fat, oil

The different Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek terms that are translated as “(olive) oil” and “(animal) fat” in English are translated in Kwere with only one term: mavuta. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

The wise and the foolish virgins

Hand colored stencil print on momigami by Sadao Watanabe (1979).

Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe. For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.

The following artwork “Ten Virgins” is by Nyoman Darsane (1939-2024):

Nyoman Darsane was born and raised as a Hindu. Like many Balinese rice farmers, his father was also a musician who played in the orchestra of the local ruler. Darsane was brought up together with one of the princes and educated in the palace. That provided him with a deep knowledge of Hindu-Balinese religion and culture. It paved the way for him to become not only a painter but also a musician, dancer, and puppet player. An academic training at the college in Semarang, Java, finally made him familiar with the Western tradition as well. His early paintings are reminiscent of Gauguin, van Gogh, and Nolde. Darsane thus belongs to the heterogeneous group of the so-called academicians, those artists who have studied at one of the country’s art colleges. Although they are experimenting with Western influences in style, they have continuously been searching for their own Balinese identity. In Darsane’s case a special emphasis adds to this search: since he converted to Christianity he has been trying to mold this religion into a Balinese form.

Darsane was supported by the Bishop Wayan Mastra (b. 1931), who theologically comes from a more evangelical background. As a tiny minority among the Hindu-Balinese people, the Bali Church embraced inculturation. Churches are built in traditional Balinese temple style and local artists have been asked to design the decoration of the buildings. Balinese music and dance are used in the liturgy and the impact of these cultural traditionscan be seen in Darsane’s paintings.

As a result of his conversion at the age of seventeen, Darsane had been excluded from his family and ostracized by his village community. The Hindu-Balinese religion originated from the encounter between Hinduism and Balinese tribal religions, and it still has many features of this primal religion. Religion and community are closely intertwined; whoever turns away from the common religion also renounces the solidarity of the community. Darsane’s constant effort to give Christianity a Balinese shape finally convinced his family and the community that he stilt is one of them. Today he is again well respected and his advice even in religious matters is highly appreciated. (Source: Volker Küster in Pongracz / Küster / Cook 2007, p. 34; image: p. 113)

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Matt. 25:9)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding the foolish).

Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.

complete verse (Matthew 25:9)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 25:9:

  • Uma: “‘The wise ones answered: ‘There won’t be enough [poor us (incl.)]. Go first and buy some at the oil seller.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But the wise girls answered, they said, ‘Perhaps it will not be enough for all of us. Go to the store and buy oil.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then the wise ones answered, ‘It cannot be because it is not enough for all of us, the kerosene that we brought. Go to the store so you can buy kerosene.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “”It’s not possible,’ said the thoughtful-ones answering. ‘Our (excl.) reserve will not suffice for us all. You go to the store to buy (some).'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “‘Friend, this really can’t be shared with you (implies insufficient). Sorry about that. Probably you’d better just go to where it can be bought, so that you will have what you can put into your lamps.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But the wise girls said in answer: ‘We can’t because if we give you the oil you need, then our lights won’t be able to burn. So now it is better that you go to where they sell oil and buy the oil you need,’ they said.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Japanese benefactives (katte)

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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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

Here, katte (買って) or “buy” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Matthew 25:9

“No, indeed” of Good News Translation (New English Bible, New American Bible, New International Version “No”) represents an attempt to underscore the emphatic nature of the reply.

Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you may imply doubt on the part of the five wise young ladies, but this is not the intention of their remark. It is more clearly phrased in New English Bible: “No … there will never be enough for all of us.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has a somewhat stern rebuke: “Impossible. Then there would not be enough for us or for you.” A better possibility, a less stern reply, is “If we did that, there wouldn’t be enough oil for all of us.”

Go rather to the dealers (Good News Translation “Go to the store”) reflects accurately the Palestinian situation. On a festive occasion such as this, everyone in the village would have been awake, and it would have been possible to purchase oil even at midnight. Dealers can also be expressed as “the people who sell oil.”

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 .