnestly to God. The description has two emphatic phrases: offered up prayers and petitions and with loud cries and tears.
In some languages it is more natural to change the order of these phrases so that loud cries and tears comes first. For example:
he cried out weeping, petitioning, and uttering his requests -or-
his tears flowed and he wailed as he prayed and begged ⌊God⌋
offered up prayers and petitions: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as offered up can be used in a general way to mean “bring to.” It can also mean “bring an offering to” God. Here the author used it in a figurative way to mean that Christ’s prayers and supplications were like an offering to God. This figure of speech emphasizes that Jesus prayed earnestly.
In some languages it may be more natural to translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:
He prayed and pleaded (God’s Word)
prayers and petitions: Here the author used two words that have almost the same meaning. Repeating the meaning like this emphasizes it. It implies here that Jesus prayed very earnestly. In some languages it is more natural to emphasize the statement in some other way. For example:
he prayed fervently
The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as prayers means “urgent requests to God to meet certain needs.” The word petitions means “requests to God.” It occurs only here in the NT. Some ways to translate the two words are:
prayers and requests (Good News Translation) -or-
prayers and pleadings (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
begged God, praying earnestly
loud cries and tears: The Greek word that is translated as loud cries refers to “loud calls or shouts.” The word tears refers to water that comes from a person’s eyes in times of distress or strong feeling. Some other ways to translate the phrase loud cries and tears are:
His tears flowed and he wailed -or-
weeping and crying out loud
5:7c
to the One who could save Him from death: The phrase the One who could save Him from death refers to God. In the Greek text it is emphasized. Scholars interpret the phrase save Him from death in different ways. The three main views are:
(1) It means “save him from dying.”
(2) It means “save him out of death—to give him life again after he died.” (This happened at his resurrection.)
(3) It means “save him from the fear of death.”
Most English versions are ambiguous. God was able to save Jesus from death in every sense, because he can do anything. If you need to choose one of the interpretations, it is recommended that you choose either interpretation (1) or (2). Both interpretations are based on common uses of the Greek word that can be translated either as from or “out of.”
5:7d
and He was heard because of His reverence: The phrase because of His reverence gives the reason that Jesus was heard when he prayed to God. In some languages it is more natural for this reason to come before the result He was heard. For example:
He submitted humbly to the will/desire of God. That is why God heard his request. -or-
And because His respect for God was great, and also His obedience to the commands of God, God heard his praying.
He was heard: The phrase He was heard is passive. It implies that God heard Jesus’ prayer. It does not only indicate that he heard what Jesus said. It also implies that God listened and gave Jesus the help that he needed.
Some ways to translate the phrase are:
• Use a passive verb. For example:
And his prayers really were answered
• Use an active verb and supply God as the subject. For example:
God heard his praying
because of His reverence: The phrase because of His reverence indicates the reason why God heard Christ’s prayer. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as reverence refers to awe or fear of God that causes a person to obey God. It implies that because of Jesus’ respect for God, he submitted to God and obeyed him. This word occurs only here and in 12:28 in the NT, but it also occurs in other Greek writings.
Some other ways to translate this meaning are:
because he honored God by submitting to him -or-
because he humbled/lowered himself to obey what God wanted
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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