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

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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, hanas-are-ru (話される) or “speak” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Matthew 13:33

He told them another parable is a slightly different introduction from that of verses 24 and 31, but the meaning and function is the same. Again, many translators will render He as “Jesus.” Also, as with the others, the parable may have to be introduced by “He said.”

The kingdom of heaven is like … translates the same form found in verse 31; see comments there. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, tying this verse closely with the preceding, translates “Or it is just like what happens with yeast.” INCL renders “When God reigns, the situation will be as yeast which a woman took….” Another way to show this link with the previous parable is to start the parable by saying “God’s rule is also like this: a woman took…” or “God’s rule can also be said to be like this: a woman….” Notice that in these examples, a woman is the subject.

In Jewish thought leaven (Good News Translation “yeast”) symbolizes what is unclean or sinful; all traces of yeast had to be removed from the Jewish household before Passover. In the parable, however, no negative implications are intended. In fact, as with the symbol of the tree and the birds, the figure of yeast may have been chosen as an indirect allusion to the inclusion of the Gentiles. But it is obvious that this sort of information is not allowable in translation.

Leaven poses some difficulty in areas where it is not well known. Some translators have looked for other fermenting agents in their own cultures and modified that for this verse. For example, some African translations say “(the substance like) beer froth that makes the bread dough to expand.” A more general word such as “condiment” or “medicine” can sometimes be used. Such words can be modified by the function of yeast, as in “the medicine (or, condiment) that makes the bread dough ferment (or, expand).” As bread is becoming more and more prevalent in the world, the word leaven is often borrowed at the same time. Translations will then either have the borrowed form alone or in a phrase such as “leaven that ferments bread dough.”

Hid is translated as “mixes” by Good News Translation, which seems more appropriate in this context.

Three measures (Good News Translation “a bushel”) represents an enormous amount of flour, amounting to approximately 39.4 liters or 50 pounds. It is estimated that the bread baked from this amount of dough would be sufficient for more than one hundred persons. The use of exaggerated numbers and amounts is characteristic of parables and of proverbial sayings. Translators sometimes translate three measures as “three containers” or as three of some well-known local equivalent measure such as “three pans.” The other choice would be to use whatever the local way would be of speaking of approximately 50 pounds or 39.4 liters of flour, much as Good News Bible does with “a bushel.”

Till it was all leavened (Good News Translation “until the whole batch of dough rises”) is translated “till it was leavened all though” by New Jerusalem Bible. In New American Bible the sentence is as follows: “Eventually the whole mass of dough began to rise.”

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 13:33

Paragraph 13:33

13:33a

He told them still another parable: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as told is the same word as in 13:3a. It is not “put before” as in 13:24a and 13:31a. However, the meaning is the same in all four places.

13:33b–c

The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour: As in the previous parable, this clause is a simile. It compares the kingdom of God to what happens when leaven/yeast is mixed with bread dough. A small amount of yeast spreads through a large amount of dough and affects it in a good way. In the same way, the effect of God’s rule among a few people spreads through the whole world.

This simile is about the effect of yeast in a lump of dough. It is not simply a description of what yeast itself is like. Here are some ways to make this clear:

The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a woman mixes a little yeast into three big batches of flour. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A woman takes some yeast and mixes it with a bushel of flour (Good News Translation)

13:33c

leaven: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as leaven means “yeast.” It refers to a substance that makes bread dough rise/swell. A person mixes this substance with water and flour. Then it spreads throughout the flour and makes the dough expand. The dough is then baked into bread.

Here are some other ways to translate leaven:

• Use an expression that describes the yeast. For example:

what spreads to make bread rise
-or-
bread-expanding substance
-or-
what spreads through the bread dough and causes it to rise/swell

• Use a term from the national language and indicate its meaning. For example:

yeast that spreads to make bread swell

• Borrow a word and explain it in a footnote. Here is an example of a possible footnote:

Yeast is something that spreads in flour dough and causes it to rise so that after the dough is baked, it is soft to eat.

a woman took: In this context the word took means “picked up in her hand.” In some languages, it may be more natural to translate this verb and the next verb (hid) together as one verb. For example:

a woman mixes (Contemporary English Version)

and mixed into: In this context, the phrase mixed into refers to placing something inside of something else. In this case, it refers to placing the small amount of yeast into the large amount of flour.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

put (New Living Translation (2004))

Although some English versions translates this word as “hid,” it does not refer to hiding something so that no one can see it or find it.

three measures of flour: The term three measures refers to a large amount. It could have been as much as twenty-three kilograms of flour. Here, the exact amount is not in focus. What is important is that it refers to a very large amount of flour.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

much flour
-or-
a large amount of flour (God’s Word)

13:33d

until all of it was leavened: This clause indicates that the leaven/yeast spread throughout all the flour and caused all of it to rise.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

until it caused the flour to rise

-or-

it spread through the whole lump of dough and caused it to rise

General Comment on 13:33a–d

If people in your area do not understand the parable of the leaven, you may want to include a footnote to explain it. A sample footnote is:

A small amount of yeast can spread throughout a large amount of flour. In the same way, the kingdom of God started small with just a few disciples and grew. It continues to spread throughout the whole world and affect it in a good way.

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