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®).
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οἱ δὲ εἶπαν αὐτῷ, Ἐν Βηθλέεμ τῆς Ἰουδαίας· οὕτως γὰρ γέγραπται διὰ τοῦ προφήτου·
5They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet:
The town name that is transliterated as “Bethlehem” in English is translated in Finnish Sign Language with the signs signifying “manger + town” (referring to Luke 2:7). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
“Bethlehem” in Finnish Sign Language (source )
See also manger.
In American Sign Language it is translated with the signs for “bread” and “house,” referring to the original meaning of “Bethlehem” as “house of bread.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Bethlehem” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
Likewise in Hungarian Sign Language:
“Bethlehem” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Bethlehem .
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 2:5:
The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
“Judah” and “Judea” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
See also Judah, Judah (son of Jacob) , and Tribe of Judah .
Eugene Nida wrote the following about the translation of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek terms that are typically translated with “prophet” in English:
“The tendency in many translations is to use ‘to foretell the future’ for ‘prophesy,’ and ‘one who foretells the future’ for ‘prophet.’ This is not always a recommended usage, particularly if such expressions denote certain special native practices of spirit contact and control. It is true, of course, that prophets of the Bible did foretell the future, but this was not always their principal function. One essential significance of the Greek word prophētēs is ‘one who speaks forth,’ principally, of course, as a forth-teller of the Divine will. A translation such as ‘spokesman for God’ may often be employed profitably.” (1947, p. 234f.)
In Ixcatlán Mazatec a term is used that specifically includes women. (Source: Robert Bascom)
About the translation into Northern Grebo:
“In some instances these spiritual terms result from adaptations reflecting the native life and culture. Among the Northern Grebo people of Liberia, a missionary wanted some adequate term for ‘prophet,’ and she was fully aware that the native word for ‘soothsayer’ or ‘diviner’ was no equivalent for the Biblical prophet who spoke forth for God. Of course, much of what the prophets said referred to the future, and though this was an essential part of much of their ministry, it was by no means all. The right word for the Gbeapo people would have to include something which would not only mean the foretelling of important events but the proclamation of truth as God’s representative among the people. At last the right word came; it was ‘God’s town-crier.’ Every morning and evening the official representative of the chief goes through the village crying out the news, delivering the orders of the chief, and announcing important coming events. ‘God’s town-crier’ would be the official representative of God, announcing to the people God’s doings, His commands, and His pronouncements for their salvation and well-being. For the Northern Grebo people the prophet is no weird person from forgotten times; he is as real as the human, moving message of the plowman Amos, who became God’s town-crier to a calloused people.” (source: Nida 1952, p. 20)
In American Sign Language it is a person who sees into the future:
“Prophet” in American Sign Language (source )
In British Sign Language it is is translated with a sign that depicts a message coming from God to a person (the upright finger) and then being passed on to others. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Prophet” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
See also prophesy and prophesy / prophetic frenzy.
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: How to Recognize a Biblical Prophet .
See also seer.
Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Matthew 2:1-12:
They came from the east when Herod was king in Judea.
They were authorities themselves, authorities about stars, and they asked in Jerusalem,
“Where is the child born to be king of your nation?
In the east we saw the star that signaled his birth,
and we have come to worship him.”
This news worried King Herod and everyone else in town.
So Herod called together the religious authorities and asked,
“Where is this new king supposed to be born?”
They replied, “In Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote:
‘Bethlehem — so important in Judea—from you will come
One with absolute authority over God’s flock.’”
Herod was sly, and after he had sent for the star-authorities,
he said, “Go to Bethlehem and return with all the details,
so I can worship this new king.”
The eastern authorities followed the star
until it had settled over the child’s home —
they were overwhelmed with joy…
When they entered the house,
they saw him with Mary his mother.
So they knelt down and worshiped the child,
placing at his feet the treasures they had brought.
Later — after being warned in a dream –
they returned home by a different route.
On the expectation of the Messiah from Bethlehem, see John 7.41-42. Good News Translation marks Bethlehem as a “town.” See comments on 2.1.
In some languages it will be necessary to answer Herod’s question with a full sentence, as in “He will be born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea.”
Note that the phrase which introduces the reported speech, They told him, is at the beginning of all they said in Revised Standard Version, but has been inserted in the middle of the quote itself in Good News Translation. In English, as in many languages, this is perhaps a matter of style. But in other languages this is completely unnatural, so that the translator can only do something similar to the Revised Standard Version form.
The Greek passive construction for so it is written by the prophet is transformed by Good News Translation into an active construction: “For this is what the prophet wrote.” The same “quotation formula” (it is written) is also found in 4.4, 6, 7, 10; 11.10; 21.13; 26.24, 31.
The causative for can be handled in many ways: “We know this because of what the prophet wrote,” or “This is how we know this thing: the prophet wrote…,” or even in some languages, “The prophet wrote that it would be in the town of Bethlehem in Judah. He said….” Of course, other languages will do something very similar to Good News Bible.
For prophet, see comments on 1.22. In languages where there is already an Old Testament, it is good to indicate in the footnotes that this is a quotation from the book of the prophet Micah, but it will not be necessary to put this information in the text.
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 .
Paragraph 2:5–6
2:5a
“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they replied can also be translated as “they answered” (as in the Good News Translation). The Berean Standard Bible places this phrase in the middle of sentence. This is good English style. However, in some languages, this phrase should be in the beginning of the sentence. For example:
They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea…” (English Standard Version)
In Bethlehem in Judea: The phrase In Bethlehem in Judea is the answer to Herod’s question in 2:4b. In some languages, it will be more natural to translate this phrase as a complete sentence. For example:
⌊He will be born⌋ in Bethlehem in Judea
In some languages, it is necessary to address the king in a respectful way. For example:
⌊Our king,⌋ ⌊he will be born⌋ in Bethlehem in Judea.
Bethlehem in Judea: As mentioned in the note on 2:1a, Bethlehem is the name of a town, and Judea is the name of a province.
2:5b
for: The conjunction for introduces the reason that the leaders knew that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem. They knew he would be born in Bethlehem for/because that is what the prophet had said.
Here are some other ways to translate this conjunction:
⌊We know this⌋ because
-or-
⌊He will be born there⌋ because
In some languages, it will be more natural to put the reason clause (in 2:5b) before the result clause (in 2:5a). For example:
5bThe prophets have written that 5a⌊he will be born⌋ in Bethlehem of Judea.
this is what the prophet has written: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as this refers ahead to the words in 2:6a–d.
The clause this is what the prophet has written introduces 2:6. In Greek, this clause is more literally “so it has been written through the prophet” and is passive.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
• As a passive clause. For example:
it is written this way by the prophet (NET Bible)
• As an active clause. For example:
this is what the prophet wrote (Good News Translation)
-or-
here is what the prophet wrote about this issue
-or-
the prophet wrote about this matter as follows
-or-
the words ⌊that God spoke⌋ which the prophet ⌊then⌋ wrote down are these:
These words were written hundreds of years before the time of Jesus. You may want to include some of this implied information. For example:
the words ⌊of God⌋ which the prophet wrote ⌊long ago⌋ are these:
the prophet: The phrase the prophet refers to the prophet Micah. He wrote down God’s words that are quoted in 2:6.
The word prophet first occurs in 1:22. See the note there for help in translating this word. Also see prophet in the Glossary.
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