Lord

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):

  • Navajo (Dinė): “the one who has charge”
  • Mossi: “the one who has the head” (the leader)
  • Uduk: “chief”
  • Guerrero Amuzgo: “the one who commands”
  • Kpelle: “person-owner” (a term which may be applied to a chief)
  • Central Pame: “the one who owns us” (or “commands us”)
  • Piro: “the big one” (used commonly of one in authority)
  • San Blas Kuna: “the great one over all” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Guhu-Samane: Soopara (“our Supervisor”) (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.)
  • Balinese: “Venerated-one” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Yanesha’: “the one who carries us” (source: Nida 1952, p. 159)
  • Northern Emberá: Dadjirã Boro (“our Head”)
  • Rarotongan: Atu (“master or owner of a property”)
  • Gilbertese: Uea (“a person of high status invested with authority to rule the people”)
  • Rotuman: Gagaja (“village chief”)
  • Samoan: Ali’i (“an important word in the native culture, it derives from the Samoan understanding of lordship based on the local traditions”)
  • Tahitian: Fatu (“owner,” “master”)
  • Tuvalu: Te Aliki (“chief”)
  • Fijian: Liuliu (“leader”) (source for this and six above: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1994, p. 329ff. )
  • Bacama: Həmə miye: “owner of people” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
  • Hopi: “Controller” (source: Walls 2000, p. 139)
  • 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.)
  • Ghomala’: Cyəpɔ (“he who is above everyone,” consisting of the verb cyə — to surpass or go beyond — and pɔ — referring to people. No human can claim this attribute, no matter what his or her social status or prestige.” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn )
  • 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)
  • Angami Naga: Niepu (“master,” “owner”)
  • 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”
  • Ao Naga: Kibuba (“human master,” “teacher,” “owner of property,” etc.) (source for this and two above: Nitoy Achumi in The Bible Translator 1992 p. 438ff. )
  • 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: Ambuye Ambuye 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 Greek Septuagint‘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.”

See also Father / Lord.

2nd person pronoun with high register (Japanese)

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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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person. In these verses, however, the more venerable anata-sama (あなた様) is used, which combines anata with the with a formal title -sama.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also formal 2nd person pronoun (Spanish) and the formal vs. the informal pronoun in the Gospels in Tuvan.

Japanese benefactives (gozokurō)

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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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, gozokurō (ご足労) or “trouble one”s legs” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”

Other uses of honorifics in this verse include:

  • The usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, ik-are-ru (行かれる) or “go” is used.
  • The usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, the Hebrew that is translated as “come in” or similar in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-ire (お入れ), combining “enter” (ire) with the respectful prefix o-.
  • The verb that is translated as “trouble” in English is translated as go-sokurō (ご足労), combining “trouble” (sokurō) with another respectful prefix go-.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Luke 7:6

Exegesis:

ho de Iēsous eporeueto sun autois ‘and Jesus went with them.’ The clause implies tacitly that Jesus complied with their request. The imperfect tense of eporeueto portrays Jesus’ action of going with them as still lasting on when happens that which the subsequent clause describes.

ēdē de autou ou makran apechontos apo tēs oikias ‘but when he was already not far from the house.’ ēdē is emphatic: already he had reached a point where he was not far from the house. makran also 15.20.

epempsen philous ho hekatontarchēs legōn ‘the centurion sent friends saying,’ i.e. to Jesus (cf. Revised Standard Version). For this construction cf. on v. 3.

mē skullou ‘do not trouble yourself,’ in the present context implying ‘do not trouble yourself any further’ (cf. New English Bible).

skullō (also 8.49) ‘to trouble’; hence in the passive ‘to trouble oneself.’

ou gar hikanos eimi hina … eiselthēs ‘for I am not worthy that you come…’ For hikanos cf. on 3.16; here it is synonymous with axios in v. 4.

hina hupo tēn stegēn mou eiselthēs ‘that you come under my roof,’ i.e. into my house.

stegē ‘roof.’

Translation:

And, or, ‘so,’ ‘accordingly.’

Not far from, preferably, ‘already not far from,’ or, ‘already close to,’ ‘no longer far from’; cf. also “had nearly reached” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation).

The house, or, ‘his/the centurion’s house.’

Saying to him, “…”. In contrast to v. 3 the message (vv. 6b ff) is given in direct discourse and as though the centurion himself is speaking.

Friend, also in 7.34; 11.5f, 8; 12.4; 14.12; 15.6, 9 (feminine), 29; 16.9; 21.16; 23.12; and, as form of address, in 11.5c (which see) and 14.10. The noun indicates a relationship of mutual affection and/or obligations, dependent on personal choice or social circumstances, rather than on family ties, or on local circumstances (as is the case with ‘relative/brother’ and ‘neighbour’ respectively). The rendering may also cover the concepts ‘companion’ or ‘associate,’ or be a descriptive phrase, e.g. here ‘people who liked/esteemed him.’

Lord, cf. on 1.6 (d).

Do not trouble yourself, or, ‘do not make-tired-yourself’ (Tae’), ‘do not make-it-difficult (for) yourself’ (Sranan Tongo). In Chuukesethe polite way to put this is, ‘do not continue to do something you don’t want to do,’ and cf. on 8.49.

I am not worthy to have you come …, or, ‘my worthiness is not (so) much that you should come’ (cf. Marathi), ‘I am not fit to receive/welcome you’ (Bahasa Indonesia KB); and cf. on “worthy” in v. 4b. In some cases, however, the negative phrase is more idiomatically rendered by giving it another turn, cf. “it is not for me to have you…” (New English Bible), ‘I am not a person whose house you should enter’ (Tae’ 1933).

Come under my roof, or, ‘come under the roof of my house,’ ‘enter my house’ (Shona, where a literal rendering would suggest that a person has a roof attached to him), ‘set-foot-on my-stair’ (Toraja-Sa’dan); Sranan Tongo has ‘under my roof,’ but ‘under my verandah/porch’ would have been a slightly more common idiom. Marathi has a word meaning both ‘hut’ and ‘rood,’ and used, depreciatingly, for ‘house’; with the same connotation Balinese uses ‘shed,’ lit. ‘what-is-supported-on-forked-stakes.’

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.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 7:6

Paragraph 7:6–8

7:6a

So: The word So introduces what happened as a result of what the messengers said in 7:4–5. Connect these verses in a way that is natural in your language.

Jesus went with them: Jesus went with the Jewish elders toward the officer’s house where the sick man was. The house is mentioned in 7:6b. In some languages it may be necessary to mention it here:

Jesus went with them ⌊to the officer’s house⌋

Jesus did not actually reach the house. So it may be necessary to say something like:

Jesus went with them ⌊toward the centurion’s house⌋
-or-
Now Jesus started on His way with them (New American Standard Bible)

7:6b

He was not far from the house: If you mentioned the house in 7:6a, it may be natural to leave it implicit here. For example:

He was not far away
-or-
He did not have far to go
-or-
He had nearly gotten there

7:6c

the centurion sent friends with the message: The officer asked friends to go to Jesus and give him a message. In 7:4–5 the elders used indirect speech for the officer’s words, but here the friends quoted the words that the officer himself spoke. In some languages it may be helpful or natural to make this clear. For example:

…when the officer sent some friends to meet him. They gave Jesus this message from the centurion: “Lord…”
-or-
…when the officer sent some friends to speak to Jesus for him. They reported to Jesus that the officer says/said: “Lord…”

7:6d–8e

In this speech the officer’s friends reported what the officer said as if the officer himself were speaking. If this would not be natural in your language, see the General Comment on 7:6d–8e at the end of the notes on 7:8e.

7:6d

Lord: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Lord means “master” or “one who has authority over others.” People used this word as a polite title when they spoke to an elder or someone in authority. The Jews also used this same title to refer to God. The officer may have used it in a similar way to address Jesus as a person who had authority from God. Use a term in your language that could also be used in this way.

Other ways to translate this are:

Master
-or-
Chief
-or-
Owner
-or-
Sovereign

In some languages it may be necessary to add a word like “my” before such a term of address. For example:

⌊my⌋ Chief/Sovereign

See Lord, Context 3, in the Glossary.

do not trouble Yourself: This phrase is in the form of a command, but it is really a polite way to say, “I do not want to trouble/bother you.” The officer was saying that he did not want Jesus to come all the way to his house because that was not necessary. You may have an idiomatic way to say this, but be sure that it is polite. The officer had already caused Jesus to make efforts to help him, and in some languages you may need to make that explicit. For example:

do not trouble Yourself further (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
do not let me disturb you any longer
-or-
I do not want to cause you any more effort ⌊than necessary⌋

Here the officer meant that it was not necessary for Jesus to come to his home, but he still wanted Jesus to heal his slave. One way to make this clear is to mention the officer’s house here rather than in 7:6e. For example:

don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home (New Living Translation (1996))

7:6e

for: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for introduces the reason why the officer did not want Jesus to go all the way to his house.

I am not worthy to have You come under my roof: Here the officer was saying that he was not worthy to receive Jesus as a guest in his house. He may have said this because he was a Gentile or because he considered Jesus to be much greater than he was himself.

come under my roof: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as come under my roof is an idiom that means “enter my house.” Use a natural way in your language to refer to someone coming to a person’s house as a guest.

General Comment on 7:6d–e

In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of 7:6d and 7:6e. For example:

Lord, 6eI am not worthy for you to enter my house. 6dSo please do not trouble yourself ⌊to come any further⌋.

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