complete verse (Matthew 13:12)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 13:12:

  • Uma: “People who receive the Word of God, their hearts will be made-clear so that they know more and more of the Word of God. But people who do not want to receive the Word of God, even if there is a little that they do know, it will be taken from them.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “For a person, if he listens well, he will understand more. But if a person does not listen well, even if he understands a little, it will finally leave him.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Because the person who has believed and has understanding, God will give to him more so that his understanding will be right. But he who doesn’t believe, God will take away from him the little that he understands.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because the person who heeds what he is hearing, his understanding will be added-to until he understands much, but the one who doesn’t heed-it, even the little he thought he understood will disappear.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The one who believes/obeys what he has learned from me, his wisdom/understanding will be increased by God until he knows a lot/enough. But the one who doesn’t acknowledge-as-true this which he has heard, God will remove even what he has understood so it doesn’t come to anything.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The person who understands about the word will be helped by God to know even more. But the person who pays no attention to the word I speak, the little bit that he does know will be taken from him.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 13:12

This saying, repeated in 25.29 (see Mark 4.25; Luke 8.18), is difficult; some scholars even speak of it as “obscure.” It is in the form of a proverb, and commentators note the similarity between it and the proverbial sayings of certain Jewish teachers. For example, some of them taught that God gave wisdom to the wise, but not to the foolish, thereby filling vessels that were already full, while leaving others empty. Here the application is to Jesus’ disciples; they have received an understanding of the way that God works, and to them he will grant a deeper understanding. But others have refused this wisdom, and so in the final judgment God will take from them what they have.

For is not used as a preposition; it serves to indicate a logical connection between verses 11 and 12. Obviously many languages have a simple word that corresponds to For. Others have to strengthen it with a phrase like “(For) you see, to him…” or “This is true because.”

Him who has (Good News Translation “person who has something”): as may be observed from Revised Standard Version, the Greek text does not have an expressed object of the verb has, and for many languages an object will be required. To supply “something” (Good News Translation) may imply material possessions and possibly even money. And the restructuring of New American Bible will definitely cause the majority of readers to think in material terms: “To the man who has, more will be given until he grows rich.” Many languages will require an object after has, and some decision must be made. In the context the implied object is “understanding,” especially as it relates to the activity of God in establishing his Kingdom in the world. Therefore one may translate “who has understanding,” or “who understands the secrets of God’s Kingdom,” or “who understands the secret ways that God goes about establishing his Kingdom in the world.”

Will more be given may need to be transformed into an active construction with God as subject: “God will give more understanding.” Actually the whole first part of the sentence may need to be restructured, as in “For the person who has understanding, God will give that person more of it” or “For it is the person who has understanding to whom God will give more of it.”

Note that him means “person” and does not refer to males only.

And he will have abundance is translated “so that he will have more than enough” by Good News Translation and “… will be plentifully supplied” by An American Translation. The meaning is that the person will receive more than is sufficient, but the wording of Good News Bible may imply that he receives more than he actually wants. One may translate “until he has all the understanding that he needs, and even more.”

Him who has not (Good News Translation “the person who has nothing”): as with “something” in the first half of this verse, so “nothing” may also be understood of material possessions. Therefore one may need to translate similarly, “who does not have any understanding.”

It is not logical to state that even what he has will be taken from the person who has nothing. But the statement is one of exaggeration for emphasis, as is typical in parables. In order to stress the smallness of what he has, Good News Translation translates “even the little he has” (New American Bible “what little he has”).

Will be taken away may be translated “God will take away from him.”

The second part of the verse may be restructured also, as was the first part: “but the person who has no understanding, God will take from him even the little he has” or “but God will take away from the person who has no understanding even the little he has.”

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 13:12

13:12a

Verse 13:12 gives more information about the teaching in 13:11. The Greek introduces this extra information with a conjunction that the many English versions translate as “For.” In this context, it does not mean “because.” Do not translate this verse as if it were the reason for 13:12.

Here is another way to translate this conjunction:

Furthermore

The Berean Standard Bible and many other English versions do not translate this conjunction. In some languages, it will not be necessary to translate it either.

Whoever has will be given more: Some words from 13:11 are implied but not repeated in this verse part. In 13:11b, knowledge was given, and here more will be given. In some languages, it may be natural to make this information explicit. For example:

Whoever has ⌊that knowledge⌋ will be given more
-or-
Those who have understanding will be given more (New Century Version)
-or-
Those who understand [these mysteries] will be given [more knowledge] (God’s Word)

In some languages, it may be necessary to have an object for the verb has and given, even if it is not the word “knowledge” or “understanding.” For example:

Everyone who has something will be given more. (Contemporary English Version)

will be given more: This verb is passive. God is the one who will give more knowledge/understanding.

Here are some ways to translate this clause as an active clause:

⌊God⌋ will give him more
-or-

⌊God⌋ will ⌊help him understand⌋ even more ⌊things⌋

13:12b

he will have an abundance: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as abundance means “more than enough, full to overflowing.” The word refers to God giving that person so much knowledge that the person will have no lack.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

he will have ⌊more than⌋ enough ⌊of knowledge⌋
-or-
he will have lots ⌊of it⌋

13:12c–d

The Greek begins this clause with a conjunction that indicates contrast here. The contrast is between the different types of people: the one who has, and the one who does not have. Many English versions indicate this contrast with the conjunction “but.”

Here is another way to indicate this contrast:

however

Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him: As in 13:12b, some words from 13:11 are implied but not repeated in this verse part. In 13:11b, knowledge was given. Here that knowledge/understanding will be taken away. In some languages, it may be natural to make this information explicit. For example:

those who do not have understanding, even what they have will be taken away from them (New Century Version)
-or-
some people don’t understand [these mysteries]…. Even what they understand will be taken away from them (God’s Word)
-or-
people who don’t have anything will lose even what little they have (Contemporary English Version)

The phrase does not have is an exaggeration. It refers to a person who has very little understanding/knowledge. In some languages, it may be more natural to translate the meaning without exaggerating. For example:

whoever understands very little, even the little he has will be taken from him
-or-
for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them (New Living Translation (2004))

even what he has will be taken away from him: This clause is passive. God is the one who will take this understanding/knowledge away.

Here are some ways to translate this clause as an active clause:

even what he has, ⌊God⌋ will take ⌊it⌋ from him

-or-

God will take away even the little knowledge that he has

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