snake

In Kuy culture, snakes are eaten, so here the Kuy translation says the equivalent of “a yellow snake” as these are taboo (source: David Clark). For the same reason, the term used in Barasana-Eduria is “eel” since eels are detested among the speakers (source: Larry Clark in Holzhausen 1991, p. 45).

See also serpent.

rhetorical questions (Matt 7:9-11)

During the translation of the New Testament into Huixtán Tzotzil, translation consultant Marion Cowan found that questions where the answer is obvious, affirmative rhetorical questions, as well questions raising objections tended to cause confusion among the readers. So these are rendered as simple or emphatic statements.

Accordingly, Matthew 7:9-11 reads “If your son asks you for a tortilla to eat, not a stone you would give him. If he asks you for fish to eat, not a snake you would give him. You whose hearts are not good, know what good gifts you will give your children. Your father in heaven surpassingly knows what good gifts he will give to those who ask him.”

Source: Marion Cowan in The Bible Translator 1960, p. 123ff.

complete verse (Matthew 7:10)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 7:10:

  • Uma: “Or give him a snake when he asks for meat/fish? Of course not.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Or if he asks for a fish will you give him a snake?” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And if he asks you for a fish, it also cannot be that a snake is what you give.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Or if he asks for dried-fish, will you do-you-suppose give-him a snake?” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Or if it’s fish he’s asking for, what will you give, a snake?” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Or if the child asks for fish, he isn’t given a snake.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Matthew 7:7-12)

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 7:7-12:

Keep knocking until God opens the door for you,
as he always does for someone who doesn’t give up.
       Ask and receive—seek and find—that’s how it works.

Although you’re evil, you’re still good to your children.
If they were hungry for fish and chips,
       you’d never feed them snakes and stones.

Your Father above is goodness personified
       and will gladly do good for anyone who asks.

What’s the Bible all about? I’ll tell you —
       Treat others the way you want them to treat you.

Translation commentary on Matthew 7:9 – 7:10

The comparisons (bread with stone and fish with serpent) were used for perhaps two reasons: (1) bread and fish were the foods that would be most common near the Sea of Galilee, and (2) bread is shaped somewhat like a stone, and a fish has scales and other features similar to those of a snake. One commentator in fact notes that a certain species of fish (barbut) even has the appearance of a snake. Though most translations retain the question form of the Greek text, it is obvious that in many languages a statement would be more effective: “No father would give his son a stone when he asks for bread….” This can also be rendered “Surely none of you who is a father would give” or “No father would give his son a stone … would he?”

The sentence in verse 9 may need to be reversed, as in “When a son asks his father for bread, do you think the father would give him a stone?”

All these ways of rendering verse 9 can be used in verse 10 too. In fact, it is probably a good idea to use the same structure.

Bread is widely known, but in areas where it is not, “food” or “something to eat” can be used, or possibly some local food that has a similar function to bread.

A serpent is a snake. The type of snake does not need to be specified. For the passage to be meaningful, it must be understood by the readers that the Jews did not eat snakes. It would be just as unlikely for a Jew to eat a snake as a stone. In areas where people do eat some kinds of snakes, translators can add a footnote saying that Jews were forbidden to eat snakes, or they can use the name of a type of snake that is not eaten. They can even add the phrase “which God forbids us to eat” in the translation itself, if they feel that otherwise the verse will make no sense.

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 7:10

7:10a–b

Or: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Or functions to introduce another example of Jesus’ teaching about giving good things to those who ask.

if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?: This is a rhetorical question. It is similar to the rhetorical question in 7:9. Jesus used this rhetorical question to emphasize that no one would give a serpent to his child if he asks for a fish. The words “which of you” are implied but not repeated from 7:9a–b.

Here are some other ways to translate this emphasis:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Would you give your child a snake if the child asked for a fish? (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Or if your child asks for a fish, would you give him a snake? (God’s Word)

• As a statement. For example:

If/When your son asks you for a fish ⌊to eat⌋, certainly none of you would give a snake to him.

7:10a

fish: At that time, people in Israel ate a lot of fish. Here it is implied that the son was asking for a fish because he was hungry. If people do not eat fish in your culture, you may need to:

• Use a word for “meat.”

• Substitute the name of another common food that is good for children to eat.

If you use a cultural substitute, you may want to include a footnote to indicate the literal word. An example footnote:

Literally “fish.” People in Israel regularly ate fish.

7:10b

will give him a snake: Jewish laws forbid eating a snake. So no Jewish father would give his son a snake when his son asked for a fish to eat.

But in some languages giving a snake would be good. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Add implied information to indicate that giving a snake is bad. For example:

⌊inedible⌋ snake
-or-
snake ⌊forbidden to eat⌋

• Use the name of a specific type of snake that people do not eat. For example:

viper
-or-
cobra
-or-
poisonous snake

• Use another type of snake-like creature that people do not eat. For example:

lizard
-or-
worm

• Translate the word snake in your translation and add a footnote to explain. For example:

In Jewish culture, giving a snake was bad, because Jewish law forbids it.

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