The Greek that is often translated as “appoint” in English has the option of various terms in Luang with different shades of meaning.
For Mark 13:20, naliri-natoha (“choose-move”) was chosen. This is used if “choosing something to set aside for future use, with the additional idea that there are a large number of objects being chosen as opposed to only one and connoting separating/sifting of the good from the bad.”
For Acts 4:12, ntutmata-nkewra’a (“point eyes-lift chin”) was chosen. This is used when “appointing one special person to do a very special job that no one else can do. The focus is also on a special person doing the choosing. This is often the term used in verses that speak of what Jesus Christ was appointed to do and of how Paul was an apostle chosen by God.”
For Acts 14:23 and Titus 1:5, rana (“lift up”) was chosen. This is used for “people choosing people to be over them. This is often the term used for the appointing of elders of the church.”
Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.
Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)
Jesús siguió explicando: “En el futuro pondrán cosas horribles, una abominación fea, en el lugar prohibido, no les importará, cuando uds lo vean adviertan a las personas del estado de Judea que escapen y se vayan.
Las personas que están en la azotea de su casa que bajen y no empaquen cosas pero los dejen y se vayan.
Igual en el campo que las personas no piensen: ‘agarremos nuestras chamarras’ pero los dejen y se vayan.
Las personas escaparán a las montañas.
Oigan, siento compasión por las pobres mujeres embarazadas que tienen que correr, y otras mujers con bebés mamando el pecho que tienen que correr. Mejor que uds oren antes para que no sea un día de la temporada de lluvia y frío.
Oigan, desde el principio cuando Dios hizo el mundo hasta ahora las personas han sufrido menos, pero lo que viene es más y peor sufrimiento, ni después en el futuro el sufrimiento será igual, será diferente.
Si uds seguirían a sufrir tanto se morirían y se acabaría, ya no habría vida, pero Dios ya ha elegido a todas las personas que creen en mi, Jesús, y los defenderá y por eso el sufrimiento de todas las personas se detendrá.
Oigan, si gente les advierte que ‘aqui hay el Cristo’ y otras personas ‘allá hay el Cristo’ uds no sean engañados (diciendo) ‘¿de veras?’, no lo crean.
En el futuro algunas personas falsas hablarán disimulando: ‘Yo soy el Cristo’ y otras personas disimularán ‘Yo soy un profeta’ y harán señales y milagros para comprobarlo y engañarán a la gente, también a uds que creen y ya son elegidos por Dios quieren probarlos y engañar a uds.
Tengan cuidado, lo que ahorita expliqué ya les avisé de antemano como advertencia.”
Jesus continued explaining: “In the future they will put horrible things, an ugly abomination in the forbidden place, they don’t care; when you see it, warn the people of the state of Judea that they should escape and leave.
“The people that are on the roofs of their houses should come down and not pack their things, but leave them and go.
“In the same way the people in the rural areas should not think of taking their coats, but leave them and go.
“The people will escape to the mountains.
“Listen, I feel pity for the poor pregnant women who have to run, and other women with baby’s that are breastfeeding who have to run carrying their child. You had better pray beforehand that it is not a day in the rainy and cold season.
“Listen, from the beginning when God created the world up to now the people have suffered less, but what it coming is more and worse suffering, nor will the suffering afterwards in the future be the same, it will be different.
“If you would continue to suffer so much you would die and it would finish, there would not be any life left, but God has already chosen all the people who believe in me, Jesus, and He will protect them and therefore the suffering of all the people will be stopped.
“Listen, when people warn you that ‘the Christ is here’ and other people ‘the Christ is there’ do not fall for it (and say) ‘really, really?’, don’t believe it.
“In the future some false people will speak pretending ‘I am the Christ’ and other people will pretend ‘I am a prophet’ and they will do signs and miracles as proof and they will deceive the people, even you who believe and are already chosen by God they will want to try and deceive you.
“Be careful, what I’ve just told you I have let you know you beforehand as a warning.”
— Once upon a time there lived a man named Daniel. He was a prophet. He wrote down a prediction that the Abomination of Desolation would be brought into the Temple, which should not be there, and so the Temple would be desolate, there would be no God there. When you see this prediction come true, you need to run away quickly. The person who reads this will understand.
I also tell you, if you see that they have brought the Abomination of Desolation into this temple, all the Jews must quickly flee to the mountains. If a person lives on the roof of his house and hears about this disaster, he should not go down to get his clothes, but quickly run away. If a person was walking in the field and heard about this disaster, he should not go back home to get his clothes, but quickly run away. And for pregnant women and nursing mothers, these days of trouble will be especially hard in winter. You pray to God that these days do not happen in winter. You all pray to God about this. I will also tell you that such a time of suffering has not been since the time when God created the world, and such suffering will not be there later, because this time of suffering will be very terrible. But God will make this time of suffering short, not long. If this time were long, then all people would perish. God made this suffering short for the sake of saving those whom He chose.
I also tell you that in these days of suffering, many false prophets, many false Messiahs will appear. People will say, “Here is the Christ… Here is the Christ…” But don’t believe them! They will perform various miracles and will seduce many people. And even those whom God has chosen, even they will sometimes be seduced. But I tell you all in advance: Be vigilant and careful!
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
Иисус сказал ученикам:
— Давно жил человек, по имени Даниил. Он был пророк. Он записал предсказание, что в этот храм принесут Мерзость запустения, которая не должна быть там, и поэтому Храм опустеет, там не будет Бога. Когда вы увидите, что это предсказание сбылось, нужно быстро убегать. Человек, который прочтет это, поймет.
Еще говорю вам, если увидите, что принесли Мерзость запустения в этот храм, все иудеи тогда должны быстро убегает в горы. Если человек, живет на крыше своего дома, и услышал об этой беде, не следует ему спускаться вниз за своей одеждой, пусть быстро убегает прочь. Если человек шел по полю и услышал об этой беде, не нужно ему возвращаться домой, чтобы забрать свою одежду, пусть быстро убегает прочь. А беременным женщинам и кормящим матерям, эти дни беды будут особенно тяжелы. Вы же молитесь Богу, чтобы эти дни не случились зимой. Вы все молитесь об этом Богу. Еще скажу вам, что такого времени страданий не было с тех самых времен, как Бог сотворил мир, и потом таких страданий не будет, потому что это время страданий будет очень страшным. Но Бог сделает это время страданий коротким, непродолжительным. Если бы это время было долгим, тогда все люди погибли бы. Бог сделал эти страдания короткими ради спасения тех, кого Он избрал.
Еще говорю вам, что в эти дни страданий появится много лжепророков, много Лже-Мессий. Люди будут говорить: «Вот Христос… Вот Христос…» Но вы не верьте! Они будут демонстрировать разные чудеса и соблазнят многих людей. И даже тех, кого избрал Бог, даже они иногда будут соблазнены. Но я говорю вам всем заранее: Будьте бдительны и осторожны!
The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as a form of “save” in English is translated in Shipibo-Conibo with a phrase that means literally “make to live,” which combines the meaning of “to rescue” and “to deliver from danger,” but also the concept of “to heal” or “restore to health.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 13:20:
Uma: “But the Lord God will shorten that time of suffering, for if he didn’t shorten its time, there wouldn’t be a single one who lived. So, since he loves the people whom he has chosen and whom are his portion, that’s why he will shorten that time of suffering.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “And if God would not reduce those days of difficulty,’ said Isa, ‘no person would live. But because of the people he has chosen, the people who follow him, God will reduce those days.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “God has shortened the time of suffering, for if he hadn’t, all mankind would be destroyed at that time. But because of his pity for his chosen people he has shortened the time of suffering.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “If God had not decided to shorten that time of hardship, no people would be left on this earth. But (reassurance particle) he will shorten it because of his people whom he has chosen.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And if God hadn’t determined that that time wouldn’t be long, all people really would be wiped out. But because of his chosen people, he won’t cause it to last long.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “survive,” “escape,” “save,” or similar in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) in these verses with pulumuka, describing someone whose life was in danger but who has freed himself or herself. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
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 choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
Here, sukunakushite (少なくして) or “lessen” 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).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).
Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.
In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.
While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”
In that system, one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and others for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.
Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”
In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)
Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”
In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )
In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)
The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.
Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are Twents as well as the closely related Indonesian and Malay. In both languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).
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