complete verse (Matthew 24:33)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 24:33:

  • Uma: “So also when you see all those previously[-mentioned] events, you will know that what I said earlier is really about to happen.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Likewise also when you see these (things) that I said, happen, you will know that my return is really very near.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “In the same way also, when you see that all these things are being fulfilled, you will know that I am about to return.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “And likewise also if you see that all these things that I have been telling you are happening, you will know that my coming is near-in-time.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “It’s just like that, that when you observe that these things are happening, you know that the time of my returning is near, and is now beginning.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Like this is the word which must happen. When you see these words happen as I have told you, then know that it won’t be long until I come.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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 choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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

Translation commentary on Matthew 24:33

So also marks the comparison. In the same way people can tell from the first shoots of green on trees after the winter that summer is coming, so Jesus’ followers will know from all the signs he has just talked about in the previous verses that the Son of Man is soon to come. Good News Translation “In the same way” is a good model.

The pronoun you is emphatic in the Greek sentence construction: “And as for you, when you see….”

All these things may refer to all the events of verses 15-31, or else the reference may be limited to either the events of verses 15-28 or those of verses 29-31. But the greening of the branches and the putting forth of leaves are both preliminary to the main event, which is the coming of the summer (verse 32). Thus it is hardly likely that all these things could possibly include or be limited to the coming of the Son of Man (verses 29-31), which is the main event in the series of end-time happenings. The reference is then best taken to include only the preliminary events of verses 15-28, and its goal is to warn the believers to act wisely when they realize that the fall of Jerusalem is very close. In the translation itself, however, it may be impossible to make the reference specific. “Those things I told you about” may be the best translation one can render.

He is near may also be translated “the time is near” (see Good News Translation). The problem is that the Greek text is without an expressed subject, thereby leaving open the possibility for either interpretation. As one may expect, the translations vary in the way in which they handle the text: New English Bible has “that the end is near, at the very door” with a marginal reading “that he is near,” while Jerusalem Bible has “that he is near, at the very gates,” with a footnote “the Son of Man coming to establish his Kingdom.”

Translators who accept the interpretation he is near may have either “that he is waiting nearby to come” or “he is nearby, like someone at the gate waiting to come in.” Most translators, however, will follow the interpretation of Good News Translation, “the time is near,” and translate either “the time when this age will end is very close” or “the time for the new age is near, ready to begin.”

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 .