centurion

The Greek that is translated as “centurion” in English is translated in Noongar as “boss of the Roman soldiers (lit.: ‘men of fighting’)” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), in Uma as “Roman army warchief” (source: Uma Back Translation), in Western Bukidnon Manobo as “a person who was not a Jew, the captain of a hundred soldiers” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation), and in Mairasi “leader of Roman warriors” (source: Enggavoter 2004).

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Roman Centurion .

Capernaum

The name that is transliterated as “Capernaum” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “town base camp” (referring to information about Capernaum being Jesus’ home base during his ministry in Matthew 4:13 and Mark 2:1) (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Capernaum” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

See also Capernaum.

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Capernaum (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Capernaum .

complete verse (Matthew 8:5)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 8:5:

  • Uma: “As Yesus entered the village of Kapernaum, a Roman army commander came to meet him and requested-help,” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When Isa entered the town Kapernaum a certain captain of the Roman army met him to ask for help, he said,” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then Jesus went to the town of Capernaum. And when he was going into the town, there was a person who wasn’t a Jew who was the captain of a hundred soldiers. And he went near to Jesus saying, ‘Chief, in my house my servant is sick. He is paralyzed, and very painful is what he is feeling.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Upon Jesus’ arrival in Capernaum, there was a captain of soldiers from-Roma who went to meet him. He pleaded, saying,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When Jesus went to Capernaum, when he had arrived in that town there came to him a captain of Romano soldiers. He begged- him -for-help/mercy, saying,” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Then Jesus arrived at the city of Capernaum. There went to him a captain in order to ask a favor.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

pronoun for "God"

God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).

Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.

In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.

While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal ta (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential ta (祂) is used.”

In Kouya, Godié, Northern Grebo, Eastern Krahn, Western Krahn, and Guiberoua Béte, all languages of the Kru family in Western Africa, a different kind of systems of pronouns is used (click or tap here to read more):

In that system one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and one for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.

Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains in the following way: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”

In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)

Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”

In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )

In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)

The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.

Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are the closely related Indonesian and Malay. In both languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).

See also first person pronoun referring to God.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Gender of God .

Translation: Chinese

在现代汉语中,第三人称单数代词的读音都是一样的(tā),但是写法并不一样,取决于性别以及是否有生命,即男性为“他”,女性为“她”,动物、植物和无生命事物为“它”(在香港和台湾的汉语使用,动物则为“牠”)。这些字的部首偏旁表明了性别(男人、女人、动物、无生命事物),而另一偏旁通常旁提示发音。

到1930年为止,基督教新教《圣经》经过整整一百年的翻译已经拥有了十几个译本,当时的一位圣经翻译者王元德新造了一个“神圣的”代词“祂”,偏旁“礻”表示神明。一般汉语读者会立即知道这字的发音是tā,而这个偏旁表示属灵的事物,因此他们明白这个字指出,三位一体的所有位格都没有性别之分,而单单是上帝。

然而,最重要的新教圣经译本(1919年的《和合本》)和天主教圣经译本(1968年的《思高圣经》)都没有采用“祂”;虽然如此,许多其他的圣经译本采用了这个字,另外还广泛出现在赞美诗和其他基督信仰的书刊中。(资料来源:Zetzsche)

《吕振中译本》的几个早期版本也使用“祂”来指称“上帝”;这个译本的《新约》于1946年译成,整部《圣经》于1970年完成。克拉默斯(Kramers)指出:“‘他’的这种新写法(即‘祂’)产生了一个小问题,就是在指称耶稣的时候,是否一律使用这个敬语代词?《吕振中译本》遵循的原则是,在称呼耶稣这个人的时候,用一般的‘他’,而在称呼耶稣神性的时候,特别是升天之后的耶稣,则用尊称‘祂’。”

Translator: Simon Wong

location (of God) (Japanese honorifics)

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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-moto (みもと) referring to the location (of God) in the referenced verses.

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

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God (“enter”)

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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) 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, hai-rare-ru (入られる) or “enter” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Matthew 8:5

As he entered Capernaum: since this is a new section, Good News Translation replaces the pronoun he of the Greek text with the noun “Jesus.” This is the second mention of Capernaum in the Gospel; the town is first mentioned in 4.13. The name Capernaum literally means “village of Nahum,” and it lies on the northwest coast of Lake Galilee near the northeast edge of the plain of Gennesaret. Translations usually retain the name Capernaum and do not translate it as “village of Nahum.” As with many geographical places with which modern readers are not familiar, translators sometimes use a generic term with the name, as in “town of Capernaum.”

The phrase As he entered presupposes some movement on the part of Jesus since the previous section. This does not always need to be mentioned, but in some languages the narrative will sound very awkward unless there is some phrase such as “Jesus went to Capernaum. As he entered the town…” or “Jesus traveled on. When he entered Capernaum….”

Centurion is the traditional rendering of most English translations, but it is translated “Roman officer” by Good News Translation. In the Roman army a man of this rank commanded one hundred men, and so the origin of the term centurion, which derives from a Latin noun meaning “one hundred.” The man was probably a Gentile from Syria serving in the Roman army. Centurions were career soldiers, and as such they were often the most experienced and most highly regarded men in the Roman army. This centurion was probably stationed in Palestine|fig:Map_Palestine-Jesus.jpg for the sake of police duty. The Romans would not have allowed the governor of Galilee (Herod Antipas at this time) to maintain a Jewish army. Outside of this story the noun is used in Matthew’s Gospel only in 27.54.

Centurion can be translated as “a Roman officer,” “officer of the Roman army,” “a man over one hundred Roman soldiers,” or “a leader of a group in the Roman army.”

Came forward translates a verb used 51 times by Matthew; it is in fact the same verb translated “came” by Revised Standard Version in verse 2. The problem with “met him” of Good News Translation is that the reader may be left with the impression that this is a chance meeting. It is not; the officer intentionally approaches Jesus. Thus it can be translated as “came to meet him” or “approached him.”

Beseeching is translated “begged for help” by Good News Translation. New English Bible renders “to ask his help,” and New Jerusalem Bible “pleaded with him.” The verb itself may be used in a wide variety of contexts and so have a number of different meanings. Most frequently in Matthew it means either “beg,” “request” (8.31, 34; 14.36; 18.29), or “request help” (26.53). It can also be expressed as “he asked for his help” or “he made an earnest request.”

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 .