There is no word in Khanty that directly corresponds to the concept of “love.”
In one of the two Bible translation projects (see here ) for which so far (2025) Genesis, Jonah, Luke, and Acts have been translated, mosty (мосты) with the primary meaning of “to be needed” or “to be necessary” was often used when translating the Greek agapao (ἀγαπάω) and the Hebrew aheb (אָהַב) — “love” in English — and the Greek agapétos (ἀγαπητός) — “beloved” in English.
Interestingly, the same word is also used in verses like Luke 7:2 for the Greek entimos (ἔντιμος) or “value highly” or in Luke 20:17 and Acts 4:11 where the “cornerstone” is the “necessary stone.”
In the other translation project in Khanty, the gospel of Mark has been translated (see here ). Here the translators have used vŏłanga săma (вŏԓаӈа сăма), meaning “important” or “pleasant to the heart” when referring to love.
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 6:27:
Noongar: “But you listen! I tell you: if people want to hurt you, you must love them; if people hate you, you must do good to them;” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “‘But to you who hear my words now, this is my command: We must love our enemies, behave well to people who hate us.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “‘But you who listen to me, this is what I say to you: Love your enemy. Do good to those who hate you.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “What I say to you, my disciples who listen to me today, is: it is necessary that your breath is not bad toward your enemy, but rather, treat very well those that are angry with you.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Jesus continued to say, ‘What I will say yet to you who are listening is that you should love your enemies. You are also to do good to those who hate you.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “‘This is what I will next say to you who are listening. Value those who oppose you. Do good to them (lit. show them good nature/ways) who hate you.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “enemy” or “foe” in English is translated in the HausaCommon Language Bible as “friends of front,” i.e., the person standing opposite you in a battle. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
In North Alaskan Inupiatun it is translated with a term that implies that it’s not just someone who hates you, but one who wants to do you harm (Source: Robert Bascom), in Tarok as ukpa ìkum or “companion in war/fighting,” and in Ikwere as nye irno m or “person who hates me” (source for this and one above: Chuck and Karen Tessaro in this newsletter ).
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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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.
As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.
Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.
In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.
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®).
Vv. 27 and 28 consist of four asyndetic co-ordinate clauses which belong closely together in terms of subject matter. This is brought out by the punctuation in the Greek text and in modern versions.
alla humin legō tois akouousin ‘but to you who are listening I say.’ This introductory clause shows that what follows is meant for a different group from those addressed in vv. 24-26. For humin legō cf. on 3.8. Here the usual word order is inverted for reasons of emphasis. tois akouousin is best interpreted as ‘you to whom I am talking,’ i.e. the disciples (cf. Creed).
agapate tous echthrous humōn, kalōs poieite tois misousin humas ‘love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.’ ‘Enemies’ and ‘those who hate’ are to be understood in the light of v. 22 where reference is made to people who hate the disciples because of the Son of man. The aspect of the verbal forms in these verses is habitual.
(V. 28) eulogeite tous katarōmenous humas ‘bless those who curse you.’ For eulogeō cf. on 1.42; its meaning is well brought out by The Four Gospels – a New Translation, “call blessings down on…”.
kataraomai ‘to curse,’ i.e. to call evil powers against somebody in order to consign him to destruction. As compared with enmity and hate cursing and, for that matter, abusing (see next note) are more specific acts in which enmity expresses itself.
proseuchesthe peri tōn epēreazontēn humas ‘pray for those who abuse you.’
epēreazō (only here and 1 Pet. 3.16 in the N.T.) ‘to abuse,’ either in deeds, i.e. ‘to mistreat,’ or in words, i.e. ‘to insult,’ probably the latter.
Translation:
You that hear, or, ‘you that hear me/my words,’ ‘you, my hearers.’
Love, see two Tboli idioms used for “love” in some cases, ‘use up one’s breath for’ (7.47), ‘big one’s breath toward’ (10.27).
Enemies and those who hate you, see on 1.71.
Do good to, or, ‘behave kindly towards,’ ‘treat kindly’ (Tae’).
(V. 28) Bless, see on 1.42 sub (3).
Curse is the direct opposite of ‘to bless.’ In Tzeltal the term has been described, ‘to ask God to harm somebody.’ The receptor language may possess and technical term that is associated with magical practices; in this context there is no objection against the use of such a term.
Pray for says by implication what the more specific ‘to bless’ indicates explicitly. For “to pray” see references in 1.10.
Abuse, in the meaning preferred in Exegesis synonymous with “revile” in v. 22.
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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