“In working as a Bible translator in Tibetan, the overriding aesthetic value that guided the translation was the sonic quality of the oral-aural transmission and reception. The primary quality control measure of almost everything that was translated, regardless of genre, whether it was a genealogy, a list of vices, a hymn, narrative, prophecy, poetry or didactic teaching, was all measured through the lens of ‘does this verse or section sound melodious and pleasing to the ears?’ The concern of our mother tongue translators was that a holy and sacred text must inherently be melodious and sweet sounding to the ear, or no one would consider it to be sacred, nor would they want to read it or listen to it being read aloud. Furthermore, if the text is melodious and sweet to the ears (snyan po) and has an appealing ‘flavor’ (bro ba), then it will also be kho bde po — easy to comprehend (literally ‘smooth to the ear’) and kha deb po — easy to read (literally ‘smooth to the mouth’). It would also more easily lend itself to memorization, recitation and being sung-all highly important aspects in a Tibetan context. (…) More typically, poetry is versified with an uneven number of syllables in lines of seven and nine syllables, a form of synalepha [suppression of a vowel at the end of word when it is followed by another word beginning with a vowel] grouped as 1-0-1-0-1-0-0. Though lines of 11, 13, 15 syllables (and so on) are possible, the pattern of 7 or 9 is by far the most prevalent in Tibetan literature.
“Given the structure of the Beatitudes in Matthew’s Gospel, with rhythmic parallel patterns (see Translation commentary on Matthew 5:3) (…), the team decided to render this section in poetic form to not only promote ease of memorization and recitation, but to enhance the euphonic appeal [having a pleasant sound]. The text follows a typical nine syllable synalepha structure.” (Quoted in Watters / de Blois 2023)
The Greek that is typically translated as “Blessed” in English is translated in the French 1985 translation by Chouraqui as En marche or “Rise up / Forward / Let’s get going.”
The Jewish scholar and inter-religious translator A. Chouraqui explains: “The first word of the Sermon on the Mount is, in most translations, the main obstacle to understanding Yeshua‘s message. Makarioi, the Greek says — “Blessed” — and this word immediately sends commentators off on the wrong track. The ‘Beatitudes’ are assumed to be something that should be possessed from the outset, whereas they will only be fully realized in the kingdom of Adonai. And Jesus did not say makarioi, but ashrei (see Psalm 1:1), an exclamation…from the root ashar which implies, not the idea of a vague and essentially hedonistic happiness, but the idea of uprightness, yashar — the uprightness of the person who is walking on a path clear of obstacles — the path that leads toward Adonai.” (Source: Watson 2023, p. 58)
Note that Psalm 1:1a is translated by Chouraqui as En marche, l’homme qui ne va pas au conseil des criminels — “En marche (see above), the man who doesn’t attend the council of criminals.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 5:11:
Uma: “‘Blessed are you people disparage and persecute you and libel/falsely-accuse you with all kinds of libel because of your following me.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “‘Better off are you when people talk bad to/about you, and persecute you and slander you which is not true because you follow me.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “For you are far better off if because you are my disciples people insult you and treat you badly, and they tell lies saying that your doings are bad.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “‘Fortunate are you if people cause- you -shame and persecute you and lie in speaking-evil-of you because of me.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “You (pl.) can be happy when/if you are ridiculed by others, when/if you are being caused suffering and you are having all evil things spoken about you which are their lies about you because you believe/obey and trust/rely-on me.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “The good fortune will be met by you when you are persecuted because you follow me. They will speak evil of you and make up lies about you.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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 Translator2002, 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.
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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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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. )
Verses 11-12 form a parallel to verse 10; they apply verse 10 specifically to the persecuted disciples and the Church. In the face of opposition and oppression, Jesus’ promise becomes a reality here and now. This explains the shift to the second person pronoun you, which also anticipates the transition to verses 13-16.
When here means “on those occasions,” “at those times when,” or “whenever.”
Revile (Good News Translation “insult”) is used of strong verbal abuse (see 27.44; 1 Peter 4.14). One commentator notes that the Jews considered verbal abuse to be extremely vicious. The rabbis considered it as evil as idolatry, fornication, and bloodshed all combined. By defamation of character a person lost his place in the community and, according to the circumstance of that day, almost the possibility of continuing his life. The insulting word itself was believed to have a power of its own. Revile can be translated “say evil about” or “say you are bad.” Many translators in West Africa use the idiom “spoil your name.”
For persecute, see comments on verse 10. Here translations can have “whenever people make you suffer” or “when people harm you.”
There is a textual problem regarding the adverb falsely. The UBS Greek text includes the word within square brackets, and the reason, according to TC-GNT, is that it may not have been an original part of the text. On the one hand, its absence may be accounted for as a scribal attempt to make the passage resemble the Lukan form (Luke 6.22). On the other hand, scribes would have been tempted to insert the word in order to limit an overgeneralization of Jesus’ teaching, and to express specifically what was believed to be implied by the very nature of Jesus’ words. But whether it is regarded as an integral part of the text or a later addition, it does explain the true meaning of the text, and this information must somehow be conveyed through translation. So then, whether on textual or translational grounds, it has been retained in a number of translations. For example, it is found in Revised Standard Version, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and Good News Translation: (“tell all kinds of evil lies”), though omitted by New English Bible and Phillips.
To translate utter all kinds of evil against you falsely, phrases such as “say bad things about you that aren’t true” or “tell all kinds of wicked lies about you” can be used.
The phrase on my account is taken by Good News Translation to mean “because you are my followers.” Most translations follow the text literally, while Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “because you belong to me.”
A translation of on my account such as “for my sake” is also literal, but many translations have used it. “Because they are against me” is less so, although the clearest translation would be very similar to either Good News Translation or Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch: “because you follow me” or “because you are my people.”
This sentence is longer than those in verses 3-10, but it can still be made to flow smoothly: “Whenever people say evil about you and do harm to you, and tell all kinds of wicked lies about you simply because you follow me, then you are in a good position,” or “… you are fortunate,” or “… you are happy.”
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 .
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