Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)
Te escribo algo corto y sé que tú lo leerás y obedecerás y estoy seguro que tú serás más atento y tratarás aún mejor a Onésimo.
Por favor, Filemón, preparame un cuarto para dormir porque sé que uds oran y ojalá que Dios me permita salir de la cárcel libre y que vaya a uds.
I write to you briefly, and I know you will read and obey it, and I am sure that you will be more attentive and take even better care of Onesimus.
Please, Philemon, prepare a bedroom for me, because I know that you pray and hopefully God will permit me to leave prison as a free man and come to you.
“to beg” or “to ask,” (full expression: “to ask with one’s heart coming out,” which leaves out selfish praying, for asking with the heart out leaves no place for self to hide) (Tzotzil)
“to raise up one’s words to God” (implying an element of worship, as well as communication) (Miskito, Lacandon) (source of this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
Shilluk: “speak to God” (source: Nida 1964, p. 237)
Mairasi: “talk together with Great Above One (=God)” (source: Enggavoter, 2004)
Ik: waan: “beg.” Terrill Schrock (in Wycliffe Bible Translators 2016, p. 93) explains (click or tap here to read more):
What do begging and praying have to do with each other? Do you beg when you pray? Do I?
“The Ik word for ‘visitor’ is waanam, which means ‘begging person.’ Do you beg when you go visiting? The Ik do. Maybe you don’t beg, but maybe when you visit someone, you are looking for something. Maybe it’s just a listening ear.
When the Ik hear that [my wife] Amber and I are planning trip to this or that place for a certain amount of time, the letters and lists start coming. As the days dwindle before our departure, the little stack of guests grows. ‘Please, sir, remember me for the allowing: shoes, jacket (rainproof), watch, box, trousers, pens, and money for the children. Thank you, sir, for your assistance.’
“A few people come by just to greet us or spend bit of time with us. Another precious few will occasionally confide in us about their problems without asking for anything more than a listening ear. I love that.
“The other day I was in our spare bedroom praying my list of requests to God — a nice list covering most areas of my life, certainly all the points of anxiety. Then it hit me: Does God want my list, or does he want my relationship?
“I decided to try something. Instead of reading off my list of requests to God, I just talk to him about my issues without any expectation of how he should respond. I make it more about our relationship than my list, because if our personhood is like God’s personhood, then maybe God prefers our confidence and time to our lists, letters, and enumerations.”
In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning (click or tap here to read more):
For Acts 1:14, 20:36, 21:5: kola ttieru-yawur nehla — “hold the waist and hug the neck.” (“This is the more general term for prayer and often refers to worship in prayer as opposed to petition. The Luang people spend the majority of their prayers worshiping rather than petitioning, which explains why this term often is used generically for prayer.”)
For Acts 28:9: sumbiani — “pray.” (“This term is also used generically for ‘prayer’. When praying is referred to several times in close proximity, it serves as a variation for kola ttieru-yawur nehla, in keeping with Luang discourse style. It is also used when a prayer is made up of many requests.”)
For Acts 8:15, 12:5: polu-waka — “call-ask.” (“This is a term for petition that is used especially when the need is very intense.”)
Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.
Following are a number of back-translations of Philemon 1:22:
Uma: “And also, I request that you please prepare a bed for me in your home, because I hope that God will answer your (pl.) prayers, in order that I to be released from this prison, so that I can visit you (pl.).” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “There is still (something) I ask/beg of you. Prepare a room for me beforehand because I hope/expect that God will answer your (pl.) prayers and I will be released.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “There is something else I want to ask you for, and it is this: Prepare a place for me to sleep there for I have great confidence that by means of your prayers, God will permit me to come to you.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “There is still one-thing that I will say. If possible, please prepare-for me a room where-I-will-stay. For I expect that God will answer your prayers that I be-set-free to visit you.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “What I will further add is, if possible/acceptable also with you set-aside-for me a place to stay there in your house. For I am hoping that, through the strength of your (pl.) praying, I will be able to get out of this prison and indeed be able to return to you (pl.).” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “And now, prepare a place for me to stay when I come there. I think that I will come, because that is what you are asking God to bring about.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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 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).
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 choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
Here, yōishiteoite (用意しておいて) or “prepare beforehand” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Some translations (Jerusalem BibleTraduction œcuménique de la Bible) take verse 22 as the beginning of a new section; but it is so closely related to verse 21 that it should not be separated from it.
At the same time, that is, while making the former request, he adds this other request. The meaning is better represented by such translations as New English BibleNew International Version “one thing more”; Jerusalem Bible “there is another thing”; Phillips “will you do something else?” At the same time, get a room ready for me may be rendered as “I also want you to prepare a room for me” or “… get a guest room ready for me.”
The request is get a room ready for me; Paul hopes soon to be a guest in Philemon’s home, as a result of God’s answer to the prayers of all of you. Here Paul uses the plural second person pronoun, whereas up till now, from verse 2, he has used the singular pronoun, referring only to Philemon. All of you would include Philemon, Apphia, Archippus, and the other members of the church.
In a number of languages, it is extremely difficult to find an adequate term for hope. The closest equivalent may be a phrase such as “I wait with confidence,” for hope in its NT meaning implies a confident expectation with regard to some future benefit. A verb such as “wait” indicates future expectation, and “confidence” suggests that in the end there will be some positive benefit.
In translating God will answer the prayers of all of you it is important to employ a word for answer which suggests more than merely responding to a question. Therefore, God will answer the prayers of all of you may be translated as “God will do for you all that you pray to him about.”
I hope that God … will give me back to you translates the Greek passive “I hope … to be given to you.” The verb used, charizomai, means “to make a gift, grant a favor” (in Col 2.13, 3.13 it is used in the sense it often has of “to forgive”). It is a kindness, a favor, that the people are asking God to grant them, namely, that Paul will be given his freedom and be able to come to them. The you is again plural.
A literal rendering of I hope that God will answer the prayers of all of you and give me back to you might suggest that Paul is hoping for two different things, namely, that God will answer the prayers of the believers and that he will give Paul back to the believers. Obviously, of course, what the people are praying for is that he will be given back to them. This relationship can perhaps be best expressed in some languages as “that God will do what you have asked him to do, namely, to give me back to you.” On the other hand, a literal rendering of give me back to you might seem very strange, for this is essentially a causative expression involving a return. Therefore, one may best translate give me back to you as “cause me to return to you” or “allow me to return to you.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to Philemon. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
In verses 22-25 Paul wrote to the group of Christians who were with Philemon. So he used “you (plur)” in these verses as he did in verse 3. But in the main Sections of the letter (verses 4–21) he used “you (singular)” rather than “you (plur).” This is one thing that shows that verses 1–3 and verses 22–25 are separate from the other Sections of the letter. So verses 22–25, as a unit, are also a Section that is separate from the other parts of the letter.
After making his main point in the letter in verses 8–21, Paul finished the letter with a few final words in verses 22–25. He asked Philemon to prepare a guest room for him (verse 22), because he hoped that God would answer the prayers of the Christians at Colosse by allowing him to visit them again. Then Paul sent greetings to Philemon from five Christian friends who were there with Paul (verses 23–24). These peoples’ names are also in Colossians 4:10–14. Finally, Paul ended the letter with a Christian blessing (verse 25).
Read verses 22–25 carefully in the Berean Standard Bible and the Good News Translation.
Paragraph 22 Paul asks Philemon to prepare for Paul to come
In this verse, Paul asked Philemon to get things ready for Paul to come and visit Philemon.
Read verse 22 again.
22a
In the meantime: You could translate the Greek words here: “At the same time.” For example:
⌊ At the same time that I am asking this favor for Onesimus,⌋I will ask another favor ⌊for myself. ⌋
prepare a guest room for me: Paul was asking Philemon to prepare a place for him to stay at Colosse. This would be a place in Philemon’s house where Paul could sleep and where Philemon’s servants could cook food for him. Paul apparently thought that the people who had put him in prison would soon free him from prison.
22b
I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you: Paul was not simply saying that he wanted to go and see Philemon and the Colossian Christians. He was saying that someone else—probably God—would need to cause this to happen.
Here are two examples of a free translation of this part of verse 22:
I hope that God will make a way for me to become free so I can see you again.
I hope that God will cause those who imprisoned me to free me so I can see you again.
I hope: Paul did not say that he was sure the Roman leaders would free him, but he wanted and expected this to happen. Bible scholars do not know whether Paul ever went to Colosse again or if he ever saw Philemon again.
through your prayers: Paul knew that the Christians in Colosse were praying that he would be able to leave prison. So he was saying that, if he became free, it would be because God had answered their prayers.
restored to you: Paul hoped that the people who had put him in prison would release him, and that as a result, he would be able to visit the Colossians.
to you: Paul used you (plur) two times in this verse. So here again he was writing not only to Philemon but also to the Christians at Colosse who worshipped God in Philemon’s house.
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