Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Luke 2:8-20:
At night in the fields near Bethlehem,
some shepherds were guarding their sheep,
when suddenly an angel came down from the Lord,
and the glory of the Lord flashed all around.
The shepherds were shaken, but the angel encouraged them,
“Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you —
news that will bring happiness to all who hear.
Today a Savior was born for you in King David’s hometown.
This Savior is Christ the Lord, and you’ll recognize him —
he’s a newborn baby on a bed of hay.”
At that very moment a multitude of angels
descended from heaven, singing:
“Praise! Shout praises to God in heaven!
Peace to everyone who pleases God!”
After the angels had returned to heaven,
the shepherds said to each other,
“Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what this is all about.”
They wasted no time, and when they arrived,
Mary and Joseph were there —
and a newborn baby on a bed of hay.
The shepherds told the baby’s parents
what the angel had said about Jesus.
They and everyone else were surprised,
but Mary kept all this in mind
and never stopped wondering what it meant.
With praises to God flowing from their lips,
the shepherds returned to their sheep.
Everything had happened exactly as the angel had said.
The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.
In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.
In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:
referring to “God,” especially in Old Testament quotations,
meaning “master” or “owner,” especially in parables, etc.,
as a form of address (see for instance John 4:11: “Sir, you have no bucket”),
or, most often, referring to Jesus
In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.
Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”
When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).
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Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):
Iyansi: Mwol. Mwol is traditionally used for the “chief of a group of communities and villages” with legal, temporal, and spiritual authority (versus the “mfum [the term used in other Bantu languages] which is used for the chief of one community of people in one village”). Mwol is also used for twins who are “treated as special children, highly honored, and taken care of like kings and queens.” (Source: Kividi Kikama in Greed / Kruger, p. 396ff.)
Binumarien: Karaambaia: “fight-leader” (Source: Oates 1995, p. 255)
Warlpiri: Warlaljamarri (owner or possessor of something — for more information tap or click here)
We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.
New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.
Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )
Mairasi: Onggoao Nem (“Throated One” — “Leader,” “Elder”) or Enggavot Nan (“Above-One”) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Obolo: Okaan̄-ene (“Owner of person(s)”) (source: Enene Enene)
Lotha Naga: Opvui (“owner of house / field / cattle”) — since both “Lord” and YHWH are translated as Opvui there is an understanding that “Opvui Jesus is the same as the Opvui of the Old Testament”
Seediq: Tholang, loan word from Min Nan Chinese (the majority language in Taiwan) thâu-lâng (頭儂): “Master” (source: Covell 1998, p. 248)
Thai: phra’ phu pen cao (พระผู้เป็นเจ้า) (divine person who is lord) or ong(kh) cao nay (องค์เจ้านาย) (<divine classifier>-lord-boss) (source: Stephen Pattemore)
Arabic often uses different terms for adonai or kurios referring to God (al-rabb الرب) and kurios referring to Jesus (al-sayyid الـسـيـد). Al-rabb is also the term traditionally used in Arabic Christian-idiom translations for YHWH, and al-sayyid is an honorary term, similar to English “lord” or “sir” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
Tamil also uses different terms for adonai/kurios when referring to God and kurios when referring to Jesus. The former is Karttar கர்த்தர், a Sanskrit-derived term with the original meaning of “creator,” and the latter in Āṇṭavar ஆண்டவர், a Tamil term originally meaning “govern” or “reign” (source: Natarajan Subramani).
Burunge: Looimoo: “owner who owns everything” (in the Burunge Bible translation, this term is only used as a reference to Jesus and was originally used to refer to the traditional highest deity — source: Michael Endl in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 48)
Yagaria: Souve, originally “war lord” (source: Renck, p. 94)
Aguacateco: Ajcaw ske’j: “the one to whom we belong and who is above us” (source: Rita Peterson in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 49)
Konkomba: Tidindaan: “He who is the owner of the land and reigns over the people” (source: Lidorio 2007, p. 66)
Chichewa: AmbuyeAmbuye comes from the singular form Mbuye which is used to refer to: (1) someone who is a guardian or protector of someone or group of people — a grandparent who has founded a community or village; (2) someone who is a boss or master over a group of people or servants and has absolute control over them; (3) owner of something, be it a property, animals and people who are bound under his/her rule — for people this was mostly commonly used in the context of slaves and their owner. In short, Mbuye is someone who has some authorities over those who call him/her their “Mbuye.” Now, when the form Ambuye is used it will either be for honorific when used for singular or plural when referring to more than one person. When this term is used in reference to God, it is for respect to God as he is acknowledged as a guardian, protector, and ruler of everything. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation).
Hdi uses rveri (“lion”) as a title of respect and as such it regularly translates adon in the Old Testament. As an address, it’s most often with a possessive pronoun as in rvera ɗa (“my lion” = “my lord” or “sir”). So, for example, Genesis 15:2 (“O Lord God”) is Rvera ɗa Yawe (“My lion Yahweh”) or Ruth to Boaz in Ruth 2:13: “May I find your grace [lit. good-stomach] my lion.” This ties in nicely with the imagery of the Lord roaring like a lion (Hosea 11:10; Amos 3:8; Joel 3:16). Better still, this makes passages like Revelation 5:5 even richer when we read about rveri ma taba məndəra la Yuda, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”. In Revelation 19:16, Jesus is rveri ta ghəŋa rveriha “the lion above lions” (“lord of lords”). (Source: Drew Maust)
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient GreekSeptuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”
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®).
epestē autois ‘stood by them,’ denoting a movement towards the shepherds, hence “came upon them” (Translator’s New Testament), and implying a note of suddenness.
ephistēmi usually in present or aorist tense only, ‘to stand by,’ ‘to approach,’ ‘to appear,’ often of the appearing of divine beings in dreams and visions.
doxa kuriou perielampsen autous ‘the splendour of the Lord shone around them.’
doxa ‘brightness,’ ‘splendour,’ ‘magnificence,’ ‘honour’; here it appears visibly as a radiant light, cf. Zürcher Bibel, Lichtglanz. In the Septuagint doxa kuriou translates kavod yahwe(h), God’s visible presence, cf. e.g. Ex. 16.10; 24.16; 40.34f.
perilampō ‘to shine around someone.’
kai ephobēthēsan phobon megan lit. ‘and they feared (with) a great fear’; phobon megan is accusative of content (cf. on v. 8) and here has the function of an adverb of degree, cf. “greatly afraid” (Translator’s New Testament).
Translation:
For the Lord (also in vv. 15, 22ff, 26, 29, 39) see on 1.6 sub (c).
Appeared to them. The verb (in the original differing from the one used in 1.11) has also been rendered, ‘came and stood at the side (or, in the midst, or, in front) of’ (cf. Sranan Tongo, Kannada, Tboli).
The glory of the Lord shone around them, or more analytically, ‘shone-on them, it surrounded them’ (Kituba). Often the expression usually rendering glory clearly conveys the concept of ‘brightness,’ ‘radiance’; then it may be better to render the verb simply by ‘was around them,’ ‘enveloped/surrounded them,’ cf. ‘great the brightness … all around them’ (Tboli). Elsewhere the usual rendering does not go idiomatically with ‘to shine’; then it may be possible to say, ‘the radiance of the majesty … shone-on them all-around’ (Balinese), or to shift to a simile, e.g. ‘the greatness/majesty … was around (or, enveloped) them like a flame/radiance.’
They were filled with fear, or, ‘they became very afraid,’ refers to the effect of the two preceding events; hence a connective like, ‘therefore,’ ‘consequently,’ ‘so’ (cf. Javanese, Batak Toba).
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.
Just then This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Many English versions translate it that way. Some other versions translate it as “then” to show that this is the next thing that happened in the story. The Berean Standard Bible translates it as Just then to show that this next event happened suddenly. Other English versions do not translate this conjunction.
an angel of the Lord: Here the phrase an angel of the Lord refers to an angel whom God had sent. This same expression occurs in 1:11a.
angel: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as angel means “messenger.” It refers here to a spirit-being who serves God. God sent an angel to tell a message to these shepherds. Some ways to translate this term are:
• Use a descriptive word or phrase. For example:
messenger ⌊from God/heaven⌋ -or-
⌊good/holy⌋ spirit-being -or-
spirit-being servant of God
• Use a local term that fits the biblical meaning.
• In some areas the churches may use a borrowed term or a transliterated word for “angel.” If some people do not understand the right meaning from this word, you may need to indicate the meaning. For example:
an angelos messenger ⌊from God⌋ -or-
a sacred angelos spirit
Be sure that your term for “angel” is different from your terms for “prophet” and “apostle.” See angel, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.
stood before them: In this context, the Greek term that the Berean Standard Bible translates as stood before means that the angel appeared to the shepherds and that the shepherds had not seen him approaching. Many English versions, such as the New International Version, the English Standard Version, and the NET Bible, translated this as “appeared.” In some languages, a word such as “suddenly” or “unexpectedly” may help to express this idea. For example:
An angel from the Lord suddenly appeared to them. (God’s Word) -or-
They suddenly saw an angel whom God had sent to them.
before them: The Greek text indicates that the angel appeared to the shepherds, but it does not specify whether the angel appeared in front of the shepherds or beside them. If you say “appeared” in your translation, you may wish to say simply “to.”
2:9b
glory of the Lord: Here the word glory refers to the Lord’s “majesty” or “greatness.” This “majesty” or “greatness” appeared to the shepherds as brightness like the shining of a very bright light. It was not normal light, but a special type of light.
Some ways to translate the phrase glory of the Lord here are:
majesty/greatness of the Lord -or-
brightness of the Lord -or-
bright light from the Lord -or-
the light of the Lord
See also the word glory, sense A2, in Key Biblical Terms. See Lord, Context 2, in the Glossary.
shone around them: Some other ways to say shone around them are:
shined over/on them -or-
illuminated/illumined the place where they were -or-
filled the area with light (God’s Word)
2:9c
they were terrified: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they were terrified is literally “they feared a great fear.” Some other ways to say this are:
they were very afraid -or-
they feared greatly -or-
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