complete verse (Matthew 9:12)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 9:12:

  • Uma: “Yesus heard their words, that is why he said to them: ‘A person who is not sick does not need to be treated/medicated. It is just a sick person who needs to be treated/medicated.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When Isa heard this, he said to them, ‘It is the sick people who go to the doctor. As for those who are well, they don’t have a need to go to the doctor.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Jesus heard this and he answered with a parable, he said, ‘He who has no sickness doesn’t need to have himself medicined, but rather only the ones who has a sickness.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But Jesus heard what-they -questioned and he said parabling, ‘It is not the healthy people who need someone-to-medicine-them but rather the sick.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Jesus heard that question of theirs, therefore he was the one who answered, saying, ‘The ones who have illnesses, they really are the ones who need a doctor. Not those who have no illness.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Jesus heard what was said to the learners and said to those who were talking with them: ‘It is the people who are sick to whom the doctor comes. He doesn’t come to the people who are healthy.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("say")

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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) 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, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Matthew 9:12

The pronoun he refers to Jesus. Some translators use the proper noun, “Jesus.”

Heard it: the Greek text does not indicate the object of the verb heard, but English structure requires one. New English Bible and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch follow Revised Standard Version in supplying it (New Jerusalem Bible “this”), with the question of the Pharisees as the antecedent. New American Bible has “Overhearing the remark.” Good News Translation provides “them,” which is actually an abbreviated form for “… them say this” or “… them ask this question.” For some languages it may be necessary to be even more specific: “heard the question of the Pharisees” or “heard the Pharisees ask his disciples this question.”

Jesus’ reply takes the form of a parable in which tax collectors and other sinners (verse 10) are described as those who are sick.

Those may need to be rendered “those people” or “people.” The sentence can be translated “People who aren’t sick (or, People who are healthy) don’t need a doctor, only sick people do.” The order can also be reversed, as in “It is sick people who need a doctor, not those who are healthy.”

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 9:12

Paragraph 9:12–13

9:12a

There is a contrast here. The Greek of 9:12a begins with a conjunction that is often translated as “but.” The contrast is between the belief of the Pharisees that Jesus was doing wrong, and the truth that Jesus was helping these sinners come back to God. Some English versions indicate this contrast with the conjunction “but.” For example:

But when he heard it. (English Standard Version)

The Berean Standard Bible omits this conjunction and leaves the contrast with 9:11 implicit.

On hearing this, Jesus said: Jesus heard the question of the Pharisees to his disciples, and he answered it himself.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Jesus heard them and answered (Good News Translation)
-or-
When Jesus heard that, he said (God’s Word)

9:12b–c

It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick: Jesus responded to the Pharisees’ rhetorical question with a proverb. In this proverb, Jesus used the words healthy, sick, and doctor in a spiritual sense. The people who are healthy represent the Pharisees. They think that they are well and do not need any spiritual help. The people who are sick represent the tax collectors and sinners. They know that they need Jesus’ help. The doctor represents Jesus, who can help the sinners to become righteous.

In some languages, it may be necessary to put some of the above information in a footnote to explain this proverb.

Also, in some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of the clauses. For example:

Those who are sick need a doctor, not those who are well.

9:12b

the healthy: This clause refers to people who are healthy and physically well.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Those who are well (English Standard Version)
-or-
people who are not sick

who need a doctor: The word doctor is another word for a physician. This clause means that people who are healthy do not need a doctor to cure/treat them.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

do not need a doctor
-or-
do not seek a doctor ⌊to cure them⌋

9:12c

but the sick: Some words from the previous clause are implied but not repeated here. In some languages, it may be more natural to repeat some of those words from the previous clause. For example:

but ⌊it is⌋ sick people ⌊who need a doctor⌋

-or-

but ⌊the people who need a doctor⌋ ⌊to cure them⌋ are the people who are not well

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