12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Two kinds of wild wheat have grown in the open deciduous oak woodland in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent for several thousand years: Einkorn Wheat Triticum monococcum and Emmer Wheat Triticum dicoccum. Both came into cultivation together with barley. Just before the time of the Romans, the Naked Bread Wheat or Hard Wheat Triticum durum started replacing the hulled varieties. This then became the favorite type of wheat for bread and macaroni. Spelt is a sub-member of the Triticum aestivum species.
In New Revised Standard Version, updated edition and some other versions, the generic Hebrew word bar has been rendered “wheat” in Jeremiah 23:28 et al. This is legitimate, since the grain referred to by bar was probably wheat. However, it might be better to say “grain” in these passages.
The most important early wheat for the Israelites was emmer, probably the only wheat known in Egypt, and referred to in Hebrew as chittah. However, according to Hepper (Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants: Flowers and Trees, Fruits and Vegetables, Ecology. Baker Book House, 1992), the seven-headed wheat of the Egyptian king’s dream (Genesis 41:5ff.) suggests that there may also have been Triticum turgidum (rivet wheat) in the emmer group. The Hebrew word kusemeth probably refers to a type of emmer wheat that the Egyptians called swt.
Wheat is a type of grass like rice and barley, growing to around 75 centimeters (2.5 feet) in height and having a head with many small grains in rows.
Bread made from wheat was the staple food for the people of ancient Israel, so God punished them by breaking “the staff of bread” (see, for example, Ezekiel 4:16).
If wheat is unfamiliar, translators can transliterate from a major language in non-rhetorical contexts (for example, English witi, Portuguese trigo, French ble or froment, Swahili ngano, Arabic kama/alkama). The transliteration may add a generic tag such as “grain.” The New Testament passages are mostly rhetorical, opening the possibility for a metaphorical equivalent.
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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, yakitsukus-are-ru (焼き尽くされる) or “burn thoroughly” is used.
God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).
Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.
In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.
While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”
In that system, one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and others for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.
Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”
In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)
Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”
In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )
In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)
The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.
Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are Twents as well as Indonesian and Malay. In the latter two languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).
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®).
In Greek this verse is one sentence consisting of four coordinate clauses. See Revised Standard Version for a representation of the formal structure of the Greek. Good News Translation divides the verse into two sentences and does some further restructuring as well.
The winnowing fork (Good News Translation “winnowing shovel”) was used to throw grain into the air so that the wind could blow away the chaff, which is the loose covering from around the grain and is lighter than the grain itself. A winnowing fork or “winnowing shovel” is not known in many parts of the world. Translators can say “a tool for winnowing grain” or “a tool for separating grain from chaff.” To say he has the winnowing fork in his hand means he is ready to use it. Some translations say “He has his winnowing fork ready to use” or “He is ready to begin separating the grain from the chaff with his winnowing fork.”
To clear his threshing floor probably means to clear all the chaff from the area where he threshes the grain. Thus “He will clear all the chaff from the place where he threshes (or, where he beats the grain to separate it from the chaff).” Barclay has “He will clear every speck of rubbish from his threshing floor.”
In areas that do not have wheat, “grain” can be used. Some languages do not have this generic word “grain,” and use “seed” or “fruit” even for crops that have grains and need threshing.
The word granary can be translated as “barn” or “storehouse.”
Whatever the interpretation given to fire in the previous verse, it is obvious that the fire referred to here is that of judgment: “but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out” (Good News Translation).
It is good to retain the metaphor of this passage, but for readers in some languages, similes are easier to comprehend since they make explicit the basis of the comparison of the metaphor. This verse is actually speaking about the judgment of God, where he will separate the good from the bad people. If necessary, then, translators can do something like this:
• He is ready to judge and separate the good people from the bad, like the farmer who is ready to separate the grain from the chaff with his winnowing fork; he will keep safe the good, like the farmer puts wheat into his granary, and just as the farmer clears his threshing floor of the chaff and burns it in a fire, he will cause the bad people to burn in a fire that never goes out.
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 .
Verse 3:12 is an extended metaphor. In this metaphor, John the Baptist compared the actions of Jesus the Messiah to the actions of a farmer at harvest time.
Here are some ways that the Messiah and a farmer are similar:
(a) They are both ready to perform their tasks.
(b) Their task is to separate what is good/useful from that which is not good/useful. Their task is then to store or destroy them accordingly.
In that culture, after a farmer harvested grain, he “threshed” it by rolling something heavy over the grain. This caused the seeds to separate from the stalk and the husks. He did this on an area of ground called the “threshing floor.”
Then the farmer “winnowed” the grain by using a large fork to throw the mixture of straw, seeds, and husks into the air. The wind would blow away the lightweight straw and husks so that only the grain seed was left. The farmer would then put the grain seed into bags. Finally, he would gather the straw and husks to burn them as fuel in the ovens where the women baked bread.
John used the images of a farmer threshing and winnowing grain to figuratively describe that the Messiah will separate those who repented from those who refused to repent. He used the image of a farmer storing grain to figuratively describe that the Messiah will receive those who repent into his kingdom. He used the image of a farmer burning chaff to figuratively describe that the Messiah will destroy those who do not repent.
In some languages, a literal translation of this metaphor may be difficult to understand.
Here are some other ways to translate the metaphor:
• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
12aHe ⌊is like a farmer who⌋ already has his winnowing fork in his hand.
• Add a footnote to explain the metaphor. Here is a sample footnote:
Verse 3:12 compares Jesus to a farmer. A farmer separates the grain from the chaff. He stores the grain and burns the chaff. When Jesus comes, he will separate the people who have truly repented from those who have not repented. He will receive all those who have repented into his kingdom, but he will destroy those who have not repented.
3:12a
His winnowing fork is in His hand: This phrase begins the extended metaphor which compares the Messiah to a farmer. It means “he is holding a winnowing fork.” It indicates that the Messiah is ready to act.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
He has picked up his winnowing fork and is ready
-or-
He ⌊is like a farmer who⌋ is already holding his winnowing fork.
winnowing fork: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as winnowing fork refers to a big shovel-like tool that looked something like a fork. People used it to throw the mixture of seeds, chaff, and straw into the air so that the wind would separate the good grain from the useless chaff.
The winnowing fork represents the Messiah’s ability and authority to separate those who repented from those who refused to repent.
Here are some other ways to translate the term winnowing fork:
• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:
The tool for separating the seed/grain from the chaff is in his hand.
• Describe the function. For example:
He will come ready to clean the grain (New Century Version)
-or-
He is ready to separate the good grain from the chaff.
man holding a winnowing fork
3:12b
to clear His threshing floor: There are two ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to clear His threshing floor:
(1) It means to clear/clean the threshing floor. This refers to what is done after the grain has been threshed. For example:
he will clean out his threshing floor (NET Bible)
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, NET Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), English Standard Version)
(2) It means to thresh out all the grain. For example:
he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks. (Contemporary English Version)
(Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The farmer would clear or clean his threshing floor by putting the good grain in the barn and burning the chaff. However, since the farmer first threshed the grain before clearing the threshing floor, some languages may need to include both steps. So you may need to include parts of both interpretations.
threshing floor: A threshing floor is a flat area outdoors where the farmer “threshes” the grain. He “threshes” it by rolling something heavy over the grain. This causes the seeds to separate from the stalk and the husks. The threshing floor is also the area where the grain is winnowed.
Here are some other ways to translate the phrase threshing floor:
place on the ground for separating grain from the chaff
-or-
area where the seed is beaten/removed ⌊from the chaff⌋
3:12c
to gather His wheat into the barn: The farmer put the good seed or grain in a safe place where he kept his grain. This represents the Messiah saving people who believe in him.
wheat: The word wheat refers to a certain type of grain plant and to the grain that the plant produces. Wheat plants have a stalk. On top of the stalk there are clusters of seeds, which are the wheat grains.
head of a wheat plant
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
• Use a more general term. For example:
grain (New Century Version)
• Use a different type of grain that is grown in your area and is similar to wheat. For example:
rice
-or-
millet
barn: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as barn refers to a storage area for grain. Here are some other ways to translate this word:
granary (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
storehouse (NET Bible)
3:12d
but: There is a contrast between 3:12b–c and 3:12d. The contrast is between what will happen to the wheat (3:12c), which will be saved, and the chaff (3:12d), which will be burned. Many English versions indicate this contrast by translating the Greek conjunction here with the English conjunction “But.”
He will burn up the chaff: The chaff was the husk and the stalk (or straw). People burned all of this because it was not good to eat. This represents the Messiah punishing those who refused to repent.
unquenchable fire: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as unquenchable fire refers to a fire that people cannot put out. It is also a fire that never stops burning.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
a fire that never goes out (Good News Translation)
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