complete verse (Matthew 2:13)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 2:13:

  • Uma: “When the people who knew how to look at stars had gone, an angel of the Lord also appeared to Yusuf in his dream. That angel said: ‘Yusuf! Herodes is searching for that Child, he wants to kill him. Get up, take that Child with his mother, go away going to the land of Mesir! Live there until there is my word speaking to you.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then, when they had left an angel of God appeared to Yusup in his dream, he said, ‘Herod will soon command to search for the child commanding him to be killed. Get up, take the child and Mariyam his mother and flee to the land of Misil. Live there as long as I don’t tell you to leave from there.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “After the stargazers had gone, a messenger of God caused Joseph to dream, saying, ‘Get up, Joseph. Take the child and his mother and run away to Egypt. Wait there until I do not yet tell you. Because Herod is looking for that child because he wants to kill him.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When they had left, the angel of the Lord God appeared to Jose in his dream and said to him, ‘Get up, and escort the baby and his mother to flee to Egipto. Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod’s purpose is to have-the baby -searched-for to have-him-killed.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “After those thinkers had left, Jose dreamed. In his dream, an angel of God came, who said to him, ‘Jose, you (pl.) get up and leave here at once. You (sing.) take this child and his mother and you (pl.) run-away to Egipto. And don’t leave there until I tell you, because Herodes will cause that child to be looked for to be killed.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “After the men had gone, the angel of God was seen by Joseph when he was sleeping. He said to him: ‘Get up at once, take the baby along with his mother. Flee, going to the land of Egypt. There you must live until I tell you to return. Because now Herod will hunt for the baby in order to kill him,’ he said.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Mary (mother of Jesus)

The name that is transliterated as “Mary” in English means “bitterness,” “rebellious,” obstinate.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

It is translated in Spanish Sign Language with arms folded over chest which is the typical pose of Mary in statues and artwork. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Mary” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In American Sign Language it is translated with a sign for the letter M and the sign for “virgin,” which could also be interpreted as “head covering,” referring to the way that Mary is usually portrayed in art works. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Mary” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

In Hungarian Sign Language the sign is based on historical images, referring to the veil covering her head: the earliest depictions of Mary (dating back to the 2nd century) already portray her wearing a headscarf or a veil. Its sign in sign language refers to the veil because, within Christian culture, this is her most recognizable visual attribute, distinguishing her from other biblical figures. (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)


“Mary” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

In the Burmese Common Language Version (publ. 2005), Mary is described as a king’s mother by using the royal noun suffix taw / တော် with the word “mother” in Matthew 1:16 and Luke 2:33. This is done to highlight the status of Jesus as a king or the divine Son. Othjer passages where taht is used include Matthew 2:11, 13, 14, 20, and 21. (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. ) See also Jesus’ human vs. divine nature in modern Burmese translation.

In some Semitic languages, the transliteration for “Mary” is identical to the one for the prophetess “Miriam,” testifying to the fact that these names are identical (Arabic and the many translations that are reliant on Arabic: مَرْيَم, Hebrew: מִרְיָם, Ge’ez / Amharic and related languages: ማርያም).

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Mary in Latin America and the Caribbean and Mary, the Mother of Jesus .

pronoun for "God"

God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).

Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.

In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.

While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”

In Kouya, Godié, Northern Grebo, Eastern Krahn, Western Krahn, and Guiberoua Béte, all languages of the Kru family in Western Africa, a different kind of system of pronouns is used (click or tap here to read more):

In that system, one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and others for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.

Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”

In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)

Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”

In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )

In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)

The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.

Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are Twents as well as Indonesian and Malay. In the latter two languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).

See also first person pronoun referring to God.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Gender of God .

Translation: Chinese

在现代汉语中,第三人称单数代词的读音都是一样的(tā),但是写法并不一样,取决于性别以及是否有生命,即男性为“他”,女性为“她”,动物、植物和无生命事物为“它”(在香港和台湾的汉语使用,动物则为“牠”)。这些字的部首偏旁表明了性别(男人、女人、动物、无生命事物),而另一偏旁通常旁提示发音。

到1930年为止,基督教新教《圣经》经过整整一百年的翻译已经拥有了十几个译本,当时的一位圣经翻译者王元德新造了一个“神圣的”代词“祂”,偏旁“礻”表示神明。一般汉语读者会立即知道这字的发音是tā,而这个偏旁表示属灵的事物,因此他们明白这个字指出,三位一体的所有位格都没有性别之分,而单单是上帝。

然而,最重要的新教圣经译本(1919年的《和合本》)和天主教圣经译本(1968年的《思高圣经》)都没有采用“祂”;虽然如此,许多其他的圣经译本采用了这个字,另外还广泛出现在赞美诗和其他基督信仰的书刊中。(资料来源:Zetzsche)

《吕振中译本》的几个早期版本也使用“祂”来指称“上帝”;这个译本的《新约》于1946年译成,整部《圣经》于1970年完成。克拉默斯(Kramers)指出:“‘他’的这种新写法(即‘祂’)产生了一个小问题,就是在指称耶稣的时候,是否一律使用这个敬语代词?《吕振中译本》遵循的原则是,在称呼耶稣这个人的时候,用一般的‘他’,而在称呼耶稣神性的时候,特别是升天之后的耶稣,则用尊称‘祂’。”

Translator: Simon Wong

Lord

The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.

In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.

In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:

  • referring to “God,” especially in Old Testament quotations,
  • meaning “master” or “owner,” especially in parables, etc.,
  • as a form of address (see for instance John 4:11: “Sir, you have no bucket”),
  • or, most often, referring to Jesus

In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.

Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”

When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight

Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):

  • Navajo (Dinė): “the one who has charge”
  • Mossi: “the one who has the head” (the leader)
  • Uduk: “chief”
  • Guerrero Amuzgo: “the one who commands”
  • Kpelle: “person-owner” (a term which may be applied to a chief)
  • Central Pame: “the one who owns us” (or “commands us”)
  • Piro: “the big one” (used commonly of one in authority)
  • San Blas Kuna: “the great one over all” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Guhu-Samane: Soopara (“our Supervisor”) (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.)
  • Balinese: “Venerated-one” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Yanesha’: “the one who carries us” (source: Nida 1952, p. 159)
  • Northern Emberá: Dadjirã Boro (“our Head”)
  • Rarotongan: Atu (“master or owner of a property”)
  • Gilbertese: Uea (“a person of high status invested with authority to rule the people”)
  • Rotuman: Gagaja (“village chief”)
  • Samoan: Ali’i (“an important word in the native culture, it derives from the Samoan understanding of lordship based on the local traditions”)
  • Tahitian: Fatu (“owner,” “master”)
  • Tuvalu: Te Aliki (“chief”)
  • Fijian: Liuliu (“leader”) (source for this and six above: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1994, p. 329ff. )
  • Bacama: Həmə miye: “owner of people” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
  • Hopi: “Controller” (source: Walls 2000, p. 139)
  • Iyansi: Mwol. Mwol is traditionally used for the “chief of a group of communities and villages” with legal, temporal, and spiritual authority (versus the “mfum [the term used in other Bantu languages] which is used for the chief of one community of people in one village”). Mwol is also used for twins who are “treated as special children, highly honored, and taken care of like kings and queens.” (Source: Kividi Kikama in Greed / Kruger, p. 396ff.)
  • Ghomala’: Cyəpɔ (“he who is above everyone,” consisting of the verb cyə — to surpass or go beyond — and — referring to people. No human can claim this attribute, no matter what his or her social status or prestige.” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn )
  • Binumarien: Karaambaia: “fight-leader” (Source: Oates 1995, p. 255)
  • Warlpiri: Warlaljamarri (owner or possessor of something — for more information tap or click here)

    We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.

    New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.

    Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )

  • Mairasi: Onggoao Nem (“Throated One” — “Leader,” “Elder”) or Enggavot Nan (“Above-One”) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Obolo: Okaan̄-ene (“Owner of person(s)”) (source: Enene Enene)
  • Angami Naga: Niepu (“master,” “owner”)
  • Lotha Naga: Opvui (“owner of house / field / cattle”) — since both “Lord” and YHWH are translated as Opvui there is an understanding that “Opvui Jesus is the same as the Opvui of the Old Testament”
  • Ao Naga: Kibuba (“human master,” “teacher,” “owner of property,” etc.) (source for this and two above: Nitoy Achumi in The Bible Translator 1992 p. 438ff. )
  • Seediq: Tholang, loan word from Min Nan Chinese (the majority language in Taiwan) thâu-lâng (頭儂): “Master” (source: Covell 1998, p. 248)
  • Thai: phra’ phu pen cao (พระผู้เป็นเจ้า) (divine person who is lord) or ong(kh) cao nay (องค์เจ้านาย) (<divine classifier>-lord-boss) (source: Stephen Pattemore)
  • Arabic often uses different terms for adonai or kurios referring to God (al-rabb الرب) and kurios referring to Jesus (al-sayyid الـسـيـد). Al-rabb is also the term traditionally used in Arabic Christian-idiom translations for YHWH, and al-sayyid is an honorary term, similar to English “lord” or “sir” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
  • Tamil also uses different terms for adonai/kurios when referring to God and kurios when referring to Jesus. The former is Karttar கர்த்தர், a Sanskrit-derived term with the original meaning of “creator,” and the latter in Āṇṭavar ஆண்டவர், a Tamil term originally meaning “govern” or “reign” (source: Natarajan Subramani).
  • Burunge: Looimoo: “owner who owns everything” (in the Burunge Bible translation, this term is only used as a reference to Jesus and was originally used to refer to the traditional highest deity — source: Michael Endl in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 48)
  • Yagaria: Souve, originally “war lord” (source: Renck, p. 94)
  • Aguacateco: Ajcaw ske’j: “the one to whom we belong and who is above us” (source: Rita Peterson in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 49)
  • Konkomba: Tidindaan: “He who is the owner of the land and reigns over the people” (source: Lidorio 2007, p. 66)
  • Chichewa: Ambuye Ambuye comes from the singular form Mbuye which is used to refer to: (1) someone who is a guardian or protector of someone or group of people — a grandparent who has founded a community or village; (2) someone who is a boss or master over a group of people or servants and has absolute control over them; (3) owner of something, be it a property, animals and people who are bound under his/her rule — for people this was mostly commonly used in the context of slaves and their owner. In short, Mbuye is someone who has some authorities over those who call him/her their “Mbuye.” Now, when the form Ambuye is used it will either be for honorific when used for singular or plural when referring to more than one person. When this term is used in reference to God, it is for respect to God as he is acknowledged as a guardian, protector, and ruler of everything. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation).
  • Hdi uses rveri (“lion”) as a title of respect and as such it regularly translates adon in the Old Testament. As an address, it’s most often with a possessive pronoun as in rvera ɗa (“my lion” = “my lord” or “sir”). So, for example, Genesis 15:2 (“O Lord God”) is Rvera ɗa Yawe (“My lion Yahweh”) or Ruth to Boaz in Ruth 2:13: “May I find your grace [lit. good-stomach] my lion.” This ties in nicely with the imagery of the Lord roaring like a lion (Hosea 11:10; Amos 3:8; Joel 3:16). Better still, this makes passages like Revelation 5:5 even richer when we read about rveri ma taba məndəra la Yuda, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”. In Revelation 19:16, Jesus is rveri ta ghəŋa rveriha “the lion above lions” (“lord of lords”). (Source: Drew Maust)

Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient Greek Septuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”

See also Father / Lord.

Translation commentary on Matthew 2:13

Since when they had departed is clearly implied in the preceding verse (“they departed to their own country by another way”), Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch omits this clause and introduces this section with “In the following night Joseph had a dream….” Whether to keep or omit the clause will depend on what will be most natural in a language. Since this is the beginning of a new section, in many languages it will be a natural translation to repeat the phrase, as in “After the wise men departed” or “The wise men departed. After that….” In other languages a shorter phrase such as “After that” or “After all these things happened” will be acceptable, or even something similar to what Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has done.

Also because the sentence begins a new section, it will be better in many cases to repeat the subject rather than use the pronoun they: “After the wise men left,” “After the visitors from the east left,” or “After the men who studied the stars departed.”

The Greek particle translated behold is perhaps best left untranslated. Its function here is to focus attention upon the angel. See comment at 1.20. Also see 1.20 for angel of the Lord. We do not know from the Greek if it is the same angel as the one that appeared earlier, so it would not be right to use “that angel” or “the angel.” It should still be an angel of the Lord.

Appeared translates a Greek present tense, known as the historical present, which is characteristic of narrative style. One primary function of the historical present is to make vivid the events narrated, as though they were happening at the time of the storytelling itself. Many languages use the historical present in telling stories, but when and how to use it will vary from language to language. In some languages, for example, it is only used in very colloquial, nonliterary situations. In others it is used to mark a change of focus, and so on. Therefore before going very far in their work, translators should study what is natural in their case, perhaps with the help of their translation consultant, and then use the historical present or various past tenses as would be normal, regardless of what tense actually appears in the text.

For appeared, see also its use in 1.20. Perhaps “an angel of the Lord showed himself to Joseph” or “Joseph had a dream (or, vision) and saw an angel of the Lord.”

Rise may here be taken in its literal sense of “get up” (Good News Translation). However, there are many places in the Old Testament where such a construction merely indicates the initiation of an action described in the verb which follows Rise. In the present context the verb is not redundant, as some commentators suggest, since Joseph is evidently lying down asleep!

Take … and flee to Egypt: there are languages where it will be better not to have two separate verbs, but instead to have sentences with a single verb, as in “Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother” or “You and the child and his mother should all flee to Egypt.” Other languages may use two verbs, but have sentences more like “Go with the child and his mother and flee to Egypt.”

The expression the child and his mother also appears in verse 4 and in verses 20 and 21. Obviously it is a feature of Matthew’s style, and translators should try to follow it. To say “Jesus and Mary” or “Mary and Jesus” would not reflect that at all.

Flee may be “run away,” “go to find safety,” “escape,” or “leave at once.”

For those readers who are unfamiliar with Egypt, it may be necessary to say “the land (or, country) of Egypt.”

Till I tell you is incomplete; the full meaning is either “until I tell you to leave” (Good News Translation) or “until I tell you that you can come” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

Herod is about to search should not be translated so as to imply that Herod himself will do the searching. Matthew clearly implies that Herod will send men (most probably soldiers) to do the searching in his behalf. In some languages it is clearly understood that since Herod is a monarch, he would have someone else do the searching. But in others, better sentences may be “Herod will send people (or, his soldiers) to search for the child” or “Herod will order a search to be made for this child.”

To destroy him obviously means “to kill him” (Good News Translation). It may be necessary to specify who would kill the child. Again, it would not be Herod himself. Thus, “so that they would kill him.”

Notice that for indicates a reason. In many languages the reason usually comes first, as in Good News Translation. Others mark it strongly with a phrase such as “The reason you should do that is…” or “I tell you this because….”

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 2:13

Section 2:13–15

Jesus’ family escaped to Egypt

In this section, Matthew showed how God protected Jesus by warning Joseph to take him to Egypt. Matthew also showed how the move to Egypt fulfilled scripture.

Egypt is a country to the south of Judea. 1,500 years before Jesus’ time, the people of Israel had lived in Egypt (Exodus 12:40). Then Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt. Many years later, God said, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son” (Hosea 11:1). This prophecy referred back to when God brought the nation of Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 12:41–42). This prophecy also referred ahead to the time when God would call his Son Jesus out of Egypt (Matthew 2:15).

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Jesus’ Parents Take Him to Egypt (New Century Version)
-or-
The escape to Egypt

Paragraph 2:13–15

2:13a

When the Magi had gone: This section begins with a time clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as When the Magi had gone. This clause refers to the wise men leaving Mary and Joseph and Jesus to return to their own country.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

After they had left (Good News Translation)
-or-
After the wise men had gone (Contemporary English Version)

2:13b

The Greek of 2:13b begins with a words that is often translated as “behold.” It literally means “look” or “see.” This word focuses attention on what follows and indicates that it is important, unexpected, or amazing. In this passage, an angel unexpectedly appeared to Joseph in a dream. If you have a term that gets the attention of people that is natural in this context, you should consider using it here.

Here are some ways to translate this:

behold, (English Standard Version)
-or-
Unexpectedly
-or-
Then strangely

This same word occurs in 2:1c and 2:9b.

an angel of the Lord: The phrase an angel of the Lord refers here to an angel that the Lord (God) sent.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

an angel who came from the Lord God
-or-
an angel who was sent by God

This same phrase occurs in 1:20.

angel: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as angel means “messenger.” It refers to a supernatural, spiritual being who serves God.

Here are some ways to translate this term:

Use a descriptive word or phrase. For example:

messenger ⌊from God
-or-

holy⌋ spirit-being

Use a local term that fits the biblical meaning.

In some areas the churches may already be using a borrowed term or a transliterated word for angel. Be sure that this term fits the biblical meaning. If some people do not understand the right meaning from this term, you may need to indicate the meaning in some way. For example:

an angelos messenger ⌊from God
-or-
a sacred ⌊angelos⌋ spirit

See angel, Meaning 1, in the Glossary for more information.

the Lord: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the Lord refers here to God.

appeared to Joseph: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as appeared can also mean “became visible” or “was revealed.” The angel appeared to Joseph while he was dreaming. This indicates that in his dream, Joseph saw an angel.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

showed/revealed himself to Joseph
-or-
Joseph saw an angel

in a dream: Joseph was sleeping, and he saw the angel while he was dreaming.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

in a dream ⌊while he slept
-or-
He dreamed that an angel of the Lord appeared to him

2:13c

In some languages, it may be more natural to put 2:13c after 2:13e. See the General Comment after 2:13e for an example.

Get up!: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Get up! refers to rising from a bed or rising after being asleep. Another way to translate this word is:

Get up (New International Version)

Take the Child and His mother: The phrase His mother refers to Jesus’ mother Mary.

Here are some ways to make this clearer:

take the child and the child’s mother
-or-
take the child and your wife
-or-
take Mary and Jesus

and flee: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as flee refers to moving quickly away from danger.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

escape (New International Version)
-or-
go quickly
-or-
hurry and go

to Egypt: The word Egypt is the name of a country located south and west of Judea. It was at least 240 kilometers from Bethlehem to the border of Egypt. It took more than a week to walk there.

Here is another way to translate this word:

the country/land of⌋ Egypt

2:13d

In some languages, it may be more natural to put 2:13d after 2:13e. See the General Comment after 2:13e for an example.

Stay there until I tell you: The angel will one day tell Joseph to return. It may be more natural in your language to include that implied information. For example:

Stay there until I tell you to return (Contemporary English Version)

2:13e

In some languages, it may be more natural to put 2:13e before 2:13c–d. See the General Comment below for an example.

for: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for introduces the basis for the command that they should flee to Egypt and stay there. 13c–dEscape to Egypt and stay there 13efor/because Herod wants to kill the child.

Here are some other ways to translate this conjunction:

because
-or-
The reason is

Herod is going to search for the Child: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as is going to search for indicates that Herod intended to search soon for the Child. Herod would not do the actual searching, but would send his soldiers to do it for him.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Herod intends to search for the child (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Herod is about ⌊to send his soldiers⌋ to search for the child

to kill Him: The phrase to kill Him means “in order to kill him.” It tells Herod’s purpose in searching for Jesus.

General Comment on 2:13c–e

In some languages, it may be more natural to put the basis (in 2:13e) before the command (in 2:13c–d). For example:

He said, 13e“Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. 13cSo⌋ get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. 13dStay there until I tell you.”

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