12For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “eunuch” in English is translated in Low German as “man (or: person) who does not have male strength” (Minsch, de ehr Mannskraft nicht hebt) (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006). Similarly, in the German Luther Bible it is translated as Entmannter or “de-masculated.” (Source: Jost Zetzsche)
When the mentioning of “eunuch” does not play an important part of the story, such as in Esther 2:3 or Esther 1:15, the Elhomwe translation uses “servant or “someone working at the palace” “because otherwise element of being castrated too much emphasis.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
In the GermanGute 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 “once God finalizes his creation (or “work”) . . . ” (Wenn Gott sein Werk vollendet . . .). For an explanation of the differentiated translation in German as well as translation choices in a number of languages, see Kingdom (of God / heaven).
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 19:12:
Uma: “There are people who do not marry because they were like that from their birth. There are also those who do not marry because of the deeds/doings of other people. There are also those who do not marry because of their own desire, so that they have the opportunity to work the work of God. Whoever is able to follow this teaching, it is good if he follows it.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “There are different reasons why men do not marry. Some people cannot marry because they have a fault/deficiency from birth. Others have been castrated by people. Others do not marry because they only think about working for God. Whoever is able to follow it, should follow this my teaching.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Because people’s reasons are not the same why they don’t marry and are married. And some, they don’t marry or are not married because that’s the way they were born. And others also, because someone caponized them. And others, they don’t marry or aren’t married so that they might obey what God has commanded them concerning his ruling. The person who can accept not being married, it’s good if he does accept it.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “The reasons that a person is not able-to-marry are varied. Some are born as if they were castrated, some were castrated by their fellow people, and still others, they do not marry so that they will be single-minded (lit. make-one their mind/thoughts) in their serving God in his ruling. The one-who-is-able to follow this, he should follow it.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Because there are different reasons why there are men who don’t marry. As for some, it’s the way they are for there is something congenitally lacking in their body. As for others, this lack in their body is the doing of others. There are yet others who don’t marry so that they can really apply themselves to their teaching about the kingdom of God. Well, whoever is able to receive this saying, it would indeed be good for him to receive it.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “There are men who are not able to be married. Because there are men who when they were born were not able to live with women. And there are men who are castrated. And there are men who do not marry in order that they work well in the work of God who is in heaven. But whoever is able to be married should do like the word I speak.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The Greek that is translated in English as the singular “heaven” but is actually a plural form in the original Greek is translated in that plural form in the Greek original (ouranōn or ouranois instead of the singular ouranos) are translated in the German translation by Fridolin Stier (1989) as the plural form “heavens” ((die) Himmel). Note that this is particularly often used in the Gospel of Matthew (see the referenced verses). The German translation of Walter Jens (publ. 1998) translates likewise.
English translations that also maintain the plural where it is found in the Greek, include translations by Hart (2017), Ruden (2021), and McKnight (2023).
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.”
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®).
Revised Standard Version gives a literal rendering of this verse. The first part of the verse employs a literary device known as ellipsis, where words may be omitted if they are not necessary for the understanding of the text. In English this is most frequently done in commands where the subject is not mentioned. For example, “Stop!” is a command which assumes both a definite subject and a specific action, neither of which are indicated. When the verse is read through to the end, it becomes clear that the verse contains an explanation of some reasons why men do not marry, which Good News Translation makes explicit: “For there are different reasons why men cannot marry” (see also Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and Bible en français courant).
For indicates that Jesus is explaining his statement. Some translators have said “I tell you this because” or “What I said is true because.” In other cases it is more natural in the paragraph to have no transition word, starting simply with “There are some men.”
For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth (Good News Translation “For … some, because they were born that way”) provides the first explanation of why some men do not marry. Phillips translates “For some are incapable of marriage from birth,” and Barclay “There are some who have been born incapable of marriage.” New American Bible (“Some men are incapable of sexual activity from birth”) and Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition (“Some men are impotent from birth on”) are even more specific.
There are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men (Good News Translation “others, because men made them that way”) provides the second explanation. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “others—such as eunuchs—are made impotent by something that happens later on.” New American Bible translates “some have been deliberately made so,” referring back to “incapable of sexual activity” of the previous clause. Another rendering some have used is “Other men can’t get married because men did something to them so they couldn’t.” In other languages sentences like the ones above will be too vague to be understood, and translators will have to be quite specific, as in “Other men have been castrated.”
And there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven (Good News Translation “and others do not marry for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven”) is the third explanation. Both New American Bible (“some there are who have freely renounced sex for the sake of God’s reign”) and Barclay (“There are some who have voluntarily made marriage impossible for themselves for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven”) represents a step in the right direction, though neither of them deals adequately with the kingdom of heaven, as does Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition (“Still others deny themselves marriage so that they can serve God better”).
Some have taken made themselves eunuchs to refer to self-mutilation, and others understand it to mean simply that these men renounced sexual activity. The latter is probably better, but a translation like Barclay (above) does leave open both interpretations. “Have voluntarily treated their bodies as if they were unable to engage in sexual activity” is another possibility.
For the sake of the kingdom of heaven can be “so they can accept God’s rule fully,” “so that as people ruled over by God they can do his will,” or “so they can do only the things that serve God’s Kingdom.” For kingdom of heaven, see comments on 3.2.
He who is able to receive this, let him receive it: the verb receive is the same verb used in verse 11, and, as one would expect, the translations deal with it here in a manner similar to what they did in its earlier occurrence. Most translators will use the same word in the two verses for example, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible has “Let those who are capable of understanding, understand”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is succinct: “Understand it, if you can!”
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 .
For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For introduces Jesus’ explanation for what he said in 19:11.
Here are some other ways to introduce this explanation:
⌊I say this⌋ because
-or-
Because ⌊there are different reasons why men do not marry:⌋ ⌊such as⌋
-or-
For example (God’s Word)
there are eunuchs: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as eunuchs refers to men who do not have certain male body parts. Those body parts enable a man to have sexual relations with a woman. If you have a word or phrase for a person like this, use it here. If not, you may have to describe such a person. For example:
there are men who cannot have sexual relations with a woman
-or-
Some people are unable to marry (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Some men are unable to be with a woman
who were born that way: This phrase means that the reason why a man cannot have sexual relations with a woman is because he was born unable to.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
because of birth defects (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
because they were born that way (God’s Word)
19:12b
were made that way by men: In Jesus’ time, some men had their male body parts cut off by others to make them eunuchs. This was often done by a ruler who wanted men who were “safe” to take care of his wives.
This clause is passive. Here are some ways to translate it:
• Use a passive verb. For example:
because they were castrated (God’s Word)
• Use an active verb. For example:
because men made them that way (Good News Translation)
If people in your area will not understand why some men were made eunuchs, you may want to include a footnote. A sample footnote is:
In some non-Jewish cultures of that time, a king might choose a man and then have one of his servants remove the man’s testicles. That made him a eunuch. The king would appoint such a man to take care of his wives.
19:12c
still others live like eunuchs: This clause is figurative language. It refers to men who chose not to marry or to not have sexual relations with a woman. It does not mean that men have castrated themselves.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
some men have renounced marriage
-or-
some men have given up marriage (New Century Version)
-or-
others have decided to be celibate (God’s Word)
for the sake of the kingdom of heaven: This phrase means “because of the kingdom of heaven” or “because they want to work for the kingdom of heaven/God.” Some men renounce marriage in order to be better committed to work for God and his kingdom.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
because they want to give themselves to work for God’s kingdom
-or-
because they want to better serve God as their king
-or-
in order to serve God better (Contemporary English Version)
See kingdom of heaven in Key Biblical Terms 1 (d) for more information.
19:12d
The one who can accept this should accept it: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as The one is masculine. It refers to a man. The words this and it refer to the decision not to marry. The Greek word translated as accept is the same word as in 19:11a.
God gives the ability not to marry to only some people. So these people are encouraged to follow that way of life.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
The person who is able to agree to this ⌊way of life⌋ should live that way.
-or-
The man who can accept this ⌊way of life⌋ should accept it.
-or-
If anyone can do what you’ve suggested, then he should do it. (God’s Word)
-or-
The man who is able to follow this should follow it.
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