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.
“Usually, Thai men spend their free time with other men. Women only enter to serve them food, but here a woman has entered into the male social space in a counter-cultural way Not only is she female, she is a lowly prostitute. Although a Thai woman may sometimes wash her husband’s feet, she will never use her hair to dry them The men observing her are shocked at it all.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 7:42:
Noongar: “The two men could not return the money so the boss forgave both men all the money (lit.: “stone”). Then which man will love the boss more?'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “From their not being able to pay back their debt, that person who had-been-borrowed-from said: ‘You no longer need to pay your debt.’ So, which from those two had-greater love for the person-to-whom-they-were-indebted?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Because they don’t have anything to pay it with, the person whom-they-owe-the-money-to says, never mind even if they don’t pay it any more (it’s o.k.). Na, as for you, who of the two will love the person very much whom they-had-owed-the-money-to?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when those two who had borrowed could not pay, the one who had lent them said that they did not need to pay that which they owed him.’ And Jesus said again, ‘As for that person who lent the money, which one of these two who had borrowed from him held him more precious in his breath?'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “But because the two of them were not able-to-pay, he cancelled (appreciative particle) their debts. All right then, please tell (me) which of them had the larger love for the one who lent to them.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When there was nothing these two could find with which to pay, what their creditor did was, he just wrote-it-off-as-paid. Well now, which of those two holds him dearest?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
mē echontōn autōn apodounai ‘since they were unable to pay back.’
amphoterois echarisato ‘he cancelled (the debt) for both.’ For charizomai cf. on v. 21.
tis oun autōn pleion agapēsei auton ‘now which of them will love him more.’ oun marks the clause as asking for the inference from what precedes. The parable rests on the idea that gratitude is proportionate to benefits received (cf. Klostermann).
Translation:
He forgave them both, or, ‘he cancelled what they owed him/their debt’ (cf. An American Translation, Bahasa Indonesia RC), ‘he cleared them both’ (Toraja-Sa’dan), ‘he released them both (from) it (i.e. their debt)’ (Marathi), or in direct discourse, ‘he said, “Never mind; you don’t have to pay it” ’ (Cuyono). Sometimes it is possible to use here the same verb as in the rendering of ‘to forgive sins’ (cf. on 1.77), e.g. in Shona, Kituba, Sinhala; also in Kele, ‘to forgo/overlook a debt or a fault,’ and in Tzeltal, ‘to lose a person’s debt or sin out of one’s heart.’
Now, introducing the concluding question, or, ‘(now) tell me’ (cf. Translator’s New Testament, Toraja-Sa’dan).
Love, see on 6.27.
More. Some languages express the comparative by, ‘of these two, which one will love him much, which one (will love him) little,’ or, implying comparison without explicitly stating it, ‘which of them will really love that man’ (Trukese), ‘which of these two men big will be his love to him’ (Tae,’ similarly Pohnpeian).
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.
When they were unable to repay him, he forgave both of them: The moneylender forgave the debts of the two men because they could not pay him back. Some ways to translate this connection in English are:
When they could not pay, he canceled the debts of both. (NET Bible) -or-
And since they were unable to pay, he generously cancelled both of their debts. (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English) -or-
But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. (New Living Translation (2004))
Translate the connection in a natural way in your language.
he forgave both of them: The phrase he forgave both of them means that the moneylender said that neither of the men had to pay him back. In this context, the word forgave does not mean that the men had done something wrong to the moneylender and he forgave them for that. Another way to translate this is:
the banker told both of them they did not have to pay him (New Century Version)
In some languages it may be more natural to indicate that the moneylender’s action actually applied to the money that they owed, rather than to say that he forgave them. For example:
he forgave the debts of both (New International Version)
forgave: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as forgave can refer to showing any kind of kindness to a person who did nothing to deserve it. Examples of such kindness include giving a gracious gift or generously forgiving an offense. So some English versions translate in a way that fits well with forgiving sins, as well as debts (7:47). For example:
graciously forgave them both (New American Standard Bible)
If it is possible in your language to use the same word for canceling debts and forgiving sins, consider using that word here and also in 7:43a, 7:47a, and 7:47c.
7:42c
Which one, then, will love him more?: This is the sort of question that a teacher asks to help his students to think about something. Jesus expected an answer and received one.
then: The Greek word oun that the Berean Standard Bible translates as then is literally “therefore.” It means “as a result of this.” It introduces a question that Jesus asked Simon. He asked what Simon concluded about the two people who owed money. Many English versions introduce this question with “now.” (“Now” is not used as a time word here.) Others introduce the question with “therefore” (King James Version), “so” (New American Standard Bible), or “then” (Good News Translation), and some do not use a connector (New Jerusalem Bible). Connect the question to the illustration in 7:41–42b in a natural way in your language.
Which one…him: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Which one is literally “which of them” in Greek. The pronoun “them” refers to the two men who borrowed money from the moneylender. The word him refers to the moneylender. Some other English versions also do not translate the word “them.” Other ways to translate this are:
who do you think will love him the most? (God’s Word) -or-
Who do you suppose loved him more after that? (New Living Translation (2004))
love: In this context love refers to the devotion and affection that a person has for someone who has helped him. This love and affection is based on being grateful to that person.
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®).
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