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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, ko-rare-ru (来られる) or “come” is used.
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 8:40:
Noongar: “When Jesus returned to the other side of the lake, people were happy seeing him, because all the people were waiting for him.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “When Yesus arrived back on the other-side of the lake, the many people who met him were glad, because they were all continually waiting for him.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When Isa returned to the other side of the lake the people were happy to meet him for they had been waiting hep for him.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when Jesus and company landed there where they had come from, very many people that were gathered there welcomed them greatly, for they were waiting for him.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When plural Jesus returned to the other side, the many-people were happy to receive him, because they had-been-waiting-and-waiting-for (him).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well, Jesus and company sailed again returning to the other side. As they came to shore, there were again many people waiting for him. They received Jesus with very happy minds.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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, Boiyesuq, 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, Īhu, 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, Jesesi, Jeshu, Jeso, Jesoe, Jesosa, Jesoshi, Jesosi, 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, Jiisusi, 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, Sises, Sīsū, Sizi, Txesusu, uJesu, Ujísɔ̄si, ŵaYesu, Xesosi, ´Xesús, Xesús, Yasu, Ya:su, Yasuuⓐ, Ɣaysa, Yecu, Yeeb Sub, Yeeh Suh, Yeesey, Yeeso, Yeesso, Yēēsu, Yehsu, Yëësu, Yeiqsul, Yeisu, Yeisuw, Yeshu, Yē shú, Yeso, Yéso, Yesò, Yëso, Yɛso, ye-su, Yésu, Yêsu, Yẹ́sụ̃, Yěsù, Yésʉs, Yeswa, Yet Sut, Yetut, Yexus, Yezo, Yezu, Yiesu, Yiisa, Yiisu, Yiitju, Yis, Yisɔs, Yisufa, Yitati, Yusu, ‑Yusu, :Yusu’, Zeezi, Zezi, Zezì, Zezuz, 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 following is the so-called “Wales Window for Alabama.” It is a stained-glass window by the artist John Petts from Carmarthenshire, Wales, created in response to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing which took place in 1963:
Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )
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 ; see also We All are One in Christ)
Illustration by Annie Vallotton, copyright by Donald and Patricia Griggs of Griggs Educational Service.
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®).
en de tō hupostrephein ton Iēsoun ‘when Jesus returned,’ articular infinitive in the present tense denoting an event which is simultaneous with the event to which the main verb refers. Hence hupostrephein refers not to the journey back, but to the moment of arrival.
apedexato auton ho ochlos ‘the crowd welcomed him.’
ēsan gar pantes prosdokōntes auton ‘for they were all expecting him.’ The periphrastic construction ēsan … prosdokōntes expresses duration. For prosdokaō cf. on 1.21.
Translation:
When Jesus returned, i.e. to the other side of the lake (which has to be specified in Kituba), or, ‘when J. arrived again’ (Sundanese).
Welcomed, or, ‘greeted joyfully’ (Cuyono), ‘came receive with pleasure’ (Sranan Tongo); some Indonesian languages use ‘met,’ ‘came-to-meet.’
Waiting for him, cf. on 1.21. One may have to add the event waited for, e.g. ‘waiting-for him to come’ (Bahasa Indonesia), ‘looked-out that he would arrive’ (Sranan Tongo).
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.
Jesus healed a sick woman and caused a dead girl to live again
This section tells about two miracles that Jesus did. He healed a woman who had a sickness that caused her to have chronic menstrual bleeding. The story about this woman is told in the middle of the story about a dead girl whom Jesus caused to live again. The situation was hopeless for both until Jesus miraculously helped them. His miracles showed the special power and authority that God had given to him as the Messiah.
These stories include the concept of uncleanness, just as in the story of the healing of the man with a “legion” of unclean spirits. Here, the woman was unclean according to the law of Moses because of the bleeding that was caused by her sickness. The dead body of Jairus’ daughter was also ritually unclean. But in spite of this, Jesus touched both of them. Jesus did not become unclean himself when he touched them. Instead, he made them ritually clean by making them well.
Another important theme in this section is faith. Jesus said that the woman who was bleeding was healed because she believed that Jesus could heal her. Then he encouraged Jairus to keep believing that God could make his daughter well, even after she had died.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:
Jesus cured a woman with chronic bleeding and gave life to a dead girl -or-
The child of Jairus and the woman who touched the border/edge of Jesus’ clothing -or-
A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman (New International Version)
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 9:18–26 and Mark 5:21–43.
Paragraph 8:40–42a
8:40a
When Jesus returned:
The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as When here introduces the next events that Luke wanted to write about. See the note on “Then” at 8:19a. These events happened after Jesus returned to the other side of the lake from the place where he freed the man from demons in 8:26–39. He may have returned later that same day or the next day. Indicate this in a natural way in your language.
It may be natural in your language to indicate where Jesus returned or that he traveled by boat. For example:
When Jesus returned to the other side of the lake… (Good News Translation) -or-
When Jesus got back to Galilee… (New Century Version) -or-
When Jesus returned ⌊by boat⌋ ⌊from the region of Gerasa⌋…
In some languages it may be most natural to make this statement a complete sentence. For example:
Then Jesus returned to the other side of the lake.
When Jesus returned: Jesus traveled back to Galilee from the region of Gerasa where he had been in 8:26–39. Luke implied that he returned to the northwest side of Lake Galilee. He probably arrived at or near the place where he had sailed from in Luke 8:22, possibly to the town of Capernaum.
Jesus: The context implies that Jesus’ disciples also went with him to the other side of the lake. Luke does not mention them here, because Jesus is in focus. However, in some languages it may be confusing not to include the disciples at this point in the story. (The first mention of any of the disciples in the story is at 8:45.) If that is true in your language, you may want to mention them. For example:
When Jesus ⌊and the disciples⌋ returned -or-
When Jesus returned ⌊with the disciples⌋
8:40b
the crowd welcomed Him: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as the crowd implies that many people had been expecting Jesus to return. They were waiting there to welcome him. Many of these people may have often followed Jesus from place to place to listen to him.
In some languages it may be confusing to refer back to a specific crowd or group of people. If that is true in your language, you may translate in a more general way. For example:
a crowd (New International Version, New Century Version) -or-
many people
8:40c
for they had all been waiting for Him: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for indicates that this clause explains the reason for 8:40b. The crowd was ready to welcome Jesus as he arrived because they had been watching and waiting for his return. Another way to translate this is:
because they had been waiting for him (New Living Translation (2004))
Indicate this connection in a natural way in your language. In some languages a conjunction may not be needed. See the General Comment on 8:40a–c below for a suggestion about reordering.
had…been waiting for Him: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as had…been waiting for probably means here that the crowd was watching and waiting eagerly for Jesus to return. The people did not know when Jesus was coming, and they may not have been certain that he would return to that place. However, they hoped that he would return, so they waited for him at the side of the lake. Some other ways to translate this are:
were…expecting him (New International Version) -or-
had…been looking for him (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
General Comment on 8:40a–c
In some languages it may be helpful to reorder this verse to say at the beginning that the people were watching and waiting for Jesus. For example:
40bThe people/crowd ⌊back on the other side of the lake⌋ were waiting/looking for Jesus, 40aso, when he returned, they all welcomed him.
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