The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “joy” or “happiness” is translated in the HausaCommon Language Bible idiomatically as farin ciki or “white stomach.” In some cases, such as in Genesis 29:11, it is also added for emphatic purposes.
Other languages that use the same expression include Southern Birifor (pʋpɛl), Dera (popolok awo), Reshe (ɾipo ɾipuhã). (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
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.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 13:20:
Uma: “‘The seed that fell in the stony ground stands-for people who hear the world of God and right away their hearts are glad to hear it.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “The seeds that fell on the bedrock is a figure of the people who hear the message of God and immediately believe and are happy/glad.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And that which was planted that fell on the thin soil on top of the rock, are like people that hear the word of God and they really like to listen to it.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “What fell also in the stony-area, those are the people who are happy to receive the Word of God upon their hearing it.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “This rocky place which was scattered on, what this refers to is people who listen and immediately they happily acknowledge-as-true the word of God.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Other people are compared to the ground which is not deep with the stone in it, where the seeds landed. Upon hearing the word, these people rejoiced greatly, looking well upon it.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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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 (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-kotoba (みことば) or “word (of God)” in the referenced verses.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
As for what was sown on rocky ground: for the meaning of rocky ground see Matthew 13.5. The same translational problems exist here as in the previous verse, and Jerusalem Bible translates “The one who received it on patches of rock is the man who hears the word and welcomes it at once with joy.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders “With others it is as with the seed which fell on rocky ground. They hear the Good News and receive it at once with joy.”
In many cases it is easier to translate this verse if the order is reversed: “And when a person hears the word and accepts it joyfully, that is just like when some of the seed fell on rocky ground.” Even with this order, it is usually possible to continue with the next verse naturally, as in “That person has no root….” However, there are also translators who treat verses 20 and 21 together, moving this first phrase of verse 20 to the end of verse 21: “And there are other people who hear the word and immediately accept it gladly. But the message does not really take root in them, and when trouble or persecution comes because of this message, they abandon it quickly. When that happens, it is just like when some of the seed fell on rocky ground.”
The text says what was sown, but most of the examples we have given say “the seed that was sown.”
Again, the singular he who hears can just as easily be plural, “people who hear,” depending on the receptor language.
This verse says simply hears the word, which differs from the “word of the kingdom” of verse 19. “Hears the message,” “… message I bring,” or “… message from God” are all possibilities.
Receives it can be rendered “accepts it,” “welcomes it,” or even “believes it.”
Immediately … with joy is given emphasis in the Greek sentence structure. Translators should therefore find a way of doing the same in the receptor language texts. Examples are “right then with enthusiasm” and “immediately and with much joy.”
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 .
The seed sown on rocky ground: This clause indicates that another explanation is coming. It is the explanation of what happened when some seed fell on rocky ground. Be careful not to imply that the seed is being compared to a person. The comparison is to the entire situation.
This clause is passive. Here are some ways to translate it:
• Use a passive verb. For example:
⌊The meaning of what happened to⌋ the seeds that were planted on rocky places is this:
• Use an active verb. For example:
As for the seeds that ⌊the farmer⌋ planted on bedrock, that is like
• Use another type of verb. For example:
As for the shallow ground where some seeds fell, that is like
sown: Some English translations (like the New International Version and Good News Translation) translate sown here as “fell.” This indicates that the farmer did not sow the seeds on the rocky ground on purpose.
rocky ground: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rocky ground is the same word that occurs in 13:5a. It refers to ground that has a layer of solid rock underneath. There is not much soil on top of the solid rock. This clause does not refer to soil and rocks mixed together.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
shallow soil with underlying rock
-or-
⌊solid⌋ rock with a thin layer of soil
-or-
bedrock where there is only a little soil on top
13:20b
is: The word is indicates a comparison. It means “the situation in 13:20a represents….” In other words, sowing on rocky ground “is like” or “represents” someone who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. For example:
represents (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
stand for (Good News Translation)
the one who hears the word: The word one refers to a certain type of person. In some languages, it may be more natural to use a plural word here. For example:
the people who gladly hear the message (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
those who hear the message (New Living Translation (2004))
the word: This word refers to the “message,” “talk,” or “news” of the kingdom. You should translate the word in the same way as you translated it in 13:19a (Berean Standard Bible: “the message”).
13:20c
at once: Here are some other ways to translate this word:
without hesitation
-or-
immediately (English Standard Version)
-or-
as soon as they hear it (Good News Translation)
receives it with joy: The word receives indicates that the person accepts the message about God’s kingdom. He accepts it and is happy.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
welcomes it…with joy (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
accepts it…with joy (Revised English Bible)
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