The Greek and Hebrew terms that are translated as “hypocrite” in English typically have a counterpart in most languages. According to Bratcher / Nida (1961, p. 225), they can be categorized into the following categories:
those which employ some concept of “two” or “double”
those which make use of some expression of “mouth” or “speaking”
those which are based upon some special cultural feature
those which employ a non-metaphorical phrase
Following is a list of (back-) translations from some languages:
Mazahua: “have a swollen mouth” (from too much speaking)
Tai Dam: “have a straight mouth and a crooked heart”
Kongo: “the bitterness of white” (an idiom based on the fact that white-wash looks nice but tastes bitter)
Merina Malagasy: “spread a clean carpet” (an expression used in Madagascar to describe one who covers up the dirt of an unswept floor just before the arrival of guests)
Zanaki: “those who make themselves out to be good”
Tetelcingo Nahuatl: “those who deceive” (this and all examples above acc. to Bratcher / Nida 1961, p. 225)
Kafa: “one who makes as if his belly is clean” (source: Loren Bliese)
Bauzi: “good on top person” (source: David Briley in Kroneman (2004), p. 502)
Tibetan: kha chos pa (ཁ་ཆོས་པ།), lit. “mouth + religion + person” (used for instance in Matt. 7:5) or sgyu zog can (སྒྱུ་ཟོག་ཅན།), lit. “deception + fraud + person” (used for instance in Matt. 24:51) (source: gSungrab website )
Low German: “actor in a comedy” (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006)
Lélé: ne kub so or “make mouth two” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The Latvian term liekulis was likely coined by the Bible translation of Ernst Glück (1654–1705) in the late 17th century and is still being used today (source ).
The English version of Sarah Ruden (2021) uses “play-actor.” She explains (p. li): “A hupokrites is fundamentally an actor. The word has deep negativity in the Gospels on two counts: professional actors were not respectable people in the ancient world, and traditional Judaism did not countenance any kind of playacting. I write ‘play-actor’ throughout.”
The Greek that is translated as “neighbor” in English is rendered into Babatana as “different man,” i.e. someone who is not one of your relatives. (Source: David Clark)
In North Alaskan Inupiatun, it is rendered as “a person outside of your building,” in Tzeltal as “your back and side” (implying position of the dwellings), in Indonesian and in Tae’ as “your fellow-man,” in Toraja-Sa’dan it is “your fellow earth-dweller,” in Shona (translation of 1966) as “another person like you,” in Kekchí “younger-brother-older-brother” (a compound which means all one’s neighbors in a community) (sources: Bratcher / Nida and Reiling / Swellengrebel), in Mairasi “your people” (source: Enggavoter 2004), in Mezquital Otomi as “fellow being,” in Tzeltal as “companion,” in Isthmus Zapotec as “another,” in Teutila Cuicatec as “all people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), and in most modern German translations as Mitmensch or “fellow human being” (lit. “with + human being”).
In Matt 19:19, Matt 22:39, Mark 12:31, Mark 12:33, Luke 10:27, Luke 10:29 it is translated into Ixcatlán Mazatec with a term that refers to a person who is socially/physically near. Ixcatlán Mazatec also has a another term for “neighbor” that means “fellow humans-outsiders” which was not chosen for these passages. (Source: Robert Bascom)
In Noongar it is translated as moorta-boordak or “people nearby” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
The Greek that is translated as “log” in English is translated in Gbaya with the ideophone (a word that expresses what is perceived by the five senses) kpíŋgíí-te, imitating the sound of a heavy crash. (Source: Philip Noss in The Bible Translator 1985, p. 423ff. )
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 7:5:
Uma: “Don’t’ pretend-to-be-good in character! First take out the splinter that is in our (incl.) eye, so that our (incl.) eyes are clear to take out the sleep of others.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “You there are just pretending. Remove the log from your eye first, then you can see clearly to remove the splinter from the eye of your companion.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Your activity is pure deceit. First take out the log that has gotten into your eye, and then you will be able to see, and then you can also easily take out that which has gotten into your companion’s eye.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “You (sing.) hypocrite! first wipe-away your (sing.) large eye-discharge so that you (sing.) can-see properly, then you (sing.) can wipe-away your (sing.) companion’s eye-discharge.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Therefore you who are regarding your lifestyle as having nothing to find fault with, improve/correct your own nature/way first, and then it will be possible/acceptable to point-out-the-fault in the doing of your companion which is not good. Remove first that which is jambed right across, so that you will be able to see well. You will be better able to remove what is in your companion’s eye.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “So it is not proper in what you say. First you must take out the beam in your eye in order that you are able to take out the dirt in the eye of your brother.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Hypocrite was first used in 6.2 (see comments there).
This verse also is essentially a repeat of verse 3. Again, however, it may need to be restructured, depending on what would be most natural in the language; for example, “You hypocrite, only if you take the log out of your own eye will you be able to see clearly enough to be able to take out the speck from your brother’s eye” and “You hypocrite, you must first take out the log from your eye before you see clearly and be able to take the speck in your brother’s eye.”
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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