many sparrows

The Greek that is translated as “many sparrows” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with ganze Schwärme von Spatzen or “whole flocks of sparrows.”

See also sparrow.

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.

In Nepali translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and other people with the medium honorific pronoun timīlē (तिमीले) or timīlēharū (तिमीलेहरू). His disciples respond with a high honorific pronoun. (Source: Chitra Chhetri in The Bible Translator 2009, p. 73ff. )

In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.

See also formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese).

complete verse (Matthew 10:31)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 10:31:

  • Uma: “So, don’t be afraid. God’s care for you surpasses his care for the many sparrows.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Therefore do not be afraid. You are more valuable than the many birds.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Therefore don’t be afraid, because you are much dearer to him than many birds.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Therefore don’t be afraid, because each one of you is far-away more-important than however-many (lit. “manyness of”) rice-birds (see here )!'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore don’t be afraid, for you are much greater that a whole flock of rice-birds.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Therefore do not be afraid of the people. Because you are more valuable than the birds even though there are crowds of them.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

sparrow

While the Greek word strouthion is certainly the name for the sparrow, the Hebrew tsippor is actually an inclusive word that refers to sparrow-sized birds in general. These small birds, especially sparrows, were caught in nets and traps and were an important part of the diet of poor people.

There are three types of sparrow that are common in Israel, the House Sparrow Passer domesticus, the Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis, and the Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus. All three are small speckled brown birds. Additional small birds that abound around towns and settlements are members of the bunting, finch, and tit families. Sparrows in particular are usually found in fairly large numbers roosting and nesting together. All are seed eaters and live mainly on grass seeds and grain.

Sparrows were considered clean birds and were associated with the poor.

Sparrows or sparrow-like small birds are found all over the world. Finding a local word is not usually difficult. The reference to “a lonely bird on the housetop” in Psalms 102:7 takes on additional meaning if the sparrow was intended, since it is a bird that is seldom seen alone. It would then indicate the psalmist’s sense of loneliness at being separated from those with whom he belongs.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Matthew 10:31

Fear not (Good News Translation “So do not be afraid”) is without an object in Greek. New American Bible supplies an object (“So do not be afraid of anything”); it may even be better to translate “So do not be afraid of people” or “So do not be afraid of what people may do to you.” The text stresses that one need fear only God, for in the final analysis it is he alone who determines the destiny of all people.

You are of more value than many sparrows is translated by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch as “You are worth more to God than an entire flock of sparrows.” Similar renderings are “God considers you much more valuable than many sparrows” and “As far as God is concerned, you are worth much more than even many sparrows.”

Since the expression with many sparrows could be misunderstood to mean you are more important than many but not all sparrows, a rendering such as “an entire flock” is often better.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 10:31

10:31

So do not be afraid: This is Jesus’ conclusion in the form of a command. On the basis of what he has said in 10:29–30, he now concludes So do not be afraid.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Therefore do not be afraid
-or-
Fear not, therefore (English Standard Version)
-or-
For this reason do not be afraid

you are worth more than many sparrows: This clause summarizes the basis for the command not to be afraid. Do not be afraid, because God values people more than many sparrows. So he will care for you.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

⌊because⌋ you are worth more than many sparrows

-or-

⌊I say this because⌋ you are more valuable ⌊to God⌋ than many of these small birds

This clause implies that God will care for his people. If people in your area do not understand that implication, you may want to explain it in a footnote. Here is a sample footnote:

This means that God will certainly care for his people.

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