love (honorifics)

New Testament Greek is by Balinese standards an extremely impolite language. Consider, for example, the second person pronoun. When speaking to God, to a nobleman, to a friend, to a pupil, or to a slave, the same word is used. In Balinese this is completely different. In the above examples one would differentiate various social ranks and use terms which, more or less freely translated, mean “adored one” or “he who is borne on the head”, “feet of Your Highness”, “older (or younger) brother”, “little one”, and “you”. (…) In Balinese one has to cope with three vocabularies within the language, each of which, at a moderate estimate, includes some hundreds of words. One employs the ordinary common language (“Low Balinese”) when speaking with intimates, equals, or inferiors; polite terms must, however, be used as soon as one begins to speak to one’s superiors or to strangers; and “deferential” terms are obligatory in all cases when one is so bold as to speak of parts of the body, or the acts, possessions, and qualities of important people. The Balinese sums up the two last named vocabularies under the term alus (“fine”, or “noble”): we say “High Balinese”. (…)

[The Greek that is translated with] “love” [in English] of a superior for an inferior must be indicated by one term and that of an inferior for a superior by another. Thus we must translate twice the word “love”: “You shall give respectful love to God, …further, you must love your neighbor as yourself”.

Source: J.L. Swellengrebel in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 124ff.

love for God vs. love for others

Balinese uses an honorific system with three levels of how someone can be addressed or talked about. For example, “love” of a superior for an inferior must be indicated by one term and that of an inferior for a superior by another. In the Greek phrase that is translated in English as “you shall love the Lord your God (…) and your neighbor as yourself”, Balinese translates asih subaktija ragane teken Ida Sang Hyang Widi Wasa (…) tur tresnainja sesaman ragane, buka nresnain deweke padidi: “You shall give respectful-love to God, … further, you must love your neighbor as yourself.”

Source: J.L. Swellengrebel in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 158ff.

love (for God)

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Nida (1952, p. 125ff.) reports on different translation of the Greek and Hebrew terms that are translated as “love” when referring to loving God:

“The Toro So Dogon people on the edge of the Sahara in French West Africa speak of ‘love for God’ as ‘put God in our hearts.’ This does not mean that God can be contained wholly within the heart of a man, but the Eternal does live within the hearts of men by His Holy Spirit, and it is only love which prompts the soul to ‘put God in the heart.’

“The Mitla Zapotec Indians, nestled in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico, describe ‘love’ in almost opposite words. Instead of putting God into one’s own heart, they say, ‘my heart goes away with God.’ Both the Toro So Dogon and the Zapotecs are right. There is a sense in which God dwells within us, and there is also a sense in which our hearts are no longer our own. They belong to Him, and the object of affection is not here on earth, but as pilgrims with no certain abiding place we long for that fuller fellowship of heaven itself.

“The Uduks seem to take a rather superficial view of love, for they speak of it as ‘good to the eye.’ But we must not judge spiritual insight or capacity purely on the basis of idioms. Furthermore, there is a sense in which this idiom is quite correct. In fact the Greek term agapé, which is used primarily with the meaning of love of God and of the Christian community, means essentially ‘to appreciate the worth and value of something.’ It is not primarily the love which arises from association and comradeship (this is philé), but it defines that aspect of love which prompted God to love us when there was no essential worth or value in us, except as we could be remade in the image of His Son. Furthermore, it is the love which must prompt us to see in men and women, still unclaimed for Jesus Christ, that which God can do by the working of His Spirit. This is the love which rises higher than personal interests and goes deeper than sentimental attachment. This is the basis of the communion of the saints.

“Love may sometimes be described in strong, powerful terms. The Miskitos of the swampy coasts of eastern Nicaragua and Honduras say that ‘love’ is ‘pain of the heart.’ There are joys which become so intense that they seem to hurt, and there is love which so dominates the soul that its closest emotion seems to be pain. The Tzotzils, living in the cloud-swept mountains of Chiapas in southern Mexico, describe love in almost the same way as the Miskitos. They say it is ‘to hurt in the heart.’ (…) [See also pain-love]

“The Q’anjob’al Indians of northern Guatemala have gone even a step further. They describe love as ‘my soul dies.’ Love is such that, without experiencing the joy of union with the object of our love, there is a real sense in which ‘the soul dies.’ A man who loves God according to the Conob idiom would say ‘my soul dies for God.’ This not only describes the powerful emotion felt by the one who loves, but it should imply a related truth—namely, that in true love there is no room for self. The man who loves God must die to self. True love is of all emotions the most unselfish, for it does not look out for self but for others. False love seeks to possess; true love seeks to be possessed. False love leads to cancerous jealousy; true love leads to a life-giving ministry.” (Source: Nida 1952)

In Mairasi, the term that is used for love for God, by God and for people is the same: “desire one’s face” (source: Enggavoter 2004), likewise in Ogea, where the word for “love” is “die for someone” (source: Sandi Colburn in Holzhausen 1991, p. 22).

with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind

The phrase that is translated as “with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” in English versions is rendered in Kahua with a term for belly/chest as the seat of the emotions.

The same phrase is translated into Kuy as “with all your heart-liver”to show the totality of one’s being. (Source: David Clark)

Similar to that, in Laka one must love with the liver, in Western Kanjobal with the “abdomen,” and in Marshallese with the throat.

What is translated as “soul” in English is translated as “life” in Yaka, Chuukese, and in Ixcatlán Mazatec, “that which stands inside of one” in Navajo (Dinė), and “spirit” in Kele.

The Greek that is translated in English as “strength” is translated in Yao as “animation” and in Chuukese as “ability.”

The Greek that is translated in English as “mind” is translated in Kele as “thinking,” in Chuukese as “thought(s),” and in Marathi as “intelligence.”

The whole phrase is translated in Tboli as “cause it to start from the very beginning of your stomach your loving God, for he is your place of holding.”

In Poqomchi’ (as in many other Mayan languages), the term “heart” covers both “heart” and “mind.”

(Sources: Bratcher / Nida, Reiling / Swellengrebel, and Bob Bascom [Ixcatlán Mazatec and Poqomchi’])

See also translations with a Hebraic voice (Deuteronomy 6:5), implanted / in one’s heart and complete verse (Mark 12:30), and see Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling.”

For a detailed look at the relationships between the Deuteronomy 6:5 quote, its Septuagint translation and the quotations in the synoptic gospels, see Adaptable for Translation: Deuteronomy 6.5 in the Synoptic Gospels and Beyond by Robert Bascom .

soul

The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin that is translated as “soul” in English is translated in Chol with a term that refers to the invisible aspects of human beings (source: Robert Bascom) and in Elhomwe as “heart” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).

The Mandarin Chinese línghún (靈魂 / 灵魂), literally “spirit-soul,” is often used for “soul” (along with xīn [心] or “heart”). This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32, see also Clara Ho-yan Chan in this article )

In Chichewa, moyo means both “soul” and “life.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also heart, soul, mind.

LORD your God / Lord your God

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated in English as “Lord your God” or “Lord your God” is translated as “Lord our God” and “Lord our God” in Tzotzil as well as in many other Mayan languages if the speaker is included as one who calls the Lord their God. If the speaker said “your God” in Tzotzil, he or she would refer to the God of the people he or she addresses but would specifically exclude himself or herself. (Source: Robert Bascom in Omanson 2001, p. 254)

See also my God.

Mark 12:28 - 34 in Mexican Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 12:28-34 into Mexican Sign Language with back-translations into Spanish and English underneath:


© La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)

Jesús y los Saduceos estaban platicando y un maestro de la ley lo vio (y pensó): ‘huy Jesús explica bien’ y lo acercó y dijo: “Si escoges un mandamiento, ¿cuál es lo más importante?”

Jesús (respondió): “El primero, el más importante mandamiento, mira, dice en el rollo: Oigan personas de Israel, necesitan prestar atención, el Señor Dios es único.”

“Uds personas amen al Señor Dios con su corazón, su alma, su mente y su fuerza completa, y el segundo mandamiento en importancia es: Como las personas aman a si mismas así deben amar a otras personas. Los dos mandamientos son los más importantes, otros mandamientos son menos (importantes).”

El maestro de la ley lo vio bien (y dijo): “Tú dices la verdad, Dios es único no hay otro. Que personas aman a Dios con su corazón, entendimiento y fuerza completa y deben amar a otras personas en igual manera como aman a si mismos eso es más importante que el sacrificio de animales.”

Jesús lo vio y adentro pensó: ‘Él respnde bien, él ya entiende’ y después dijo: “Tú ya te has acercado al reino de Dios.”

Otras personas le preguntaban más, pero se quedó callado.


Jesus and the Sadducees were talking and a master of the Law saw it (and thought): ‘wow Jesus explains well’ and he came up to him and said: “If you choose one commandment, which one is the most important?”

Jesus (answered): “The first, the most important commandment, look, it says in the scroll: You people of Israel, you need to pay attention, the Lord God is the only one.”

˜You people love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second most important commandment is: As people love themselves in the same way they must love other people. The two commandments are the most important, other commandments are less (important).”

The teacher of the Law saw this as good (and said): “You tell the truth, God is the only one, there is no other. That people love God with all their heart, understanding and strength and have to love other people in the same way as they love themselves is more important than animal sacrifices.”

Jesus looked at him and thought: ‘He answers well, he already understands’ and then he said: “You have already come close to the Kingdom of God.”

Other people asked him more questions, but he kept quiet.

Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

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Mark 12:28-34 in Russian Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 12:28-34 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:


Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество

A certain man, a scribe, heard how well Jesus taught the people. He also wanted to approach Jesus and ask him a question. He asked Jesus:

— We have many different commandments. And which commandment is the most important?

Jesus answered:

— We have many different commandments, and the most important of them is this: People of Israel, listen to God! Our God is only one! You must love God completely with all your thoughts, feelings and strength. This is the most important first commandment. And there is also a second, equally important: love your neighbor as yourself. These commandments are the most important.

The scribe replied:

— Teacher, you speak correctly! There are no other gods except our God. We must love God with all our heart, all our thoughts, all our strength. And yes, we must love our neighbor as ourselves. These two commandments are above all others and even sacrifices.

Jesus said to him:

— You reason correctly! You are close to the Kingdom of God.

After this event, none of the scribes dared to ask him tricky questions anymore.

Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):

Один человек, книжник, слышал, как хорошо Иисус учил народ. Он тоже захотел подойти к Иисусу и задать ему вопрос. Он спросил Иисуса:

— У нас есть много разных заповедей. А какая заповедь самая главная?

Иисус ответил:

— У нас есть много разных заповедей, а самая главная из них такая: Народ Израиля, слушай Бога! Наш Бог только один! Вы должны всеми вашими мыслями, чувствами и силами полностью любить Бога. Это самая главная первая заповедь. А есть еще вторая, такая же важная: своего ближнего так же, как самого себя, люби его. Эти заповеди самые важные.

Книжник ответил:

— Учитель, ты говоришь правильно! Нет иных богов, кроме нашего Бога. Нужно всем сердцем, всеми мыслями, силами полностью любить Бога. И да, нужно любить ближнего своего так же, как самого себя. Эти две заповеди выше всех остальных и даже жертвоприношений.

Иисус сказал ему:

— Ты рассуждаешь правильно! Ты близок к Царству Бога.

После этого события никто из книжников больше не решался задавать ему каверзные вопросы.

Back-translation by Luka Manevich

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