truth

Nida (1947, p. 230) says this about the translation of the concept of “truth”: “The words for ‘truth’ and ‘true’ are not always the most readily discovered in aboriginal languages. In some instances the only expression which corresponds to ‘true’ is something like ‘it happened.’ A falsehood is something that ‘did not happen.’ In a good many languages the meaning of ‘truth’ is expressed by the words signifying ‘straight’ and ‘direct.’ Untruth is accordingly ‘crookedness.’ An abstract noun such as English “truth” is quite difficult to find in some instances. Only an expression such as ‘true statement’ or ‘true word’ will be found to correspond to English ‘truth.’”

The Greek, Latin, Ge’ez, and Hebrew that is usually translated in English as “truth” is translated in Luchazi with vusunga: “the quality of being straight” (source: E. Pearson in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 160ff. ), in Obolo as atikọ or “good/correct talk” (source: Enene Enene), and in Ekari as maakodo bokouto or “enormous truth” (esp. in John 14:6 and 17; bokouto — “enormous” — is being used as an attribute for abstract nouns to denote that they are of God [see also here]; source: Marion Doble in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 37ff. ).

Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) tells of the translation into Kui which usually is “true-thing.” In some instances however, such as in the second part of John 17:17 (“your word is truth” in English), the use of “true-thing” indicated that there might be other occasions when it’s not true, so here the translation was a a form of “pure, holy.”

The translation committee of the Malay “Good News Bible” (Alkitab Berita Baik, see here ) wrestled with the translation of “truth” in the Gospel of John:

“Our Malay Committee also concluded that ‘truth’ as used in the Gospel of John was used either of God himself, or of God’s revelation of himself, or in an extended sense as a reference to those who had responded to God’s self-disclosure. In John 8:32 the New Malay translation reads ‘You will know the truth about God, and the truth about God will make you free.’ In John 8:44 this meaning is brought out by translating, ‘He has never been on the side of God, because there is no truth in him.’ Accordingly Jesus ‘tells the truth about God’ in 8:45, 46 (see also 16:7 and 8:37a). Then, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’ (John 14:6) becomes ‘I am the one who leads men to God, the one who reveals who and what God is, and the one who gives men life.” At 3:21 the translation reads ” … whoever obeys the truth, that is God himself, comes to the light …’; 16:13a appears as ‘he will lead you into the full truth about God’; and in 18:37 Jesus affirms ‘I came into the world to reveal the truth about God, and whoever obeys God listens to me.’ On this basis also 1:14 was translated ‘we saw his glory, the glory which he had as the Father’s only Son. Through him God has completely revealed himself (truth) and his love for us (grace)’; and 1:17 appears as ‘God gave the law through Moses; but through Jesus Christ he has completely revealed himself (truth) and his love for us (grace).'” (Source: Barclay Newman in The Bible Translator 1974, p. 432ff. )

The German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) has followed a somewhat similar path to the Malay committee 50 years earlier in the gospel of John. In John 1 it translates “truth as “God’s nature,” in John 3 as “God’s will,” in John 8 as “God’s reality,” in John 14 as “encountering God,” and in John 16 as “God’s truth.”

Mark 5:21-43 in Russian Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 5:21-43 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:


Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество

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!

Back-translation by Luka Manevich

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Mark 6:1-6 in Russian Sign Language >>

Mark 5:21-43 in Mexican Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 5:21-43 into Mexican Sign Language with back-translations into Spanish and English underneath:


© La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)

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.”

Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

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Mark 6:1-6 in Mexican Sign Language >>

complete verse (Mark 5:33)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 5:33:

  • Uma: “The woman knew what had happened to herself [lit., her body]. She shivered from fear and came and knelt in front of Yesus admitting everything.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then, because she knew that her sickness had been healed, the woman went close to Isa, shaking because she was afraid. She prostrated at the feet of Isa and told the truth.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “That woman was very frightened, for she knew what had happened to her when she took hold of the shirt of Jesus. And she came near to Jesus trembling and she knelt down before him, and she explained to him everything about her disease.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Since the woman knew what was done to her, she approached Jesus trembling from her fear and knelt face-down before him. Then she told/confessed to him all that had happened.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “For the reason that that woman was well-aware of what had happened to her, she now trembled with fear coming close to Jesus. She bowed down and told the truth.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 5:32 – 5:33

Exegesis:

perieblepeto (cf. 3.5) ‘he looked around him.’

idein ‘to see’: the infinitive indicates purpose; here the verb is practically equivalent to ‘to discover,’ ‘to find.’

tēn touto poiēsasan ‘the one who had done this’: literally, ‘the (woman) who did this.’ This, of course, is from the author’s viewpoint, not from the point of view of Jesus, who did not know whether man or woman had touched him. It is fanciful to suppose that from the touch Jesus sensed it was a woman.

phobētheisa (cf. 4.41) ‘afraid,’ ‘fearful.’

tremousa (only here in Mark) ‘trembling.’

eiduia ‘knowing’: probably causal, ‘because she knew’ (cf. Translator’s New Testament).

prosepesen autō (cf. 3.11) ‘she prostrated herself before him.’

pasan tēn alētheian ‘the whole truth’: not only about her cure, but all the facts concerning her illness (narrated in vv. 25-28).

alētheia (12.14, 32) ‘truth.’

Translation:

Fear and trembling must in some languages be related subordinately, rather than coordinately, as in Greek (and English). For example, in Copainalá Zoque the equivalent expression is ‘for fear she was trembling.’ This type of arrangement with and makes possible an implication which is readily understood by English speakers, but not by certain others, namely, the specific connection between ‘fear’ and ‘trembling’ or the fact that ‘trembling’ designates a psychologically significant experience.

For problems in translating fall down, see 5.22.

Where languages may lack an abstract term truth, which can be used in this type of context, it may be possible to employ a phrase ‘she told him exactly what had happened.’

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .