world (Chinese)

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “world” in English is translated in Mandarin Chinese with shìjiè (世界). While shìjiè is now the commonly used term for “world” in Chinese, it was popularized as such by Chinese Bible translations. (Source: Mak 2017, p. 241ff.)

See also world.

complete verse (Matthew 13:38)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 13:38:

  • Uma: “The garden stands-for this world. The good seed stands-for people who become God’s people in his Kingdom. The grass stands-for people who follow the King of Evil-ones.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The field is the world. The meaning of the good seed is the people who follow the ruling of God. The weeds are the people who follow the leader of demons.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “As for the field, now this is the world. And the good plants, these are the people who allow themselves to be ruled over by God. The bad plants, now these are the subjects of Satan.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “and the rice-field is this earth. The good rice seeds, they are the people who are added/joined to God’s kingdom, and the weeds for-their-part are Satanas’ people.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The field is this world. The good seed is the people who are under the control of God and the poisonous weeds are the people under the control of Satanas.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The field means here on earth. The good seed means people who are in the hand of God. The seed which appears like wheat means the people who are in the hand of the devil.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

kingdom (of God / heaven) (presence of God's rule)

In the German Gute Nachricht (Good News) translation of 1982, this occurrence of the Greek term which is translated in most English versions of “kingdom (of God or heaven)” is translated with a form of “God establishes his rule” (Gott richtet seine Herrschaft auf) or “God’s rule” (Herrschaft). For an explanation of the differentiated translation in German as well as translation choices in a number of languages, see Kingdom (of God / heaven).

kingdom (of God) (Japanese honorifics)

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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-kuchi (御国) or “kingdom (of God)” in the referenced verses. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also kingdom (of God / heaven).

Translation commentary on Matthew 13:38

The field is the world may also be changed to a simile (“The field stands for [or, represents] the world”), as may the other figures in the parable. Revised Standard Version in fact does this in one place: the good seed means the sons of the kingdom.

The sons of the kingdom (Good News Translation “the people who belong to the Kingdom”) is also used in 8.12. In the earlier passage it refers to the Jews, who by right should have belonged to God’s Kingdom but had disqualified themselves because of their rejection of Jesus. Here it refers to the people who in truth do belong to God’s Kingdom. The idea of “belonging to the Kingdom” may be difficult and unclear, and so one may translate “the people who have submitted themselves to the rule of God” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). INCL translates “those who have become the people of God.” Another expression is “the people who are under the rule of God.”

The sons of the evil one is translated “the people who belong to the Evil One” by Good News Translation. Here also sons is a Semitic idiom used to describe people who either belong to or are characterized by the “of” phrase that follows it. In other contexts it may be possible to interpret the evil one to mean “evil” in an impersonal sense (see 6.13), but in verse 39 he is explicitly identified as both “the enemy” and “the devil.” Therefore Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates the evil one as “the enemy of God” and then in verse 39 says of him “the enemy who planted the weeds is Satan.” In translation it should be made clear that Jesus is referring to the same being, not to three separate beings (“the evil one,” “the enemy,” “the devil”). It may then be helpful to translate “The weeds represent the people who belong to God’s enemy, the devil. He is the evil one who sowed the weeds….” Instead of “belong to,” translators may have “are ruled over by” or “who serve.”

For “the devil,” see comments on 4.1 and verse 39 below.

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 .