complete verse (Matthew 12:25)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 12:25:

  • Uma: “But Yesus knew what was in their hearts. That is why he said to them: ‘If for example there is a king, and the people in his kingdom are continually fighting with one other, definitely his kingdom will fall/be-ruined. If the people in one town or in one family continually fight, that town or family will not be united.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Isa knew what was in their thoughts, therefore he said to them, ‘If there is a kingdom and it’s people fight each other that kingdom will be destroyed. And if the people of one town or a family are not of one mind but always quarrel/fight, they will finally be scattered.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “However Jesus knew what was in their thinking, and he said to them, ‘If there is a king, and his subjects fight each other, his power to rule will quickly be gone. If there is a head of a family or a datuship and his subjects are fighting each other, his datuship will just fall apart.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But Jesus knew what was in their minds, therefore he said to them, ‘If the people in a country make-war-with-each-other, that country will be ruined. The same also with a family or with town-mates, if they argue/fight, they will separate.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But Jesus knew what was in their mind. That’s why he said to them, ‘Any kingdom which is not harmonious because its subjects are in conflict, of course it won’t last. Like that too will be experienced by any town or household. As long as it’s divided up because its people are quarreling, of course it won’t last.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But Jesus knew what all the people were thinking and he said: ‘Take the case where a place is ruled by a king, if the people war then the rule cannot be completed. Or there at a town or at a house, if the people fight who live there, they will be separated.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("say")

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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) 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, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Matthew 12:25

Knowing (Good News Translation “Jesus knew”) translates a participle in which Jesus is not mentioned by name. Like Good News Translation, a number of other translations also shift to a finite verb; both Moffatt and Barclay mention Jesus by name as well.

The Greek noun phrase their thoughts is translated “what they were thinking” by An American Translation, Good News Translation, and Barclay. New Jerusalem Bible and New English Bible render “what was in their minds.” The Greek noun used for thoughts appears in the New Testament only four times; see comments at 9.4.

Every kingdom (so also New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, Barclay) is phrased more idiomatically by the use of “any” in several translations (so Moffatt, An American Translation, Phillips); New American Bible has the indefinite article “a.” Another indefinite structure is “If a kingdom….” Good News Translation shifts away from the use of kingdom to “Any country.” Translators can certainly do the same if that is more meaningful for their readers.

Divided against itself gives the image of anarchy or civil war. Therefore Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “whose leaders are against one another,” and New American Bible has “torn by strife.” Good News Translation is considerably longer than the Greek text: “that divides itself into groups which fight each other.”

Is laid waste (Good News Translation “will not last very long”) translates a verb which means “become like a desert.” Elsewhere in the New Testament it occurs only in Luke 11.17; Revelation 17.16; 18.17, 19. Barclay retains the original imagery, “is on the way to being laid waste,” and a number of translations are similar to New Jerusalem Bible, “is heading for ruin” (see New English Bible, Moffatt). New American Bible translates “is headed for its downfall,” and Phillips has “is bound to collapse.” Another way is “will be destroyed.”

Translations will vary between city (so also Barclay) and “town” (New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, New American Bible); it is not likely that either the geographical spread or the number of inhabitants would in any way compare with the modern concept of a city.

House (Good News Translation “family”) would include not only the members of the immediate or extended family, but servants and slaves of the family as well. For this reason a number of translations prefer “household” (New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New English Bible, Barclay). For most American speakers the first meaning of house is a physical structure in which people live.

No city … will stand may also be stated in English as “a city (or, town) … will not stand” (Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition), which in turn is equivalent to Good News Translation‘s “any town … will fall apart.” Barclay translates “No city … can survive.” The idea of will stand is seen in Barclay, but other ways to render it are “will remain” or “will continue to exist.” If the sentence begins with a positive “any town and family,” then the conclusion will be negative, as in “will not survive,” “will be ruined,” or “will be destroyed.”

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 12:25

Paragraph 12:25–29

12:25a

Knowing their thoughts: Jesus supernaturally knew what the Pharisees were thinking. Your translation should not imply that someone told Jesus what they were thinking.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Jesus knew what they were thinking (Good News Translation)
-or-
Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking (New Century Version)

Jesus said to them: It is implied that the reason Jesus said the words of 12:25–32 was because he knew what the Pharisees were thinking. In some languages, it may be natural to make the connection more explicit. For example:

Since Jesus knew what they were thinking, he said to them (God’s Word)
-or-

so he said (New Century Version)

12:25b

Every kingdom divided against itself: This clause describes a civil war. It refers to any nation/country where the people within that country divide into groups and fight one another.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Any kingdom divided by civil war (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Any country that divides itself into groups which fight each other (Good News Translation)
-or-
Any kingdom where people fight each other (Contemporary English Version)

will be laid waste: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as will be laid waste means “will be destroyed” or “will be ruined.” The two sides killing each other would cause the country to be destroyed/ruined. It is implied that few people will remain alive in that country.

The clause is passive. Here are some other ways to translate it:

• Use a passive verb. For example:

will be ruined (New International Version)
-or-
will be destroyed (New Century Version)

• Use an active verb. For example:

If the people of a certain country fight against one another, they will destroy their country

12:25c

Verse 12:25c teaches the same principle as 12:25b.

and every city or household: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as household is a figure of speech. It refers to the people in the house.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

house (English Standard Version)
-or-
family (Good News Translation)

divided against itself will not stand: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as stand is a figure of speech. It refers to remaining or existing.

Here are some other ways to translate this verb:

will not last (God’s Word)

-or-

will fall apart (New Living Translation (2004))

In some languages, it may be necessary to use a different verb to describe the destruction of a city and a family. For example:

A city whose people fight against one another will be destroyed. A family whose members argue with one another will not stay together.

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