This is a contemporary tempera/gouache on leather painting by an unknown Ethiopian artist. Source: Sacred Art Pilgrim website .
Following is a painting by Chen Yuandu 陳緣督 (1902–1967):
Housed in the Société des Auxiliaires des Missions Collection – Whitworth University.
Image taken from Chinese Christian Posters . For more information on the “Ars Sacra Pekinensis” school of art, see this article , for other artworks of that school in TIPs, see here.
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 2:31:
Noongar: “You have done this thing in front of all the people.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “that you prepared for all men.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “whom you have sent so that all mankind may see (him).” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “It is the savior You have given, who will be seen by all mankind.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “I have now actually (agreement particle) seen the one whom you (sing.) prepared in the sight of all people, the one whom you (sing.) sent to save them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “this which you have determined, which will be comprehended by all people.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Chichewa (interconfessional translation, 1999): “which you prepared that people of all tribes might see it.” (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 157)
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.
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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, sonae-rare-ru (備えられる) or “prepare” is used.
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®).
eidon hoi ophthalmoi mou ‘my eyes have seen.’ The expression is stronger than a simple ‘I have seen,’ cf. Job 19.27; 42.5.
to sōtērion sou ‘thy salvation,’ referring back to ton Christon kuriou ‘the anointed one of the Lord.’
sōtērion (also 3.6) ‘salvation,’ synonymous with sōtēria (1.69, 71, 77).
(V. 31) ho hētoimasas ‘which thou hast prepared’; cf. on 1.17. When used with God as a subject the verb often has the connotation of ‘to realize,’ cf. 1 Cor. 2.9.
kata prosōpon pantōn tōn laōn ‘before the face of all nations,’ i.e. “in full view of all the nations” (New English Bible), or “in the presence of” (Revised Standard Version), cf. Acts 3.13.
prosōpon ‘face,’ occurring in a variety of expressions.
The use of the plural laōn of a word which in the singular refers to Israel, shows that here Israel and all other nations are envisaged. The next verse refers to the nations and Israel separately.
(V. 32) phōs eis apokalupsin ethnōn ‘light for revelation to the Gentiles,’ best understood as an apposition to to sōtērion sou ‘thy salvation.’ As the genitive ethnōn cannot refer to the object or agent of the act of revelation, the phrase phōs eis apokalupsin ethnōn must be understood as an amplification of the Old Testament expression ‘a light to the nations’ (phōs ethnōn, Is. 42.6; 49.6; 51.4), occurring in prophecies about eschatological salvation similar to that under discussion. eis apokalupsin (not further qualified by agent or object) indicates the character or purpose of phōs ‘the light’; and ethnōn goes with the whole expression phōs eis apokalupsin. The phrase, lit. ‘a light-to-revelation of the peoples,’ may be rendered then: ‘a light that leads to (or: that brings; or: to be a) revelation for the peoples,’ or ‘a revealing light for the peoples.’
phōs ‘light’; here it serves as an explanation of what salvation means for the Gentiles.
apokalupsis ‘revelation,’ i.e. the act of revealing (not the contents of revelation).
kai doxan laou sou Israēl ‘and glory for thy people Israel.’ doxan is best understood as parallel with phōs and appositive to sōtērion. The Messianic salvation is ‘light and glory,’ a light that pierces through the darkness of the gentile world and reveals to them the true God, and glory for Israel, God’s people, for His salvation reveals His glory (Is. 40.5) and His glory means also glory for his people. The genitive laou ‘people’ refers to the persons to whom glory is given.
Translation:
Mine eyes have seen, or, ‘my own eyes have seen,’ ‘I have seen, with eyes of me myself’ (Kituba, similarly New English Bible, Ekari, Telugu, Kannada), ‘I myself have seen,’ ‘I really have seen.’ A literal rendering may prove an unacceptable pleonasm in the receptor language.
Thy salvation. That the possessive pronoun refers to the actor, or rather initiator, of the saving act is made clear by renderings like, ‘the salvation (that is/comes) from thee’ (Tagalog, East and Toraja-Sa’dan), ‘the salvation (that is) thy gift’ (Javanese, Balinese), ‘your saving (lit. giving-life-to) man’ (Tboli). Actually the phrase points to a future event, ‘your coming salvation,’ or, in a verbal clause, ‘that you are going to save (man),’ cf. also, “the deliverance which thou hast made ready” (New English Bible). Where it is impossible to say that such an event can be seen, it is defensible to substitute a reference to the saviour, e.g. ‘the saviour whom thou hast appointed’ (Kannada), ‘the saviour which you have prepared’ (Kituba).
(V. 31) In the presence of all peoples, or, ‘to be seen by all peoples,’ ‘as all peoples will witness,’ ‘so that all peoples will see it,’ or an equivalent idiomatic expression, e.g. ‘at the nose of all peoples’ (Ekari). All peoples. If the language uses distinctive terms for the speaker’s own people and other peoples, one may have to say ‘all men,’ ‘all on earth’ (Toraja-Sa’dan); cf. also on 1.17.
(V. 32) If a break-down into smaller units has to be made here, it may be introduced by, ‘This (salvation) is (or, means/brings/produces) ….’
A light for revelation to the Gentiles, preferably, ‘a light of revelation for the Gentiles’ (cf. An American Translation), or, mentioning the recipients first, ‘for the G. a revealing light’ (in which case the next line should be changed likewise, ‘and for thy people Isr. glory’). The necessity to describe the concept “revelation” (cf. on v. 26), and shift to a verbal clause may lead to, ‘a light that causes the G. to see/know,’ ‘a light that shines-upon the G.’ (Balinese), ‘a light for the G. to enlighten them’ (cf. Ekari). In such cases the verb often requires an object, cf. ‘bring all things to clarity’ (Sranan Tongo), “to show truth” (Phillips, similarly Bible en français courant), “to reveal your way” (Good News Translation).
The Gentiles, or, “the heathen” (An American Translation), ‘the outsiders’ (Ekari), ‘other (or, foreign) peoples/tribes,’ ‘people of foreign lands’ (Kannada), ‘non-Jews’ (Barrow Eskimo), ‘non-Israel.’ Where Muslim influence is strong there is a tendency to transliterate Arabic kāfir, a designation of the non-Muslim. This word, however, may have a connotation of strong contempt which makes it inappropriate for use in a verse like this, and/or it may be so specifically Muslim that it can only mean ‘one outside Islam,’ not one outside another religion, as, for instance, in Balinese and Toraja-Sa’dan, which prefer ‘other nations,’ and ‘people being-in-darkness’ (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight).
Glory to thy people Israel, or, ‘honour/praise (to be given) to thy people Isr..’ For thy people see on 1.68.
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.
hapan to plēthos autōn ‘the whole body of them,’ hence ‘they in a body,’ cf. An American Translation. For plēthos cf. on 1.10. autōn refers to those mentioned in 22.66.
anastan … ēgagon ‘after rising … they brought.’ anastan is in the neuter singular as it goes with plēthos, but ēgagon is in the plural as if anastantes preceded, because plēthos refers to a collective body.
ēgagon auton epi ton Pilaton ‘they brought him before Pilate.’ agō is here equivalent to apagō in 21.12 and 22.66.
Translation:
The whole company of them arose, or, ‘they all arose together (or, in a body),’ or more specifically, ‘the whole council/tribunal (cf. on 22.66) arose,’ i.e. from their seats, indicating the end of their deliberations, cf. “the Council rose” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation).
Brought him before, or, ‘had him (or, caused him to be) brought before.’ For the verb see on 12.11.
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.
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