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.
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.”
In San Blas Kuna it is rendered as “help the heart,” in Laka, it is “take by the hand” in the meaning of “rescue” or “deliver,” in Huautla Mazatec the back-translation of the employed term is “lift out on behalf of,” in Anuak, it is “have life because of,” in Central Mazahua “be healed in the heart,” in Baoulé “save one’s head” (meaning to rescue a person in the fullest sense), in Guerrero Amuzgo “come out well,” in Northwestern Dinka “be helped as to his breath” (or “life”) (source: Bratcher / Nida), in Matumbi as “rescue (from danger)” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext), and in Noongarbarrang-ngandabat or “hold life” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
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!
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)
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 ta (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential ta (祂) is used.”
In that system one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and one 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 in the following way: “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 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. ).
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).
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight
Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):
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.)
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)
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”
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: AmbuyeAmbuye 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 GreekSeptuagint‘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.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.