complete verse (Matthew 3:5)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 3:5:

  • Uma: “Many people went to the wilderness wanting to hear his words. They were from the village of Yerusalem, and from the entire land of Yudea, there were also those from villages that were up-and-down the Yordan River.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The people from Awrusalam and from the whole land of Yahudiya and from the places at the river Jordan went to him.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Many people went out to him coming from Jerusalem and from other towns here in all of the province of Judea, and there were many yet who came from the towns near the river Jordan.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The inhabitants of Jerusalem and those who resided in all the towns in Judea and in the bordering-areas of the Jordan river were going to him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Everyone of the taga Jerusalem went there to him and (so did) people from other towns which were also in the district of Judea, including along both sides of the Jordan (river).” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Many people arrived where John was in order to hear what he was speaking. There arrived inhabitants of Jerusalem as well as all the other towns of the land of Judah. There arrived people who came from the area about the river Jordan.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

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 .

Jerusalem

The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:


“Jerusalem” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)


“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jerusalem .

Translation commentary on Matthew 3:5

The verb went out is in the imperfect tense in Greek and suggests repeated action. In Greek the subject of the verb went out is Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan (that is, the region near where the Jordan River empties into the Dead Sea). What is meant, of course, is that the people of these regions went out. The use of all in both occurrences is a typical idiomatic expression in Hebrew; the meaning here is “many of the people from….”

The requirements of the receptor language will determine whether the form went out to him or “came to him” (Good News Translation) is better. Translators in many languages will find it natural to retain the sense of repeated action that is carried by the imperfect tense of went. They might have “people in Jerusalem used to go out” or “were going out.” To him may be “to where he was.” Also it is sometimes necessary to say why they were going out, as in “to hear him” or “to listen to him.”

No translator wants to give the impression that it was the city of Jerusalem or the province of Judea that went to see him. It was the people from there. Whether to say “all the people,” “many of the people,” or just “people” will depend on what expression the language will normally have.

Since Jerusalem has already been mentioned several times in the Gospel, it may not be necessary to say “the city of Jerusalem,” but the province in which Jerusalem was located, Judea, will be sufficiently unfamiliar to many readers that translators will need to say “region (or, province) of Judea.”

Similarly, Jordan is a river, so translations often follow the example of Good News Translation, with a phrase such as “people from all over the region near the Jordan River.”

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 .