Bethlehem

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 .

complete verse (Matthew 2:6)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 2:6:

  • Uma: “‘The village of Betlehem in the land of Yehuda is just a small village. But even so, its name will be bigger than all the big villages in the land of Yehuda. Because from Betlehem will appear a Leader who will lead my Israel people.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘O people of Betlehem there in the place Yahudiya, even though your place is small you are not put down/humbled in the eyes of the leaders of the Yahudi, for from there shall come out a leader who will rule my people the tribe of Isra’il.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “‘You Bethlehemites who live in the province of Judea, your town is more famous than your fellow town there in Judea because from you will come the ruler of my subjects, the descendants of Israel.’ ‘” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘You (sing.) Betlehem in the land of Juda, you (sing.) are the most-important among the honored towns in (lit. which are) the territory of Juda, because you (sing.) are the place-from-whence-will-come the ruler who will lead and care-for my people the descendants of Israel.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “‘As for the town of Betlehem, in the district of Judea, it won’t be left behind by others, but on the contrary will become really famous. Because that is from where will come the leader/chief who will take care of my people the nation of Israel.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “‘There in the city of Bethlehem of the land of Judah it is greater than all the big cities in the land. Because from there will come forth a ruler who will rule my people the Jews for me.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

For the Old Testament quote, see 2 Samuel 5:2

Judah, Judea

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 .

1st person pronoun referring to God (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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

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

See also pronoun for “God”.

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Matthew 2:1-12)

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.

Translation commentary on Matthew 2:6

The quotation in this verse comes from Micah 5.2 (5.1 in Hebrew), except for the last clause (who will govern my people Israel), which apparently is assimilated from 2 Samuel 5.2. The Septuagint text is not followed here and, in part at least, the quotation appears to be an independent rendering of the Hebrew text. For a detailed discussion of the problem, consult the commentaries.

O Bethlehem: as we indicated above, the prophet is speaking on behalf of God. Many translations make this explicit by saying “God said, ‘You Bethlehem….’ ” Of course, O is not used in current English, nor in many languages, and can be dropped without losing the meaning that the speaker is addressing Bethlehem directly. It will be strange in some languages to speak to a town. Translators can then say “You people of Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, your town is by no means the least….”

Languages that make a distinction between “country” and “region” or “province” should use one of these latter two words. Judah was only one region of the country.

Least among the rulers of Judah is interpreted by Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch to mean “least of the leading cities of Judah.” New English Bible has a different interpretation (“least in the eyes of the rulers of Judah”), while others (Phillips, New American Bible) take “leaders” in the technical sense of “princes.” The problem for the translator is that he is dealing with a mixed metaphor. The town of Bethlehem is addressed as though it were a person, a leader in the country of Judah. Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch have unscrambled the mixed metaphor, while New English Bible has interpreted “least among” to mean “least in the eyes of.”

Many languages do not use the same word for “least in size” and “least in importance.” The latter is the better one in this case. “You are not the least important of the leading cities of Judah.” It will be much easier in many languages to change the double negative (“not the least”) into a positive statement, as in “You are one of the most important” or “You are among the greatest of the cities of Judah.”

If translators do understand rulers to mean “the people who rule” (instead of “leading cities”), a possible translation will be “The rulers of the area of Judah do not think you are the least important of the towns” or “The rulers of Judah know you are one of the most important towns in their region.”

From you: “from among your people” or “one of your people” are possibilities. The translators who have had to say “people of Bethlehem” above can put here simply “one of you.”

A ruler who will govern appears in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch as “the man who will protect and guide,” and in Good News Translation as “a leader who will guide.” The Greek verb literally means “to shepherd” (see New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New English Bible, Phillips, Barclay). Since the verb “to shepherd” is rare in English and certainly does not have the biblical connotation of ruling, New English Bible has restructured: “a leader to be the shepherd of my people Israel.” Elsewhere, especially in the Septuagint, the verb often has the extended meaning of “lead,” “guide,” or “rule,” which gives support for the renderings of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. The prophesy is about one specific leader, so many translators have “One of your people will be the leader of my people Israel,” or “The person who is going to lead my people Israel will come from you,” or “Someone from your town will be the one who leads my people Israel.”

If “lead” is used in a language in the restricted sense of “lead in a particular direction,” then “govern” or “rule” is better here.

In its original context the possessive pronoun my (in the construction my people) referred to God, not the prophet, which seems also to be the case in the setting of Matthew. Many readers will think my people means “Micah’s people” or even “Matthew’s people.” To avoid this, some translators say “Israel, God’s people” or “Israel, the people God says are his.” Of course, if translators put “God said” at the beginning of the verse, it is usually clear that “my” means “God’s.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 2:6

2:6

Verse 2:6 contains a figure of speech called apostrophe. In this figure of speech, God speaks to the town of Bethlehem as if it were a person.

Here are some other ways to translate this verse:

• Keep the apostrophe as in the Berean Standard Bible.

• Translate it in a way that God is speaking to the people of the town. For example:

6aYou ⌊people of⌋ Bethlehem in the land of Judah, 6b⌊your town⌋ is by no means least among the towns of Judah, 6cfor out of your ⌊town⌋ will come a ruler 6dwho will be the shepherd of my people Israel.

• Translate it in a way that God is speaking indirectly about the town. For example:

But Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, it is by no means least among the leading towns of Judah; for out of it will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.

2:6a

But: In the Greek, this verse begins with a conjunction that is usually translated as “And.” In Matthew, only part of a longer passage from Micah is quoted. In that longer passage, there is contrast. However, here in Matthew, the incomplete quote indicates no contrast. Only the Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, and the New Century Version translate the conjunction as But. Most other versions, such as the Revised Standard Version and New Jerusalem Bible, have “and.” Still others, such as the Good News Translation, do not use a conjunction here.

Since Matthew quotes only part of Micah, you may leave this conjunction untranslated.

you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah: In some languages, it will be more natural to put the pronoun you at the end of this clause. For example:

Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you

the land of Judah: The phrase the land of Judah refers to the country/kingdom of Judah. When the prophet Micah wrote these words, Judah was a kingdom. When Jesus was born, this area was no longer its own country. It had become a province and was then called Judea (2:5a). If possible, Judah and Judea should be spelled differently in your language.

2:6b

are by no means least: The phrase are by no means least is a figure of speech called litotes. In this figure of speech, God through the prophet makes an emphatic statement. He does this by stating that the opposite is not true. Bethlehem is not the least important town. This is a way to emphasize that Bethlehem is an important town.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

• Keep the apostrophe of 2:6 and the litotes here in 2:6b. For example:

are not least (New Living Translation (2004))

• Keep the apostrophe but not the litotes. For example:

you are very important (Contemporary English Version)

• Keep neither the apostrophe nor the litotes. For example:

you people are in a very important town

among the rulers of Judah: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rulers refers to a person who rules over a province. God was speaking to Bethlehem as if it were a person, so he referred to Bethlehem as a ruler of Judah.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

• Keep the apostrophe. For example:

among the leaders of Judah (God’s Word)

• Do not keep the apostrophe. In that case, you should translate the word rulers as towns/cities. For example:

of the leading cities of Judah (Good News Translation)
-or-
among the great towns of Judah

2:6c

for: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for indicates that 2:6c is the reason for what was said in 2:6b. 6bBethlehem is not the least among the towns of Judah, 6cfor/because a ruler will come from Bethlehem.

Here are some other ways to translate this conjunction:

because
-or-
The reason is that

In some languages, it is more natural to translate 2:6c (the reason clause) before 2:6b (the result clause). For example:

6cout of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel. 6b⌊So⌋ you, Bethlehem, are by no means least among the towns of Judah.

out of you will come a ruler: This clause indicates that a ruler or “great leader” will be born in Bethlehem.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

From your town will come a leader (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
It is from you that a ruler will come

2:6d

who will be the shepherd: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as will be the shepherd also means “tend.” It refers to watching over, protecting, and leading animals to places where there are plants to eat. Here it is used figuratively to represent a leader who watches over, protects, and provides for his people.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

• Literally, as a verb or noun. For example:

will shepherd (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
will be the shepherd (New Living Translation (2004))

• With a simile. For example:

will be like a shepherd (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
will lead…like a shepherd

• Without the figure of a shepherd. For example:

will guide (Good News Translation)

My people: The pronoun My refers to God. It does not refer to the prophet Micah.

Israel: The word Israel refers to the people who were the descendants of the man whose name was Israel. (This man was first called Jacob.)

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

the descendants of Israel
-or-
the tribe/nation of Israel

-or-

the Israelites

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