complete verse (John 11:3)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 11:3:

  • Uma: “Those two sisters sent a person going to Yesus, to say to him: ‘Lord, your (sing.) friend whom you (sing.) love is sick.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “the two siblings sent word to Isa, they said, ‘Sir, your friend whom you love is sick.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The two women sent a message to Jesus saying, ‘Datu, your friend who is big in your breath is sick.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “That being so, Maria and Marta sent someone to go report to Jesus, ‘Sir, your (sing.) friend whom you (sing.) love is sick.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “therefore what his two sisters did was, they sent someone to go to Jesus, taking their word which said, ‘Lord/Chief, your friend whom you hold dear is sick.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “These two sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, ‘Lord, your dear friend is sick.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Japanese benefactives (goran)

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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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, goran (ご覧) or “see/behold/look” (itself a combination of “behold/see” [ran] and the honorific prefix go- — see behold / look / see (Japanese honorifics)) is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on John 11:3

The sisters sent Jesus a message is more literally “So the sisters sent to him, saying.” The participle “saying,” a Semitic way of introducing direct discourse, need not be translated. The word translated “so” by Revised Standard Version represents John’s favorite particle (oun), which also need not usually be translated by a given word. Good News Translation makes explicit the reference to Jesus in this verse, since the preceding two verses are focused on Lazarus, with a passing mention of the Lord in verse 2. Jerusalem Bible also makes explicit the reference to Jesus (“The sisters sent this message to Jesus”), and so does New American Bible (“The sisters sent word to Jesus to inform him”). The same is true of Phillips (“So the sisters sent word to Jesus”). In some languages the only way one can “send a message” is “send a person with a message” or “send a person to tell” or “send a messenger who is to say.”

The word translated Lord may merely be the equivalent of “Sir” (New English Bible). However, most commentators and translators take this word here to have the full Christian sense of Lord. Receptor languages tend to employ three different ways of expressing the Christian sense of Lord: (1) Some use a term which designates primarily “leader,” “ruler,” “one who commands,” or “chief.” (2) Others use a term which designates primarily a religious attitude toward, for example, “the one whom we worship” or “the one we reverence.” (3) Still other languages use an expression which indicates the majesty or glory of the person referred to, for example, “the glorious one,” “the wonderful one,” or “the one who has majesty.”

Your dear friend (Phillips, New English Bible “your friend”) is literally “he whom you love” (Jerusalem Bible “the man you love”), a descriptive phrase for speaking of a close friend. To translate literally, as many translators do, may connote something evil, and this danger should be guarded against. On the basis of this phrase, some have taken Lazarus to be the disciple whom Jesus loved (13.23; 19.26; 20.2; 21.7), but there is little ground for this conclusion. In some languages the closest equivalent to your dear friend is “your close friend,” “your cherished friend,” or “one who is truly your friend.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on John 11:3

11:3a

So the sisters sent word to Jesus: This clause returns to the main story after the background information in verse 2. The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So here introduces what the sisters did because Lazarus was very ill. In some translations this word may be left implied. For example

The sisters sent Jesus a message (Good News Translation)
-or-
The sisters sent a message to him (Revised English Bible)

the sisters: This phrase refers to Mary and Martha. You may identify them by name if that is natural in your language. For example:

Mary and Martha (New Century Version)

sent word: This phrase here probably indicates that the sisters informed Jesus about Lazarus’ illness by asking someone else to tell him. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

sent a message to Jesus (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
sent someone to tell Jesus (New Century Version)
-or-
sent a messenger to tell Jesus (God’s Word)

11:3b

Lord, the one You love is sick: This is the content of the message that the sisters sent to Jesus.

Lord: This word refers to Jesus. It literally means “master.” The sisters addressed Jesus with respect. They trusted and honored him as the Messiah. This is the same word that is used in 9:36a and 9:38a. See how you translated it there.

the one You love: This phrase refers to Lazarus. They indicate that Jesus was very fond of Lazarus and cared about his welfare. Lazarus was a close and dear friend. His sisters reminded Jesus about this in order to encourage him to come to see him. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

your friend (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
your dear friend (Good News Translation)

is sick: Lazarus had a serious and possibly fatal illness. Use the same or a similar expression to what you used in 11:1a.

General Comment on 11:3

In some languages it may be natural to use an indirect quotation here. For example:

The sisters sent a message to the Lord and told him that his good friend Lazarus was sick. Contemporary English Version

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