The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that is translated as “envy” or “envious” in most English translations is, according to Nida (1952, p. 134), translated into Tzeltal and Tabasco Chontal in the following manner:
“Envy is bred of covetousness and self-centeredness. The Tzeltals, who recognize a covetous man as having a ‘small heart,’ say that an envious person has ‘a greedy heart.’ ‘Small hearts’ and ‘greedy hearts’ go together, and the soul shrinks in direct proportion to its greediness. The envious person is never satisfied, for he can never keep step with his own insatiable ego.
“The Chontal Indians, living in the low, swampy delta land of Tabasco in southern Mexico, regard envy in a more subtle way. They say of the man who is envious of his neighbor, ‘He did not want to see his neighbor.’ This describes the end result of envy. People cannot bear to see others enjoying the privileges which they insist should be their own. The envious man has acquired such a self-directed stare that he cannot take his eyes off self to see another’s enjoyment.”
In Central Mazahua is is translated as “jealous of each other, their fellow people,” in Sayula Popoluca as “hate those who have something” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), in Matumbi as sukya, which means “envy” but also “hate” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext), and in Kupsabiny as “blackstomached” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation).
Following are a number of back-translations of Philippians 1:15:
Uma: “There are also some who carry the News of Kristus because they are envious and want to oppose me. But there are also some who carry the News of Kristus sincerely [lit., with the holiness of their hearts.]” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “It is true, some of them proclaim about Isa Almasi because they are jealous of me and they want to outdo me. But there are also others who proclaim because they really want that the people know about Almasi.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “As for some, the reason they spread what Christ taught is because they are jealous of me and they want to excel over me. However, there are some whose reason for spreading the teaching of Christ is because they really want to teach these things.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “It’s admittedly true that there are those who are preaching concerning Cristo on account of their jealousy of me, but there are also others whose intentions are right.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Admittedly as for some here, they are indeed teaching concerning Cristo, but are only being taken along by jealousy and quarreling/rivalry. But as for the others who teach, there’s absulutely no evil motive in their mind/inner-being.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “And now, concerning those who speak about Christ, there are some who are jealous of me, they want to throw me to the ground. But others speak of Christ with enthusiasm.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The Greek Christos (Χρηστός) is typically transliterated when it appears together with Iésous (Ἰησοῦς) (Jesus). In English the transliteration is the Anglicized “Christ,” whereas in many other languages it is based on the Greek or Latin as “Kristus,” “Cristo,” or similar.
When used as a descriptive term in the New Testament — as it’s typically done in the gospels (with the possible exceptions of for instance John 1:17 and 17:3) — Christos is seen as the Greek translation of the Hebrew mashiaḥ (המשיח) (“anointed”). Accordingly, a transliteration of mashiaḥ is used, either as “Messiah” or based on the Greek or Latin as a form of “Messias.”
This transliteration is also used in the two instances where the Greek term Μεσσίας (Messias) is used in John 1:41 and 4:25.
In some languages and some translations, the term “Messiah” is supplemented with an explanation. Such as in the GermanGute Nachricht with “the Messiah, the promised savior” (Wir haben den Messias gefunden, den versprochenen Retter) or in Muna with “Messiah, the Saving King” (Mesias, Omputo Fosalamatino) (source: René van den Berg).
In predominantly Muslim areas or for Bible translations for a Muslim target group, Christos is usually transliterated from the Arabic al-Masih (ٱلْمَسِيحِ) — “Messiah.” In most cases, this practice corresponds with languages that also use a form of the Arabic Isa (عيسى) for Jesus (see Jesus). There are some exceptions, though, including modern translations in Arabic which use Yasua (يَسُوعَ) (coming from the Aramaic Yēšūa’) alongside a transliteration of al-Masih, Hausa which uses Yesu but Almahisu, and some Fula languages (Adamawa Fulfulde, Nigerian Fulfulde, and Central-Eastern Niger Fulfulde) which also use a form of Iésous (Yeesu) but Almasiihu (or Almasiifu) for Christos.
In Indonesian, while most Bible translations had already used Yesus Kristus rather than Isa al Masih, three public holidays used to be described using the term Isa Al Masih. From 2024 on, the government is using Yesus Kristus in those holiday names instead (see this article in Christianity Today ).
Other solutions that are used by a number of languages include these:
Dobel: “The important one that God had appointed to come” (source: Jock Hughes)
Noongar: Keny Mammarap or “The One Man” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Mairasi: “King of not dying for life all mashed out infinitely” (for “mashed out,” see salvation; source: Lloyd Peckham)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “One chosen by God to rule mankind” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Bacama: Ma Pwa a Ngɨltən: “The one God has chosen” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
Binumarien: Anutuna: originally a term that was used for a man that was blessed by elders for a task by the laying on of hands (source: Desmond Oatridges, Holzhausen 1991, p. 49f.)
Noongar: Keny Boolanga-Yira Waangki-Koorliny: “One God is Sending” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uab Meto: Neno Anan: “Son of heaven” P. Middelkoop explains: “The idea of heavenly power bestowed on a Timorese king is rendered in the title Neno Anan. It is based on the historical fact that chiefs in general came from overseas and they who come thence are believed to have come down from heaven, from the land beyond the sea, that means the sphere of God and the ghosts of the dead. The symbolical act of anointing has been made subservient to the revelation of an eternal truth and when the term Neno Anan is used as a translation thereof, it also is made subservient to a new revelation of God in Jesus Christ. The very fact that Jesus came from heaven makes this translation hit the mark.” (Source: P. Middelkoop in The Bible Translator 1953, p. 183ff. )
In Finnish Sign Language both “Christ” and “Messiah” are translated with a sign signifying “king.” (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
“Christ / Messiah” in Finnish Sign Language (source )
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient GreekSeptuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew mashiah was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments (click or tap here to read more):
“Another important word in the New Testament that comes from the Septuagint is christos, ‘Christ.’ Christ is not part of the name of the man from Nazareth, as if ‘the Christs’ were written above the door of his family home. Rather, ‘Christ’ is an explicitly messianic title used by the writers of the New Testament who have learned this word from the Septuagint’s translation of the Hebrew mashiach, ‘anointed,’ which itself is often rendered in English as ‘Messiah.’ To be sure, one detects a messianic intent on the part of the Septuagint translator in some places. Amos 4:13 may have been one of these. In the Hebrew Bible, God ‘reveals his thoughts to mortals,’ but the Septuagint has ‘announcing his anointed to humans.’ A fine distinction must be made, however, between theology that was intended by the Septuagint translators and that developed by later Christian writers. In Amos 4:13 it is merely possible we have a messianic reading, but it is unquestionably the case that the New Testament writers exploit the Septuagint’s use of christos, in Amos and elsewhere, to messianic ends.”
Paul now speaks of two classes of preachers with different motives. Of course is used in the sense of “it is true” (GoodspeedJerusalem BibleNew American Bible) or “indeed” (Revised Standard VersionNew English Bible). Some of them seems to refer to a segment of most of the brothers mentioned in the previous verse (it may be useful to render this phrase as “some of the brothers” or “some of our fellow believers”). However, it is sometimes argued that Paul is here referring to preachers in general on the ground that jealous and quarrelsome motives can hardly be compatible with the attitude of confidence in the Lord which some of them apparently had. It is very difficult to determine who these preachers are. That they are Jewish Christians who insist on going back to Jewish ways seems unlikely, since Paul does not accuse them of any false teachings. In any case, they are “pro-Christ” but “anti-Paul” preachers.
The word translated preach is the standard New Testament word for the preaching of the gospel. It has substantially the same meaning as the word translated proclaim in verse 17 and as preached in verse 18. The latter is a compound verb which may signify “to proclaim with authority,” but the two words are used interchangeably in this context (cf. vv. 15, 17, 18). It may be impossible to translate preach Christ literally, since in many languages one can only “preach about Christ” or “tell people about Christ.” To indicate clearly that this is a proclamation of the good news about Christ, it may be useful to render preach Christ as “tell the good news about Christ.”
Because they are jealous and quarrelsome (literally, “on account of envy and strife”) explains the motives of the preachers (New American Bible “from the motives of envy and rivalry”; New English Bible “in a jealous and quarrelsome spirit”). One may find it necessary to indicate the so-called “object” of jealous, in which case it is probably best to say “because they are jealous of me.” Yet one must be cautious in the use of a term such as “jealous,” for it may imply meanings which do not fit this context. Hence one may need to use such an expression as “they are unhappy because of what I have been able to do,” or “they are envious because of my success.” Quarrelsome may be rendered as “they quarrel with others,” “they habitually quarrel with people,” or “they quarrel with me.” In some languages “to quarrel” is “to fight with words.”
The meaning of the biblical word translated good will varies greatly according to the context. It is used of God’s “choice and pleasure” in Matt 11.26; Luke 10.21; and Eph 1.5. It is sometimes used in the sense of a person’s “wish” or “desire” (e.g. Rom 10.1). In the present context it means “good will” or, as Jerusalem Bible renders it, “right intention” (Phillips “good faith”). It is possible that the meaning here refers to good will toward Paul, since Paul is speaking of the preachers’ attitude toward him in the context. “Good will” toward the gospel which he proclaims is, of course, presupposed.
If good will is understood to refer to the attitude of these preachers toward the gospel, then one may translate from genuine good will as “because they like the gospel,” or “because they are fully in favor of the gospel.” Similarly, if one understands that the good will is directed toward Paul, one may translate “because they are favorably disposed toward me.” One may, however, wish to emphasize, in rendering good will, the concept of “right intentions,” in which case one may translate from genuine good will as “because their purposes are altogether good” or “because what they want to accomplish is perfectly right.”
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 .
Some Christians were jealous of Paul, but this caused them to proclaim the good news more, and so he was rejoicing.
1:15–17 contains a figure of speech called a “chiasmus.” A chiasmus is the ordering of information in a mirror image, like the pattern a-b-b-a. The chiasmus in 1:15–17 refers to two groups of people. The first part of the passage refers to the same people as the fourth part does, and the second part refers to the same people as the third part does. Here is an example using summary statements:
┌ 15a Some preach about Christ out of envy
│┌ 15b Others ⌊preach about Christ⌋ out of goodwill
│└ 16 The latter do so in love
└ 17a The former preach about Christ out of selfish ambition
See “General Comment” on 1:15–17 regarding the possible need to reorder this section in your translation.
1:15a
It is true that: This translates a Greek particle used at the beginning of a contrast. Another such particle is used in 1:15b for the other half of the contrast (see “but”). Together they mean “on the one hand…on the other hand.” Do not try to translate this statement as referring to the truth of Paul’s words. Instead, use an expression that indicates the first half of a contrast.
some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry: Paul referred here and in 1:17 to certain Christians who were causing him trouble. These are probably some of the same people mentioned in 1:15. Apparently they wanted to have more followers than Paul.
preach Christ: This means to preach about Christ. Despite their wrong motives these people were believers who were announcing the message about Jesus Christ. Since Paul rejoiced that they were preaching, it appears that what they were saying about Christ was true (1:18d).
out of: This means “because of, motivated by” and introduces the reasons why some people were preaching about Christ.
envy: This refers to feeling ill-will toward someone because of his good fortune. These people were jealous of what Paul had done and that he had been more successful than they were.
rivalry: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates rivalry refers to the strife that envy causes. These people wanted to gain more disciples than Paul had. They wanted to surpass him and appear to others as more successful and important.
1:15b
but: This represents the second of two Greek particles that indicate the contrast between the two groups of people. See the “It is true that” note in 1:15a.
out of: This again means “because of, motivated by.” The reason for their preaching was these believers’ goodwill toward Paul.
goodwill: The word goodwill means that these believers liked Paul and wanted to help him spread the gospel. They were preaching with good intentions.
One way you could translate 1:15b is:
Others preach about Christ to help ⌊me and the work of the gospel⌋.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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