complete verse (Matthew 21:37)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 21:37:

  • Uma: “Finally he said: ‘It is better that I send my own child, certainly they will submit to him.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Finally he sent his son to go. He said in his liver, ‘Surely they will honor my son.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And in the end, this person sent his son because he said, ‘It is not possible that they won’t respect my son.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Therefore then he sent his son, because he said in his mind/thoughts, ‘They will-immediately-respect (lit. have-shame-to) him.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The last one he sent was his son. In his mind (he said), ‘It’s certain that they will welcome/treat-properly this son of mine.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “At the last, the field-owner sent his own son to the workers who were share-croppers. He thought: ‘Now I will send my son. When they see him, they will respect him since it is my son who is coming to them,’ he thought.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 21:37

His son differs significantly from the text of Mark, which has “a beloved son” (12.6). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “his own son.”

Saying, though an accurate rendering of the Greek, here it must mean “said to himself,” a meaning which the Greek verb has in certain contexts. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “he thought,” and New American Bible has “thinking.” In translation it may be necessary to invert the order of the two sentences: “Then the man thought, ‘They will surely respect my son.’ So he sent his son to them.”

Will respect (used only here in Matthew) is the rendering preferred by most. Good News Translation introduces “Surely” to intensify the contrast between the treatment of the servants and what the owner believes will be the treatment accorded his son. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch accomplishes the same goal by translating “They will at least have respect for my son.” Will respect can be expressed as “act respectfully toward,” “treat with respect,” or “have regard for.”

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 .