he who, whoever

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.”

See also love your neighbor as yourself.

complete verse (Matthew 24:41)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 24:41:

  • Uma: “Two women will be pounding-rice together, one will be take, the other left-behind.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “There will be two women grinding together, one will be taken and one will be left behind.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then there will also be two women grinding together. My angel will take one and leave the other.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “If there are also two women pounding (as rice), the one will be taken while-simultaneously the other will be left.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Two women will be pounding-grain together, but if they are not the same being my people, one will be left, only one taken.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Two women will be grinding together. One will be taken away, one will be left.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 24:41

Two women will be grinding at the mill: in Palestine it was customary for two women to work together when grinding at the mill. The mill referred to here was the hand mill, not the large mill that was worked by donkey-power (see 18.6). Some languages will require an object: “grinding grain at the mill.” If a choice of grain must be made, then in the Palestinian setting it would have been wheat or barley. In fact, in some languages where mills are not too well known and grinding is usually done on smooth stones, if it is done at all, it may be necessary to say simply “two women will be grinding their grain.” As with verse 40, since this is an illustration, a translation can use a clause such as “If two women are grinding grain together (at a mill).”

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 .