gospel

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In choosing a word for the Greek that is typically translated as “gospel” in English, a number of languages construct a phrase meaning “good news,” “joyful report” or “happiness-bringing words.” In some instances such a phrase may be slightly expanded in order to convey the proper meaning, e.g. “new good word” (Tzotzil), or it may involve some special local usage:

  • “good story” (Navajo (Dinė))
  • “joyful telling” (Tausug)
  • “joyful message” (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • cohuen ñoñets or “message of God” (Shilluk) (source: Nida 1964, p. 237)
  • “good news” (Yanesha’) (source: Martha Duff in Holzhausen 1991, p. 11)
  • “voice of good spirit” (San Blas Kuna) (source: Claudio and Marvel Iglesias in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 85ff. )
  • suviśēṣattinṟe (0സുവിശേഷം) or “good narrative” (Malayalam)
  • susmachar (ସୁସମାଚାର) or “good matter” (Odia)
  • suvārteya (ಸುವಾರ್ತೆಯ) or “good word” (Kannada) (source for this and two above: Y.D. Tiwari in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 132ff. )
  • the German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022) translates as “all-transformative good news” (alles verändernde gute Botschaft), also “good news”
Vitaly Voinov tells this story about the translation into Rutul (click or tap here to see the rest of this insight):

“In Rutul, it was only during the most recent consultant checking session that I realized that the Rutul word for Gospel – Incir (from Arabic إنجيل — Injil) — sounds and looks exactly like the word that means ‘fig’ in Rutul. This is a case of homonymy, in which two completely non-related words from differing historical sources have come to sound exactly alike. Most Rutul speakers know that incir means ‘fig’ because they grow this fruit in their yard or buy it at the market every week. However, because the religious sphere of discourse was heavily disparaged during the Soviet era, most people simply never encountered Incir with the meaning of ‘Gospel.’ This meaning of the word, which Rutuls of the pre-Soviet era knew from the Koran, simply fell into disuse and never had much reason for returning into contemporary Rutul since there is no Christian church established among the people. So if the translator continues to use the term Incir as the rendering for ‘Gospel,’ he runs the risk that most readers will, at best, read the word with a smile because they know that it also means ‘fig,’ and, at worst, will completely misunderstand the word. The seemingly ‘easy’ solution in this case is for the translator to use a Rutul neologism meaning ‘Joyful Message’ or ‘Good News,’ [see above] instead of Incir; but in fact it is not all that easy to make this change if the translator himself insists on using the historical word because at least some Rutuls still understand it as meaning ‘Gospel.’ This is a situation in which the translation team has to gradually grow into the understanding that a fully intelligible translation of Scripture is preferable to one that maintains old words at the cost of alienating much of the readership.”

For “good news,” see also Isaiah 52:7.

complete verse (Philippians 2:22)

Following are a number of back-translations of Philippians 2:22:

  • Uma: “But as for Timotius, you yourselves have seen how strong his faith is. He works with me, announcing the Good News. We two are just like father-and-son.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But Timoteo, you know that he is really trustworthy. His helping me preaching/proclaiming the good news is as if he helps his own father.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “As for Timothy, you know that his behavior is proper; he is like my true son in his helping me to spread the Good News.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But as for Timoteo, you definitely know that his character is good, because you have seen that we (excl.) were like father-and-son in our (excl.) working-together to preach the good news.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But as for this Timoteo, you know the big-size and good-quality of his help to me in my teaching of this Good News. Really as for his obeying and his help to me, you could say that I am his natural-father.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “You know that concerning Timothy, it is apparent that he eagerly is helping me tell the good news. Like a son when he helps his father in his work is what he is like.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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 choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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

Translation commentary on Philippians 2:22

Not only does Timothy have Paul’s fullest confidence; he also has proved his worth to the Philippians. This verbal phrase is the translation of a Greek noun meaning literally “proof.” It is related to the verb used in 1.10, where Good News Bible renders “to choose.” It is used of gold or silver which has been tested and found genuine. Paul is not just saying that “Timothy’s record is known to you” (New English Bible), but that “you know how he has stood the test” (Moffatt). The Philippians know that Timothy is not a mediocre substitute, for he cooperated with Paul when the apostle first brought the gospel to their city (Acts 16). The verb “you know” should not be taken as an imperative but as an indicative; Timothy’s worth was something the Philippians already knew.

You yourselves know may be expressed in some languages as “you yourselves already know,” or “you yourselves surely know.”

It may be difficult to speak of Paul’s estimation of Timothy by using literally a term such as worth, for this might suggest in some languages a kind of commercial value rather than Timothy’s inherent qualities. How he has proved his worth may be rendered, therefore, as “how good he has proved to be,” or “how valuable he has been.”

What Paul goes on to say is somewhat cryptic; it is literally “how, as a child a father, he served with me….” The focus is not on the manner in which Timothy served Paul (like a son to his father), but on the very intimate relationship in which the two worked together for the advancement of the gospel. Accordingly, Good News Translation renders explicitly how he and I, like a son and his father, have worked together. The original meaning of the verb rendered worked is “to serve, or work, as a slave” (Goodspeed “he worked like a slave with me.” See also the discussion under 1.1).

How he and I, like a son and his father, have worked together for the sake of the gospel is an amplification of the first part of the verse, and it may be understood as an explanation of how Timothy proved his worth. However, in a number of languages it may be necessary to repeat here the verb “know,” for example, “You yourselves know how valuable he has proved to be, and how Timothy and I, like a son and his father, have worked….” In some languages it may even be necessary to show clearly that like a son and his father is to be understood in a figurative sense, for example, “he has worked with me just like a son would work with his own father,” or “… just like a man’s son would help his father.”

The phrase for the sake of the gospel can also be taken as meaning “for the advancement of the gospel” (Barclay). In several languages the most effective way of speaking about “the advancement of the gospel” would be to say “in order that more and more people would hear the good news,” or “… believe the good news.”

Quoted with permission from Luo, I-Jin. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .