Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("say")

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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, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.

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

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.

In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.

Translation commentary on Matthew 4:19

And he said to them: once again Jesus is not mentioned by name in the Greek text, but Good News Translation and other translations do so at the beginning of this verse for the sake of clarity.

Follow me (so most modern English translations) is translated “Come with me” by Good News Translation, Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition, and Bible en français courant. The call is a call to discipleship. The Jewish rabbis had disciples who went with them, observing their actions and listening to their words in all possible circumstances. This now becomes the responsibility of Jesus’ disciples to him.

Some translations make the meaning of Follow me completely explicit with “Come be my disciples.” It is important not to give the impression that Jesus is suggesting they simply walk behind him, which is one of the meanings of “follow.”

A number of translations have attempted a dynamic equivalent of I will make you fishers of men. For example, An American Translation and Moffatt render “I will make you fish for men”; Barclay “I will make you fishermen who catch men”; and Phillips “I will teach you to catch men.” One problem in English is that the construction of fishers of men is an extremely awkward one. The idea of “catching men” usually had negative connotations in rabbinic and Greek literature, as it does in Jeremiah 16.16, but Jesus changes it to the positive concept of bringing men to salvation. Men, of course, refers to both men and women, and so “people” may be a better equivalent.

In different languages the literal sense of “fisher” is one who catches, traps, or even kills fish. When used with “men” as the object, it can seem that Jesus wants Simon and Andrew to catch, trap, or kill men. Very often, therefore, translators use a simile to escape the dilemma, as in “I will teach you to bring people to salvation (or, to follow me) in the same way you have been catching (or killing, or trapping) fish” or “just as you now catch fish, I will teach you how to catch people’s hearts so they follow me.”

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 4:19

4:19a

“Come, follow Me,” Jesus said: The Berean Standard Bible places the words Jesus said in the middle of what Jesus said. This is good English style. However, in some languages it may be more natural to put these words at the beginning of 4:19. For example:

And he said to them, “Follow me…” (English Standard Version)

When Jesus told Simon and Andrew to follow him, he meant two things:

(a) He wanted them to literally go with him;

(b) He wanted them to become his disciples.

In trying to express these two meanings, you should be aware of the following problems that some translators have faced:

(a) A translation such as “Come with me” may not adequately express the teacher-student relationship that the word follow implies. It may imply that Jesus and the disciples had equal status.

(b) A translation such as “Follow me” may imply that Simon and Andrew were simply supposed to walk behind Jesus on the road or were to follow Jesus at a later time.

New Living Translation (1996) may provide a model that avoids these wrong implications. It has made clear that the word follow refers to being a disciple:

Come, be my disciples.

If you follow this translation model, use the same term for “disciples” as you will use in 5:1c.

4:19b

and I will make you fishers of men: This clause is a metaphor. In this metaphor, the work of gathering people into God’s kingdom is compared to the work of fishermen. The way that these two occupations are similar are that both catch/gather things. Both bring/move things from one situation to another.

Jesus used this metaphor to tell Simon and Andrew that he wanted them to change occupations. He told them that he would train them to do the work of fishing for people. They would fish for (catch) people like fishermen fish for (catch) fish.

Here are some other ways to translate this metaphor:

• Translate the metaphor literally. For example:

I will show you how to fish for people (New Living Translation (2004))

In many languages, it will not be possible to use a word combination like “fish for people.” Another solution will have to be found.

• Explain the metaphor. For example:

I will teach you how to catch people instead of fish (God’s Word)

In some languages, an expression like “catch people” refers to someone who gathers people to do forced labor. Or it refers to a policeman who catches a criminal. If that is true in your language, it may be necessary to express the meaning in a different way. For example:

I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
I will teach you to bring people into the kingdom instead of bringing in fish.
-or-
Your work has been to catch fish ⌊in a net⌋. But now I will teach you to do the work of bringing people into the kingdom.

• Use a simile. For example:

I will teach you to search for people like you have been catching fish.

I will make you: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I will make you means “I will teach you” or “I will train you” to do a different kind of work. For example:

I will teach you (God’s Word)

-or-

I will show you (New Living Translation (2004))

It does not imply that Jesus will force them to change their work.

men: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as men refers to people in general. For example:

people (Good News Translation)

You should use a word in your language that includes both men and women.

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