The Greek that is translated “scripture” or “scriptures” in English is translated as “God’s word which people wrote” in Guerrero Amuzgo (source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125), “paper writings” in Copainalá Zoque (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.), and “writing that one believes” in Cherokee (putting the focus on the ones who interact with them rather the scriptures themselves) (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 101).
Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)
Los saduceos, que no creen en la resurección, ellos también vinieron diciendo: “Maestro, una pregunta. Hace mucho Moisés escribó la ley que dice que si un hombre casa una mujer y el hombre se muere y no hay hijos le toca a su hermano casar la misma mujer para que nazcan hijos para su hermano.
Oye, una pregunta de ejemplo: había siete hermanos y el mayor se casó con una mujer, después el hombre murió y no había hijos, y le tocó al segundo hermano a casar la misma mujer, pero el hombre se murió y no había hijos.
En la misma manera les tocó al tercero hermano, el cuarto, el quinto, el sexto y el séptimo, todos los hermanos muerieron sin que la mujer tuviera hijos, y también la mujer murió.
En el futuro todas las personas resucitarán, también los siete hermanos y la mujer pero la mujer ha sido casado en la misma manera a los siete hermanos. ¿Quién de ellos será su esposo, cuál?”
Jesús (dijo): “Ay, uds están equivocados porque no entienden la palabra de Dios, uds no saben qué tan poderoso es Dios.
Oigan, en el cielo los ángeles no se casan, y en la misma manera las personas que mueren y resucitarán en el futuro no se casarán. Uds los Saduceos piensan que no hay resurección pero uds están equivocados.
Oigan, miren, el rollo que Moisés escribió ¿uds jamás lo han leído? ¿No saben? Mucho antes cuando Moisés vio el arbusto en llamas Dios le habló y dijo: “Moisés, yo soy Dios; Abraham, Isaac y Jacob creían en mi.”
Los tres adentro todavía viven, uds piensan que murieron y después de mucho tiempo desintegraron pero uds están equivocados.”
The Sadducees, who do not believe in the resurrection, came also saying: “Teacher, we ave a question. Long ago Moses wrote the law which says that when a man marries a woman and the man dies without their being children it falls to his brother to marry the same woman so that children are born for his brother.
“Listen, a question that is an example: there were seven brothers and the oldest married a woman, then the man died and there were no children and it fell to the second brother to marry the same woman, but the man died and there were no children.
“In the same way it fell to the third brother, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth and the seventh, all the brothers died without the woman having children, and the woman also died.
“In the future all the people will be resurrected and also the seven brothers and the woman, but the woman has been married to the seven brothers in the same way. Who of them will be her husband, which one?”
Jesus (said): “Oh, you are mistaken, because you don’t understand the Word of God, you do not know how powerful God is.
“Listen, in heaven the angels do not marry, and in the same way the people who die and will be resurrected in the future wil not get married. You Sadducees think there is no resurrection but you are mistaken.
“Listen, look, the scroll that Moses wrote, have you never read it? Don’t you know? Long ago when Moses saw the burning bush God spoke to him and said: “Moses, I am God, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob believed in me.”
“The three of them are still living inside, you think that they died and after a long time decomposed but you are mistaken.”
Here is a group of Sadducees. They believed that a person lives, dies, but then does not rise again. A person disappears after death — and that’s it. That’s what they thought. And then one day they met Jesus and began to ask him:
— Teacher! In the Law of Moses it is clearly written that if a man married a woman and if this man died and had no children, then this man’s brother must marry the widow. The children born in this marriage will be the continuation of the name of the deceased man, to continue his line. So it is written. Let’s look at this example. One man had seven brothers. This man got married, then died, and he had no children. The second brother also married this woman, and the second brother also died, and had no children. And the third brother also married her and also died, and had no children. And so did the fourth brother, and the fifth, sixth, and finally the seventh. The woman was left a lonely widow, and after some time she also died. Then this woman will be resurrected. Then whose wife of the seven brothers will she be? After all, all seven of them were her husbands. How will that be?
Jesus answered:
— You think that a person dies and then there is no resurrection. You are mistaken! You distort what the Scripture says! You do not understand the power of God! When a person is resurrected after death, there will no longer be marriage. There, everyone will be like angels. The Scripture says that in ancient times Moses saw a burning bush, and from there God said to him: Here is Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. I am the God of each of them!
Do you really think they all died? Of course not. They all have life.
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
Вот группа саддукеи. Они считали, что человек живет, умирает, но потом не воскресает. Человек после смерти исчезает — и все. Так они думали. И вот однажды они повстречали Иисуса и стали спрашивать его:
— Учитель! В Законе Моисея точно написано, что если человек вступил в брак с женщиной и если этот человек умер, а детей у него не было, то брат этого человека должен взять в жены вдову. Дети, которые родятся в этом браке будут продолжением имени умершего человека, продолжат его род. Так написано. Рассмотрим такой пример. У одного человека было семь братьев. Этот человек женился, затем умер, а детей у него не было. Второй брат тоже женился на этой женщине, и второй брат тоже умер, а детей не было. И третий брат тоже женился на ней и тоже умер, а детей не было. И так же четвертый брат, и пятый, шестой, и наконец последний седьмой. Женщина осталось одинокой вдовой, а через какое-то время и она умерла. Потом эта женщина воскреснет. Тогда чьей женой из семерых братьев она будет? Они ведь все семь были ее мужьями. Как же тогда?
Иисус ответил:
— Вот вы считаете, что человек умирает, а потом воскресенья нет. Вы заблуждаетесь! Вы искажаете то, что говорит Писание! Вы не понимаете силу Бога! Когда человек воскресает после смерти, то там уже не будет брака. Там все будут, как ангелы. В Писании говорится, что в древности Моисей увидел горящий куст, и оттуда Бог сказал ему: Вот Авраам, Исаак, Иаков. Я — Бог каждого из них!
Неужели вы думаете, что все они умерли? Конечно, нет. У всех у них есть жизнь.
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 12:24:
Uma: “Yesus said: ‘Your thinking is indeed wrong there, for you don’t comprehend the contents of the Holy Book, nor do you know the power of God.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Isa answered them, he said, ‘You are mistaken. The reason that you are mistaken is, because you do not understand what is written in the holy-book and you also do not know the power of God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then Jesus answerd them, he said, ‘No wonder you are in error, for you don’t understand the written word of God, and you also don’t understand that he is powerful enough to raise the dead.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Jesus answered saying, ‘You are mistaken, because you don’t understand the written word of God and neither do you understand his power.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Jesus replied to them, saying, ‘Your perception really is wrong, for the reason that you don’t know the word of God which was written and the strength of his supernatural-power.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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 religious leaders with the formal pronoun, showing respect. Compare that with the typical address with the informal pronoun of the religious leaders.
The only two exceptions to this are Luke 7:40/43 and 10:26 where Jesus uses the informal pronoun as a response to the sycophantic use of the formal pronoun by the religious leaders (see formal pronoun: religious leaders addressing Jesus).
In most Dutch translations, the same distinctions are made, with the exception of Luke 10:26 where Jesus is using the formal pronoun. In Afrikaans and Western Frisian the informal pronoun is used throughout.
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, ọYẹsọ, Sesi, Sisa, Sísa, Sisas, Sises, Sīsū, Sizi, Txesusu, uJesu, Ujísɔ̄si, ŵaYesu, Xesosi, ´Xesús, Xesús, Yasu, Ya:su, yasuɛ, 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.
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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 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).
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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) 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, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.
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