Western Bukidnon Manobo: “high sacrificer” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Tagbanwa as “Most-important Priest of God” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Bariai: “Big leader of offerings” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
In Khoekhoe the translation for “high priest” is only capitalized when it refers to Jesus (as is Hebrews 2:17 et al.). (Source: project-specific notes in Paratext)
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “chief priest” in English is translated in Muyuw as tanuwgwes lun or “ruler-of peace offering.” (Source: David Lithgow in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 118ff. )
The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated as “elders” in English is translated in the DanishBibelen 2020 as folkets ledere or “leaders of the people.”
Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators, explains: “The term ‘elder’ turned out to pose a particularly thorny problem. In traditional bibles, you can find elders all of over the place and they never pose a problem for a translator, they are just always elders. But how to find a contemporary term for this semi-official, complex position? This may have been our longest-standing problem. A couple of times we thought we had the solution, and then implemented it throughout the texts, only to find out that it didn’t work. Like when we used city council or village council, depending on the context. In the end we felt that the texts didn’t work with such official terms, and throughout the years in the desert, these terms didn’t make much sense. Other suggestions were ‘the eldest and wisest’, ‘the respected citizens’, ‘the Israelites with a certain position in society’, ‘the elder council’ –- and let me point out that these terms sound better in Danish than in English (‘de fremtrædende borgere,’ ‘de mest fremtrædende israelitter,’ ‘alle israelitter med en vis position,’ ‘de ældste og de klogeste,’ ‘ældsterådet’). In the end we just said ‘leaders of the people.’ After a lot of hand-wringing, it turned out that we actually found a term that worked well. So, we had to give up conveying the fact that they were old, but the most important point is that they were community leaders.” (Source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )
The Germandas Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022) translates likewise as “leader of the people” (Anführer des Volkes).
The Greek that is usually translated as “scribe” in English “were more than mere writers of the law. They were the trained interpreters of the law and expounders of tradition.”
Tboli: “one who taught the law God before caused Moses to write” (or “one who taught the law of Moses”) (source for this and 5 above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Noongar: Mammarapa-Warrinyang or “law man” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Mairasi: “one who writes and explains Great Above One’s (=God’s) prohibitions” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Chichewa: “teacher of Laws” (source: Ernst Wendland)
Lalana Chinantec: “one who is a teacher of the law which God gave to Moses back then”
Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “one who know well the law” (Source for this and four above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Huixtán Tzotzil: “one who mistakenly thought he was teaching God’s commandments”(Huixtán Tzotzil frequently uses the verb -cuy to express “to mistakenly think something” from the point of view of the speaker; source: Marion M. Cowan in Notes on Translation 20/1966, pp. 6ff.)
Germandas Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “theologian” and in the 1964 translation by Helmut Riethmüller: “theologian of scriptures” (Schrifttheologe)
English translation by Scot McKnight (in The Second Testament, publ. 2023): Covenant Code scholar
In British Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines the signs for “expert” and “law.” (Source: Anna Smith)
“Scribe” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL , used with permission)
Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)
Los soldados llevaron a Jesús y entraron la casa del sumo sacerdote y subieron.
Afuera en la plaza los hombres que vigilaban el templo estaban sentados alrededor del fuego. Pedro fue a sentarse y calientarse las manos al fuego.
Al mismo tiempo Jesús estaba frente al sumo sacerdote y se juntaron otros líderes de los sacerdotes y los ancianos y maestros de la ley alrededor de él y querían castigar a Jesús a morir.
Dijeron: “¿Quién es testigo en contra de Jesús?” Una persona vino a contar y criticar y lo inventó todo, y otra persona vino y contó mentiras, y vinieron uno por uno y dijeron diferentes cosas y fue un desórden.
Los sacerdotes miraraon de uno a otro: ‘No hay personas que dicen lo mismo, es difícil escoger testigos.’
Algunas otras personas se levantaron y caminaron (al frente) y hablaron una mentira:
“Oímos a Jesús diciendo que el templo de Jerusalén, que fue construido por hombres, en el futuro él, Jesús, lo quitará y lo destruyerá y en tres días reconstruyerá nuevo templo. Dice que no necesita ayuda de la gente.”
Ellos dijeron diferentes cosas y el sumo sacerdote se paró y caminó (hacia Jesús) y dijo: “Jesús, ellos (están hablando) en contra de ti y tú dices nada, ¿sabes de qué están hablando?”
Jesús estaba silencioso, callado y el sacerdote otra vez le preguntó: “¿Eres el Cristo, el hijo del Dios santo?”
Jesús (dijo): “Sí, lo soy y les advierto: en el futuro uds todos verán a Dios, el poderoso, sentado con el hijo del hombre a su lado.
Luego en el futuro uds verán con sus propios ojos que el hijo del hombre venga con las nubes, este mismo soy yo.”
El sumo sacerdote lo vio y arrancó su mantó, rompiendolo, y dijo: “Uds ven y oyen que Jesús está hablando algo fuerte e irrespetuoso contra Dios, no necesitamos más testigos.
¿Uds qué piensan?, diganme.” Los sacerdotes y los maestros de la ley y los ancianos (dijeron): “Jesús es malo, es necesario y mejor castigarlo con la muerte.”
Algunos fueron uno por uno y lo escupieron en la cara y le ataron ua venda y lo golpieron en la cara.
Dijeron: “Tú eres una profeta, ¿quién de nosotros te golpeó? Vamos, dinos.” Y lo golpearon más, y otros hombres que vigiliaban el templo fueron y lo bofetearon en la cara.
The soldiers took Jesus and they entered the house of the high priest and went up.
Outside in the square the men that kept watch over the temple were sitting around the fire. Peter went over to sit down and warm his hands by the fire.
At the same time Jesus was standing in front of the high priest and other leaders of the priests and the elders and teachers of the law gathered around him and they wanted to punish Jesus to death.
They said: “Who will be a witness against Jesus?” One person came up to tell things and criticize, making it all up, and another person came and told lies, and they came one by one and told different things, and it was a chaos.
The priests looked from one to the other: ‘There are no persons who say the same thing, it is difficult to choose witnesses.’
Some other people got up and walked (to the front) and told a lie:
˜We heard Jesus say that the temple in Jerusalem, that was built by men, in the future he, Jesus, will destroy it and in three days he will rebuild a new temple. He says he does not need help from the people.”
They said different things and the high priest got up and walked over (to Jesus) and said: “Jesus, they (are talking) against you, and you say nothing, do you know what they are talking about?”
Jesus was silent and kept quiet, and the priest asked him again: “Are you the Christ, the son of the holy God?”
Jesus (said): “Yes, I am and I tell you: in the future you will all see God, the almighty, sitting with the son of man next to him.
“Then in the future you will see with your own eyes that the Son of Man is coming on the clouds, and I am he.”
The high priest saw it and he tore his mantle open and said: “You see and hear that Jesus is saying something strong and disrespectful against God, we do not need more witnesses.
“What do you think? Tell me.” The priests and the teachers of the law and the elders (said): “Jesus is bad, it is necessary and better to punish him with death.”
Some went up one by one and they spit him in the face and they blindfolded him and hit him in the face.
They said: “You are a prophet, who of us beat you? Come on, tell us.” And they beat him some more, and other men who kept watch over the temple, went up and struck him in the face.
The chief priests, the elders, the teachers of the law gathered in the house of the high priest. There they waited for Jesus to be brought. When Jesus had been seized earlier, a disciple named Peter had secretly followed Jesus. When the crowd that had seized Jesus entered the courtyard of the high priest’s house, Peter secretly followed them and began to warm himself by the fire that was there in the courtyard. The servants of the high priest were around. Peter was secretly watching.
The high priest and the judges began to question the people. They needed proof that Jesus had committed a crime in order to condemn him to death. Many liars began to slander Jesus. But the judges understood that these accusations were not enough to condemn Jesus to death. Some liars began to testify against Jesus:
“He said that I will destroy the Temple, which was built in the distant past, but then in three days I will build it again, but it will not require the efforts of human hands.
The judges decided that these charges were not enough to condemn Jesus to death. They continued to deliberate and question the people.
Then the high priest stood up and came to Jesus and said:
— These people are accusing you. Why don’t you defend yourself?
Jesus said nothing, but remained silent. The high priest asked:
— Are you the Christ? Are you the Son of God?
Jesus answered:
— I am. You will yet see how the Son of Man will sit next to God the Father, to his right. You will see how I descend on a cloud to the earth.
The high priest became furious. He tore his clothes and shouted:
— What other evidence is needed? He blasphemes God! What will you decide, judges?
The judges decided that Jesus was guilty and should be executed. Then the crowd attacked Jesus, people began to spit at him. Then they put a bag over his head, beat him on the head and said:
— Now tell me, prophet, who hit you?
Then the guards began to beat him.
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
Первосвященники, старейшины, учителя закона собрались в доме первосвященника. Там они ждали, пока приведут Иисуса. Когда до этого Иисуса схватили, ученик по имени Петр тайно последовал за Иисусом. Когда толпа, схватившая Иисуса, вошла во двор дома первосвященника, Петр тайком пошел за ней и стал греться возле костра, который был там, во дворе. Вокруг были слуги первосвященника. Петр тайно следил.
Первосвященник и судьи стали расспрашивать народ. Им нужны были доказательства, что Иисус совершил преступление, чтобы осудить его на смерть. Многие лжецы стали наговаривать на Иисуса. Но судьи понимали, что этих обвинений недостаточно, чтобы осудить Иисуса на смерть. Какие-то лжецы стали свидетельствовать против Иисуса:
— Он говорил, что вот этот Храм, который был построен в далеком прошлом, я разрушу, но потом через три дня построю его вновь, но не потребуются усилия человеческих рук.
Судьи решили, что и этих обвинений недостаточно для осуждения Иисуса на смерть. Они продолжали совещаться и расспрашивать народ.
Тогда встал первосвященник, подошел к Иисусу и сказал:
— Вот эти люди обвиняют тебя. Почему ты не защищаешься?
Иисус ничего не сказал, но продолжал молчать. Первосвященник спросил:
— Ты Христос? Ты Сын Бога?
Иисус ответил:
— Я есть. Вы еще увидите, как Сын человеческий, воссядет рядом с Богом отцом, справа от него. Вы увидите, как я спускаюсь на облаке на землю.
Первосвященник пришел в ярость. Он разодрал на себе одежду и закричал:
— Какие еще нужны доказательства? Он хулит Бога! Что вы решите, судьи?
Судьи решили, что Иисус виновен и должен быть казнен. Тогда толпа набросилась на Иисуса, люди стали плевать в него. Потом надели на голову мешок, били по голове и говорили:
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 14:53:
Uma: “From there, Yesus was taken to the house of the Big Priest. There, all the leading priests, religion teachers and other Yahudi elders gathered.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “So-then they brought Isa to the house of the leading priest. And there gathered also all the leading priests and the elders and the teachers of the religious law.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then they took Jesus to the house of Caiaphas who was the high priest. The priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders of the Jews were already gathered there.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “They took Jesus to the house of the highest priest where-the leaders of the priests, elders and teachers of the law -were-gathered.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Jesus was taken by those who arrested him to the house of the Most-important Priest. Gathered there were all the chiefs of the priests, the important tribal leaders and the explainers of law.” (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, 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, 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, Jeso, Jesoe, Jesosa, Jesoshi, 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, 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, Sīsū, Sizi, Txesusu, uJesu, Ujísɔ̄si, ŵaYesu, Xesosi, ´Xesús, Xesús, Yasu, Ya:su, Ɣaysa, Yecu, Yeeb Sub, Yeeh Suh, Yeesey, Yeeso, Yeesso, Yēēsu, Yēēsu, Yehsu, Yëësu, Yeisu, Yeisuw, Yeshu, Yeso, Yesò, Yëso, Yɛso, ye-su, Yésu, Yêsu, Yẹ́sụ̃, Yésʉs, Yeswa, Yet Sut, Yetut, Yexus, Yezo, Yezu, Yiesu, Yiisa, Yiisu, Yiitju, Yis, Yisɔs, Yisufa, Yitati, Yusu, ‑Yusu, :Yusu’, Zeezi, Zezi, Zezì, 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).
Click or tap here to read more.
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 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 )
Illustration by Annie Vallotton, copyright by Donald and Patricia Griggs of Griggs Educational Service.
