Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 12:30:
Uma: “‘Whoever is not on My side, he is in-truth my enemy. Whoever does not help me work, he bothers my work.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Isa said also, ‘Whoever does not take my side is against me. And whoever does not help me to gather, is scattering.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “He who is not my companion is my enemy. He who doesn’t help me hinders me.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “‘Whoever does not join me is opposing-me, and whoever does not help to gather the sheep, he is separating/scattering them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Really the one who doesn’t side with me, I regard him as opposing me. And the one who doesn’t help me search for people, he is the one who is misleading them.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Concerning the person who does not want to be my companion, he then is the companion of my enemy. The person who does not help me to do the work is the person who spoils my work.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The Greek that is typically translated with a generic expressions such as “he who,” “whoever,” or “if anyone” in English is translated with the plural form (“they”) in Daga. “A literal translation of these conveys the idea that one specific unnamed individual is being discussed. Thus, for instance, in John 5:24 ‘he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life’ meant in Daga that there was one fortunate individual to whom it applied.”
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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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
It is not easy to determine the meaning of this verse in the context in which it appears, though the most likely meaning is that one cannot be neutral with regard to Jesus. This saying is found in the Lukan parallel (11.23) but not in Mark. On the other hand, a counterpart to this saying is found in Mark 9.40: “For whoever is not against us is for us.”
He who is a masculine form in Greek; for many languages an indefinite form such as “Anyone who” (Good News Translation, An American Translation) will function more naturally.
With me (so also New English Bible) is translated “for me” by Good News Translation; this avoids the possibility of misunderstanding the phrase to mean “in company with me.” The meaning is “on my side” (Phillips); Barclay translates “If a man is not my ally.” With me has also been translated “supports me” or “is in favor of what I am doing.”
Is against me (Good News Translation “is really against me”) explains that there are two sides and only two sides: those who are for Jesus and those who are opposed to him. Good News Bible introduces the intensifier “really” for the purpose of drawing out the full force of Jesus’ affirmation. In place of against meBarclay translates “my enemy.” This is a satisfactory solution, assuming that “enemy” is understood to mean “one who opposes Jesus” without further implying “one whom Jesus opposes.” In many cultures the word for “enemy” may imply mutual hostility; here, however, the hostility is limited to that of the person who opposes Jesus, and it is not reciprocal. To avoid these possible problems with “enemy” as a translation of is against me, many translators have “is opposed to me” or “opposes me.”
Gather with me: Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch have “help me gather,” transforming the noun phrase with me into a verb structure. Gather with me has sometimes been misunderstood to mean to meet with Jesus. The idea is more to gather people to Jesus or to God, much as one gathers in crops at harvest time. Thus it can be rendered “help me gather people (to me)” or “working with me to bring people to God.” Barclay makes it more general with “if a man is not helping my work.”
Scatters: other than at the parallel in Luke 11.23, the verb occurs only three other times in the New Testament. It is used twice in the Gospel of John: in 10.12 (with “sheep” as the object) and in 16.32 (with “disciples” the subject of the passive verb). On the other hand, in 2 Corinthians 9.9 (with God as the subject and no expressed object) the force of the verb is positive, and Good News Translation renders “gives generously.” In the present context the focus is definitely negative, in contrast to the verb “gather.” If the receptor language necessitates an object for the two verbs, one may render “… gather people (for God) … scatters (or, drives) people (away from God).”
Barclay also uses a general expression to translate scatters: “is undoing it (my work).” But if translators have retained gather in some form, then “drives away people from God” or “causes people to go away from God” will be 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 .
He who is not with Me is against Me: The phrase is not with Me means “is not on my side,” “does not support me,” or “is not my friend/ally.”
This clause indicates that there are two sides in the spiritual conflict: Jesus’ side and Satan’s side. There is no middle or neutral position.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Anyone who is not helping/supporting me opposes me
-or-
If you are not on my side, you are against me (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
The person who does not join with me is against me.
-or-
The person who does not work with me works against me
12:30b
and he who does not gather with Me scatters: This clause is a figure of speech. This figure of speech means the same thing as 12:30a: anyone who is not helping Jesus in his work is opposing him.
Jesus did not say what he was gathering. Many scholars think he was comparing himself to a shepherd gathering sheep. Other scholars think he was comparing himself to a farmer gathering crops. In either case, he was comparing his action of gathering people into God’s kingdom to a human action.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
• Use the specific example of sheep. For example:
He who does not help me gather ⌊my sheep⌋ is scattering them.
• Use the specific example of crops. For example:
If you don’t gather in the harvest with me, you scatter it. (Contemporary English Version)
• Use a more generic word for gather. For example:
anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me (New Living Translation (2004))
• Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. Here this means that if someone is not calling people to come to God, like Jesus is, he is actually pushing people away from God. For example:
He who does not help me bring ⌊people to God⌋ scatters them ⌊so that they go away from God⌋.
Translate this figure of speech in a way that is most natural in your language.
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