The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).
Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).
In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
The Greek that is translated in English as “brother” or “brother and sister” (in the sense of fellow believers), is translated with a specifically coined word in Kachin: “There are two terms for brother in Kachin. One is used to refer to a Christian brother. This term combines ‘older and younger brother.’ The other term is used specifically for addressing siblings. When one uses this term, one must specify if the older or younger person is involved. A parallel system exists for ‘sister’ as well. In [these verses], the term for ‘a Christian brother’ is used.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae)
In Matumbi is is translated as alongo aumini or “relative-believer.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
In Martu Wangka it is translated as “relative” (this is also the term that is used for “follower.”) (Source: Carl Gross)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is often translated as Mitchristen or “fellow Christians.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 5:47:
Uma: “If our (incl.) heart is good [kind] only to our (incl.) friends, what is special [lit., what is the excess] about that behavior of ours? Even people who do not know God, their behavior is also like that.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “If you pay attention only to your friends, na, you are not doing anything better than the others. Even the people who do not know God have customs like that.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And if you only take notice of your friends, why should you be praised for that? You shouldn’t, because even the people who don’t worship God, they do that.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “And if only your friends are the ones you converse-with, what do-you-suppose is your advantage? Even those who don’t know God, they are doing that.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And if the only ones you are-friendly-toward are those who behave-properly-toward you, well what have you done which is more than others? For this is also being done even by those who aren’t God’s people.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “If it is your friends you greet, what good thing are you doing then? Because that is also what is done by the people who do not know God.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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 5:43-48:
From ancient times, it’s been said: “Love friends. Hate enemies!”
But I tell you to love your enemies
and pray for everyone who mistreats you.
That’s how to behave like children of your Father above,
who provides rain and sunshine for everyone, good or evil.
Do you love only those who love you?
Are you good only to your friends?
So what? Even the worst of people are good to their friends.
I tell you to always behave like children of your Father above!
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®).
And if you salute only your brethren: it is important to note that in the Jewish context the salutation is more than a gesture or greeting; it expresses a desire for the peace and welfare of the one greeted. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders the sentence dynamically: “And what is so special if you are friendly only with your brothers?” For most English speakers salute refers to a formal military greeting; the meaning is “greet” or “speak … to” (Good News Translation). An American Translation has “And if you are polite to.” Some have said “greet politely” or “show courtesy by greeting.”
It is fairly well agreed among the commentators that brethren, as used here, means “fellow members of a religious community.” Moffatt, Barclay, together with Good News Translation, translate the noun as “friends.” Phillips translates the clause, “And if you exchange greetings only with your own circle….” A common way to translate this has been to say “people of your own group.” See also comments on verse 22.
What more are you doing than others? assumes the answer “Nothing more!” It is possible to shift to a declaration, “you are not doing anything more than what people ordinarily do.” Modern translations represent the question in many different ways: “what is there remarkable in that?” (An American Translation), “what is special about that?” (Moffatt), “what is so praiseworthy about that?” (New American Bible), and “are you doing anything exceptional?” (New Jerusalem Bible).
This question can also be expressed as a statement, as we have suggested. Other examples are “you are only doing the same as everyone else” or “you have not done anything more than other people do.”
Gentiles is rendered “pagans” by New International Version, Moffatt, New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible, Phillips; “the heathen” is the translation of Anchor Bible, New English Bible, Barclay (An American Translation “the very heathen”). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders: “Those who do not know God.” Etymologically the Greek word meant “national,” then “foreign” or “Gentile,” when used in contrast to Jews. However, in many occurrences of Gentiles in the New Testament it is the religious rather than the racial contrast which is intended, and for this reason such a rendering as Gentiles is inadequate. Elsewhere in the New Testament the word is used in Matthew 6.7; 18.17 (Good News Bible “pagans”) and in 3 John 7 (Good News Translation “unbelievers”). Some later manuscripts of the New Testament substitute “tax collectors” for Gentiles. But TC-GNT indicates that this was merely an attempt “to bring the statement into closer parallelism with the preceding sentence,” as with the final sentence of verse 46.
The translation of Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, “those who do not know God” for Gentiles, has often been a useful model. A similar expression is “those who do not believe in God.” However, a problem can arise in cultures where it is accepted that everyone knows and believes in God, but Gentiles are those who either “don’t know him as he really is” or “don’t know him to worship him.”
Do not even the Gentiles do the same? expects a “yes” answer, and so may be represented by a statement: “Even the pagans do that!” (Good News Translation).
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 .
And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others?: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus used this rhetorical question to emphasize that if you greet only your brothers, you are certainly not doing more than what other people do.
Here are some other ways to translate this emphasis:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
If you greet only your brothers, are you doing more than others?
-or-
If you greet only your brothers, how are you doing anything beyond what others do?
• As a statement. For example:
If you greet only your brothers, you are certainly not doing anything better than other people do.
Translate this emphasis in a way that is natural in your language.
if you greet only your brothers: In the Jewish culture of that time, part of the greeting was to ask God to bless and give peace to the other person. You may want to include some of the implied information. For example:
if you greet only your brothers ⌊with a blessing⌋
-or-
if you only greet your brothers ⌊wishing them peace and blessing⌋
you: The you of this clause is plural.
your brothers: In this context, the word brothers probably refers to “those of your own group,” either men or women. If people in your area will think that the word brothers refers only to biological brothers, you may want to use a more general term. For example:
your friends (Good News Translation)
-or-
your fellowmen/relatives
-or-
those from your own ethnic group
5:47c
Do not even Gentiles do the same?: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus used this rhetorical question to emphasize that even pagan Gentiles are kind/friendly to their friends.
Here are some other ways to translate this emphasis:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
Even the Gentiles do the same, don’t they? (NET Bible)
-or-
Don’t even unbelievers do that? (Contemporary English Version)
• As a statement. For example:
Even the pagans do that! (Good News Translation)
-or-
Even people who do not know God do that!
Translate this emphasis in a way that is natural in your language.
Gentiles: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Gentiles refers to people who were not Jews. Such people worshiped idols, not the true God.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
unbelievers (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
those who don’t know God (New Century Version)
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