The Greek, Hebrew and Ge’ez that is typically translated as “eternity,” “forever,” or “forever and ever” in English are translated in Mairasi as “mashed out infinitely.” Lloyd Peckham explains: “Bark cloth required pounding. It got longer and wider as it got pounded. Similarly, life gets pounded or mashed to lengthen it into infinity. Tubers also get mashed into the standard way of serving the staple food, like the fufu of Uganda, or like poi of Hawaii. It spreads out into infinity.” (Source: Lloyd Peckham)
In Lisu the phrase “forever and ever” is translated as ꓕꓲꓽ ꓞꓲꓼ ꓕꓲ ꓑ — thi tsi thi pa, verbatim translated as “one – lifetime – one – world.” This construction follows a traditional four-couplet construct in oral Lisu poetry that is usually in the form ABAC or ABCB. (Source: Arrington 2020, p. 57f.)
In Makonde it is often translated as navyaka or “years and years.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
Following are a number of back-translations of John 8:35:
Uma: “As for a slave, it is not straight/certain his remaining in the house of his nobleman. But as for the nobleman’s own son, it is certain that he remains/lives in the house of his father.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “A slave of a person does not remain with that person. The one who remains with him is his child.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for the slave, it is possible that he be put out of the house where he lives, but the son of the owner of the house, he is not, by contrast, put out.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “As for a slave, he will not continually be counted in the family. But by-contrast the child of the house owner, he will be counted forever.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “As for a person who is just a slave, he really has no certainty that he will remain in the household of his master till forever. But as for the child/son of this master, he will remain without ending.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “He who lives in his boss’s house will not always be resident there. But a son of the boss remains resident in his house.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The Greek in the referenced verses that is typically translated as “age,” “(for)ever / eternity / eternal / permanent,” “of old / long ago” in English is translated in the German translation by Fridolin Stier (1989) consistenty as “world (or: “cosmic”) time” (Weltzeit).
Sarah Ruden (2021, p. lxii) explains the complexities of the translation of aiōn: “Trickiest of all [the words relating to time] is aion, most simply an ‘age’ or ‘era’ but sometimes denoting either the whole present world or the whole world to come. The same word can allude to all the limits of material existence (or to dangerous worldly distractions in particular), or to their absence in the eternal age to come. Looking forward, especially to ‘ages of ages’ (in the pattern of ‘King of Kings’), the meaning is ‘eternity.’”
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®).
The relation of this verse to the context is not at all clear. Some believe it is a parenthetical insertion, since the slave of verse 34 is quite different from the slave mentioned in this verse. New American Bible places it in curved brackets, indicating that it is a parenthetical statement. However, it is possible to see a relation between this verse and the total context. In verse 33 a discussion regarding the descendants of Abraham was initiated, and this recalls Genesis 21.10 (see Gal 4.30). Isaac remains a member of the household, while Ishmael, who was born of a slave woman, is driven out. The Jews claim to be the true sons of Abraham, while in fact they are the sons of sin, and so have lost their status as sons. In this brief parable, then, the Jews are spoken of as a slave, while Christ is referred to as the son, as elsewhere in John’s Gospel. By their rejection of the son, the Jews have lost their status in God’s household, but the son will remain there forever.
The verb belong to is literally “remains in,” the same verb discussed in verse 31.
In some languages it may not make sense to say A slave does not belong to a family. He has his own family, of course, but what is involved here is the household he serves. Therefore one may translate “A slave does not continue as a permanent member of a household” or “… may not necessarily continue as a member of a household.”
The final clause may then be translated “but a son is always a member of such a household.” In some languages, however, it is not possible to say “a son.” Such a person must be in a possessed relationship to someone. Therefore one may have to say “a man’s son always belongs to the father’s household” or “… the father’s family” or in some languages, “… his parents’ family.” There are, of course, certain problems involved in such expressions, particularly in matrilineal societies, where it would be necessary to speak of “a son belonging to his mother’s family.”
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 .
The Greek text connects this verse to the previous verse with a common conjunction that can be translated as “and” or “but.” Most English translations, including Berean Standard Bible, do not explicitly translate this conjunction. Connect these verse parts in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
Now (New International Version)
-or-
And (Contemporary English Version)
A slave is not a permanent member of the family: This refers to the fact that the slave is not a family member in the house where he works. He lives in the same house but is not related to the others and has no rights there. He has no permanent (lasting) place in that home, with that family. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
The slave does not remain in the house forever. (English Standard Version)
-or-
The slave is not a permanent part of the family.
A slave: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as slave refers to a person who is forced to work for someone else without pay. Use the same word that you used in 8:34b. The text here does not refer to one specific slave but to slaves in general. So it may be natural to say:
slaves (Contemporary English Version)
the family: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the family refers to a house as a home and those who live in that home. Slaves were considered to be members of that family as long as they lived and worked there. Once they left, they were no longer members of that household. They then became members of a different household. So it may be necessary to make this idea clearer. For example:
the home ⌊that he works in⌋
-or-
the household ⌊whom he serves⌋
8:35b
but: In the Greek there is no conjunction that connects 8:35a and 8:35b. The two statements stand in direct contrast, and some English translations like the Berean Standard Bible indicate this with a conjunction. Connect these two clauses in a way that is natural in your language.
a son belongs to it forever: This clause has been interpreted in two ways:
(1) It continues the metaphor and refers to the son of the master of the household. For example:
but a son belongs to the family forever (New Century Version)
(New International Version, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), God’s Word, New Century Version, English Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible Bible, Revised English Bible)
(2) It refers to Jesus as the Son of God. For example:
though the Son will always remain in the family (Contemporary English Version)
(Revised English Bible, King James Version, Contemporary English Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and most Bible scholars and translations. Jesus was still using a metaphor here. However, it is good to use words that also apply to Jesus, the Son of God, because he is the reality that the metaphor points to. For example:
the son belongs to it for ever (Revised English Bible)
-or-
the son remains forever (NET Bible Bible)
a son: In some languages you may not be able to talk about a son without saying whose son he is. If that is true in your language, here is another way to express this phrase:
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.