The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated “boat” or “ship” in English is translated in Chichimeca-Jonaz as “that with which we can walk on water” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.), in Chitonga as a term in combination with bwato or “dugout canoe” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 72), and in Tangale as inj am or “canoe-of water” (inj — “canoe” — on its own typically refers to a traditional type of carved-out log for sleeping) (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
In Kouya it is translated as ‘glʋ ‘kadʋ — “big canoe.”
Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains how the Kouya team arrived at that conclusion:
“Acts chapter 27 was a challenge! It describes Paul’s sea voyage to Italy, and finally Rome. There is a storm at sea and a shipwreck on Malta, and the chapter includes much detailed nautical vocabulary. How do you translate this for a landlocked people group, most of whom have never seen the ocean? All they know are small rivers and dugout canoes.
“We knew that we could later insert some illustrations during the final paging process which would help the Kouya readers to picture what was happening, but meanwhile we struggled to find or invent meaningful terms. The ‘ship’ was a ‘big canoe’ and the ‘passengers’ were ‘the people in the big canoe’; the ‘crew’ were the ‘workers in the big canoe’; the ‘pilot’ was the ‘driver of the big canoe’; the ‘big canoe stopping place’ was the ‘harbour’, and the ‘big canoe stopping metal’ was the ‘anchor’!”
In Lokạạ it is translated as ukalangkwaa, lit. “English canoe.” “The term was not coined for the Bible translation, but rather originated in colonial times when the English arrived in Nigeria on ships. The indigenous term for a canoe was modified to represent the large, ocean-going ship of the English.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Jesus got into the boat and they sailed back. When they arrived, Jesus got out of the boat. There were a lot of people crowded together. One man named Jairus was in charge. He kept order in the synagogue — it was a house of prayer for the Jews who gathered there on the Sabbath. Jairus came to Jesus, knelt down and begged him, My daughter is dying. She is only twelve years old. Please come and touch my daughter with your hand and she will not die, she will be saved.
Jesus said: Let’s go.
And the two of them went. They went. There was a crowd of people around. In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. And they couldn’t cure her. She had gone to many doctors, spent a lot of money on treatment, but she was getting worse.
She thought: If I go to Jesus and just touch his clothes, I will be well.
She thought so and went. And there were a lot of people there. She made her way through the crowd and finally came close to Jesus. Jesus had on a long robe.
The woman thought, I just want to touch the edge of the robe!
She reached out and touched and realized that her bleeding stopped immediately. And she backed up. Jesus stopped. He felt his power had gone somewhere. He looked at the crowd and asked: Who touched my robe?
The disciples were puzzled and began to say to Jesus, Look how many people are here! And you ask who touched your clothes!
The woman was afraid. But then she decided to come out of the crowd. She knelt before Jesus and said: I have suffered from bleeding for twelve years, so I have come to touch your garment to get well.
Jesus said to her: O woman! Your faith that you dared to touch my garment, it has saved you. God is with you! Be at ease, your torment is over.
Then the men of Jairus’ house came and said, Your daughter is already dead. So you don’t need to bring Jesus to the house. Jairus was very upset.
Jesus heard and said to Jairus, Don’t be sad, keep on believing.
He told the crowd to disperse. Jesus took Jairus and the three disciples with him — Peter, John, and James. Jesus said: Come with me to Jairus’ house.
They went into Jairus’ house. There was a multitude of people there crying and shouting, The girl is dead!
Jesus came and said, There is no reason for you to cry! The girl is not dead, she is sleeping.
The people began to say to Jesus: Why are you mocking us? She is not sleeping, she is dead!
And they kept crying. Jesus told everyone to move out of the way, taking only the girl’s father and mother and his disciples with him, and they went into the room where the girl was lying. Jesus entered the room, looked at the twelve-year-old girl, took her by the hand and said: Girl, I command you — get up!
The girl immediately opened her eyes, stood up. The parents and the three disciples were amazed to see that she was alive. Jesus said, You don’t have to tell everyone that the girl came back to life after death. And feed the girl!
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
Иисус сел в лодку, и они поплыли обратно. Когда они приплыли, Иисус вышел из лодки. Столпилось множество народа. Один человек по имени Иаир был начальником. Он следил за порядком в синагоге — это дом молитвы для евреев, которые собирались там по субботам. Иаир подошел к Иисусу, встал на колени и стал молить Его: Моя дочь при смерти. Ей всего двенадцать лет. Пожалуйста, приди, коснись рукой моей дочери, и она не умрет, будет спасена.
Иисус сказал: Пойдем.
И они пошли вдвоем. Они пошли. Вокруг была толпа народа. В толпе была одна женщина, которая уже двенадцать лет болела кровотечением. И никак не могли ее вылечить. Она ходила по многим врачам, истратила на лечение много-много денег, но ей становилось только хуже.
Она подумала так: Если я подойду к Иисусу и хотя бы только прикоснусь к Его одежде, то я буду здорова.
Она так подумала и пошла. А там было очень много народа. Она пробиралась сквозь толпу, наконец, приблизилась к Иисусу. У Иисуса была длинная одежда.
Женщина подумала: Мне бы только края одежды коснуться!
Она протянула руку и дотронулась и поняла, что у нее кровотечение остановилось тут же. И она попятилась назад. Иисус остановился. Он почувствовал, что его сила куда-то ушла. Он посмотрел на толпу и спросил: Кто прикоснулся к моей одежде?
Ученики в недоумении стали говорить Иисусу: Посмотри, сколько здесь народу! И ты спрашиваешь, кто дотронулся до твоей одежды?!
Женщина боялась. Но потом все-таки решилась выйти из толпы. Она встала на колени перед Иисусом и сказала: Я в течение двенадцати лет страдаю от кровотечений, поэтому я пришла, чтобы дотронуться до твоей одежды, чтобы выздороветь.
Иисус сказал ей: О женщина! Твоя вера, что ты решилась дотронуться до моей одежды, она спасла тебя. Бог с тобою! Будь спокойна, твои мучения закончились.
Тут пришли люди из дома Иаира и говорят: Твоя дочь уже умерла. Поэтому ненужно уже приводить в дом Иисуса. Иаир очень расстроился.
Иисус, услышав, сказал Иаиру: Не печалься! Продолжай верить!
Он велел толпе расступиться. Иисус взял с собой Иаира и трех учеников — Петр, Иоанн, Иаков. Иисус сказал: Пойдем со мной в дом Иаира.
Они вошли в дом Иаира. Там было множество народа, которые плакали и кричали: Девочка умерла!
Иисус подошел и сказал: Нет причины вам плакать! Девочка не умерла, она спит.
Люди стали говорить Иисусу: Ты что же издеваешься над нами? Она не спит, она умерла!
И они продолжали плакать. Иисус велел всем отойти в сторону, взял с собой только отца и мать девочки и своих учеников, и они пошли в комнату, где лежала девочка. Иисус вошел в комнату, посмотрел на двенадцатилетнюю девочку, взял ее за руку и сказал: Девочка, я повелеваю тебе — вставай!
Девочка тут же открыла глаза, встала. Родители и три ученика изумились, видя, что она жива. Иисус сказал: Не нужно всем рассказывать, что девочка ожила после смерти. И покормите девочку!
Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)
El barco iba y cuando llegó Jesús y los discípulos salieron del barco y muchas personas venían, una multitud se atestaba.
Un hombre, (llamado) Jairo, un líder del templo, vio a Jesús y caminó hacia él entre la multitud y se arrodilló.
Dijo: “Jesús, mi hija de doce años de edad está por morir, pon las manos sobre ella y la vida de mi hija será salvo, ¡por favor ven!”
Jesús acordó y Jairo se paró, y muchas personas, una gran multitud, fueron con ellos.
Dentro (de la multitud), por detrás una mujer desconocida que tenía una enfermedad de menstruación, perdiendo sangre, vio a Jesús y caminó hacia él, haciendo un paso por la multitud.
La mujer agarró la ropa de Jesús y alivió, estaba sana.
Jesús sentía que curación había salido de él y miraba alrededor: “¿Quién tocó mi ropa?”
Los discípulos (pensaron que era) absurdo y dijeron: “Tú sabes que hay muchas personas atestandose, ¿cómo (sabes) que uno te toca?”
Jesús miraba alrededor de él y la mujer lo vio: caray, y miedosa con las rodillas temblando se acercó a él y se arrodilló, y dijo: “yo agarré tu ropa, porque antes estaba sangrando de mi regla por doce años.
He ido a diferentes doctores, pero ellos (dijeron): “Perdón, no sabemos”, he gastado todo mi dinero, pero sufría peor y peor del sangrado de menstruación.
Después vi todas las personas que me lo decían y yo lo creía que tú, Jesús, puedes sanar, y yo tan sólo agarré tu ropa y estoy sana, por eso.”
Jesús la miraba y sentía cariño (y dijo): “Tu fe ya te sanó, ahora ya no sigues enferma, basta, vete tranquilamente.”
Por allá venía un grupo de gente, y dijeron a Jairo: “Dile a Jesús que ya no lo molestes, dejalo, porque tu hija ya ha muerto.”
Jesús lo oyó y se volteó a verlo y le dijo: “Jairo, no te desesperes, ten fe, un momentito: ¡vengan Pedro, Jacobo y Juan, vengan!”
El grupo fue a la casa y Jesús miraba alrededor de él y vio a las personas desesperadas, llorando y gritando. Jesus dijo: “¿Porqué gritan y lloran? La niña no está muerta, sólo está dormida.”
Las personas (pensaban que era) absurdo, y ahora se reían. Jesús miraba alrededor de él (y dijo que) todos se fueran, y la multitud se alejaba.
Jesús llamó Jairo, su esposa y los tres discípulos y el grupo entró el cuarto.
Jesús miró a la niña prostrada en la cama y caminó hacia ella, le agarró de la mano y dijo: “Talita cum”, que significa: “Te dijo, niña que te levantes.” La niña abrió los ojos y se levantó y caminaba.
Los padres y los discípulos estaban asombrados y asustados, Jesús les advirtió: “Todas las personas no saben (lo que pasó) y uds. no les cuenten, guarden silencio, es un secreto.”
Dijo: “Ahora dale comida a tu hija.”
The boat sailed and when it arrived Jesus and the disciples got out and many people came, a great crowd thronged them.
A man (named) Jairus, a leader of the temple, saw Jesus and walked up to him through the crowd and knelt down.
He said: “Jesus, my daughter who is twelve years old is dying, lay your hands on her and her life will be saved, please come!”
Jesus agreed and Jairus got up and many people, a great crowd, went with them.
From within (the crowd), from behind a strange woman who had an menstruation illness so that she was bleeding, saw Jesus and walked up to him, making a way through the crowd.
The woman took hold of Jesus’ clothes and she was relieved, healed.
Jesus felt that healing had gone out of him and he looked around: “Who touched my clothes?”
The disciples (thought it) absurd and said: “You know that many people are crowding around, how (do you know) that one touched you?”
Jesus kept looking around and the woman saw it: Ay, and with shaky knees, faint hearted, she approached him and knelt down and said: “I took hold of your clothes, because I have had menstruation bleeding for twelve years.
“I have been to various doctors, but they (said): ‘Sorry, we don’t know,’ I have spent all my money, but I suffered worse and worse from the menstruation bleeding.
“Afterwards I saw all these people and they told me, and I believed it, that you Jesus can heal, and I merely took hold of your clothes, and I was healed, that’s why.”
Jesus looked at her and felt affection (and said): “Your faith has healed you, now you will no longer be sick, it’s enough, go peacefully.”
Over there came a group of people and they told Jairus: “Tell Jesus that you will not bother him anymore, leave it, because you your daughter has died.”
Jesus heard him and turned around to look at him and said: “Jairus, don’t despair, have faith, just a moment: Come Peter, James and John, come here!”
The group went to the house and Jesus looked around and saw the people in despair, crying and wailing. Jesus said: “Why are you wailing and crying? The girl is not dead, she is just asleep.”
The people (thought it was) ridiculous, and now they were laughing. Jesus looked around (and told) them all to go away, and the whole crowd went away.
Jesus beckoned Jairus, his wife and the three disciples and the group entered the room.
Jesus looked at the girl lying on the bed and walked over to her, took her by the hand and said: “Talita cum”, which means: “I tell you, girl, to get up.” The girl opened her eyes, got up and walked around.
The parents and the disciples were amazed and shocked and Jesus warned them: “All the people don’t know (what has happened) and don’t tell them, keep silent, it’s a secret.”
He said: “Now give your daughter something to eat.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 5:21:
Uma: “Yesus returned to the other side of the lake. Upon arrival at the other side, many people surrounded him again. While he was still at the lake shore,” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “So-then Isa crossed over again in a boat to the other side of lake Jalil. Many people gathered again to him when he was there at the shore of the lake.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Jesus and company crossed over in the boat, and when they went ashore, very many people gathered together to him.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When Jesus had gone-over (body of water) again to return to the other-side, many-many-people crowded-around-him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well, as for Jesus and company, they sailed again returning to the other side of that lake. As he stepped on to the edge/beach, he was again gathered around by people.” (Source: Tagbanwa 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 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, 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).
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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 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.
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 rare (られ) 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, wata-rare-ru (渡られる) or “cross” is used.
Also, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) is used in mi-moto (みもと) referring to the location (of God).
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 rare (られ) 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, o-rare-ru (おられる) or “is/be present” is used.
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