humble form of "receive" (itadaku)

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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 to do this is through the usage of lexical honorific forms, i.e., completely different words, as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

In these verses, itadaku (いただく), a respectful form of morau (もらう) or “receive” is used. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also receive (Japanese honorifics), humble form of “receive” (tamawaru) and humble form of “eat” (itadaku).

Translation commentary on Mark 7:28

Exegesis:

nai (only here in Mark) ‘certainly,’ ‘assuredly,’ ‘exactly.’

kurie (in the vocative only here in Mark) ‘Sir’: a title of respect, not the Christian title ‘Lord.’

kai ta kunaria ‘yet the (little) dogs.’

hupokatō tēs trapezēs ‘underneath the table.’

trapeza (11.15) ‘table.’

esthiousin apo tōn psichiōn ‘they eat the crumbs’: the phrase esthiein apo ‘to eat of’ indicates the thing of which one partakes (not the idea of ‘some’ of it).

psichion (diminutive) ‘crumb,’ ‘bit’: perhaps here the word refers to the bits of bread used to clean the hands of the guests and then thrown under the table to the dogs (cf. Rawlinson).

Translation:

Yes cannot be translated literally in many languages, for there is no direct yes-or-no question. There is simply a negative statement it is not right…. Moreover, in a high percentage of languages if one is going to show agreement with a negative statement, one must use a negative, not a positive, reply. For example, in Tzeltal the woman’s reply must be ‘No sir; but even the dogs….’ In some languages, however, one can use the expressions ‘you are right’ or ‘you have said true,’ to indicate agreement with the preceding statement, whether in a positive or negative form.

Lord is probably not the better rendering at this point. The woman’s respect for Jesus is generally regarded as not equivalent to a recognition of his divine status, so much as a very polite means of address.

The children’s crumbs cannot be translated as a possessive construction in some languages, since these are not crumbs which belong to the children, but crumbs from the bread which they have been eating. They are therefore ‘crumbs from the children’ or ‘crumbs from the children’s bread,’ Pamona translates ‘the left-overs of the food,’ while Javanese has ‘the spilt (food).’

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 .

SIL Translator's Notes on Mark 7:28

7:28a

Yes, Lord: There is a textual issue here:

(1) Some Greek manuscripts have “Yes” before “Lord.” For example, the Revised Standard Version says:

Yes, Lord

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, New Century Version, New Living Translation, NET Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, English Standard Version)

(2) Other Greek manuscripts have only “Lord” or “sir.” For example, the Good News Bible says:

Sir

(Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible)

It is recommended that you follow option (1).

Yes: The word Yes indicates that the woman understood what Jesus meant. She agreed with Jesus.

Lord: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Lord means “master,” or “one who has authority over others.” People used this word as a polite title when they spoke to an elder or someone in authority. However, the Jews also used this same title to refer to God. The Gentile woman may have been using it in a similar way to address Jesus as a person who had authority from God. Use a term in your language that could be used in a similar way.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

Master
-or-
Chief
-or-
Owner
-or-
Sovereign

In some languages it may be necessary to add a word like “my” before such an address. For example:

my Chief/Sovereign

See Lord, Context 3, in the Glossary.

she replied: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as she replied is literally “she answered and said to him” (as in the New American Standard Bible). In Greek, this phrase comes before “Yes, Lord.” You should place this phrase where it is most natural in your language.

7:28b

even the dogs: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as even is used to emphasize that those who were not children were allowed to eat some of the children’s food.

under the table: In some languages, it may not be natural to say explicitly that the dogs are under the table. This information may be understood without being stated. If that is the case in your language, you may leave this phrase implied.

children’s crumbs: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as children’s crumbs literally indicates the small pieces of food that fall down while children are eating.

Here are some other ways to translate children’s crumbs:

the children’s leftovers (Good News Bible)
-or-
some of the children’s scraps (God’s Word)
-or-
crumbs that children drop from the table (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
crumbs from the children’s plates (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)

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