eager expectation (Philippians 1:20)

The Greek that is translated in Philippians 1:20 as “eager expectation” or similar in English is translated in Barí with the future tense of a word relating to having a tapir in your possession. Bruce Olson (1973, p. 210f.) explains:

“Bobby and I worked on the translation of Philippians. It was one of the most intense, most wonderful times of translation we had ever had together. Our minds were preoccupied with death, it seemed, because of the inevitable conflict with the colonists. And Philippians spoke to us about this death!

“As we worked through the first chapter, we came to verse twenty where Paul says that his great expectation is that he will not be put to shame, but that Christ will be exalted in him whether in life or death.

“I needed the right word for expectation. A Motilone [Barí speaker] expects to go to bed at night, but that word doesn’t have much force.

“The center of emotion for a Motilone is in his stomach. To have a full stomach is to have a happy heart. What was the surest way of having a full stomach? Probably to have hunted and killed a large tapir. You eat tapir until you can’t eat any more.

“So I took the verb for having a tapir in your possession, and I invented a new tense: I put it in a future tense that has already been completed, then I made it superlative.

“I gave Bobby the word. It shocked him. ‘No,’ he said, ‘that’s too big a word. It’s too forceful. How can you expect something as much as that?’

“We let it drop, but it must have bothered Bobby. Two or three days later he said, ‘Bruchko, let’s go back to that word.’

“‘All right,’ I said.

“He was quiet for a while, thinking, then said, ‘Bruchko, is Jesus Christ that expectation for you in your life? Really?’

“That stopped me short. It’s one thing to figure out the right word to use, it’s quite another thing to be asked if it’s true of your own life. I thought of my conversion, and of some of the crises I had weathered with the Yukos and the Motilones. Finally, after a long silence, I said, ‘Yes.’

“Then I nodded vigorously. ‘Yes, Bobby. With all my strength and all my will I want to give myself to the expectation of Jesus Christ.’

“Bobby looked down at his feet. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘It’s a good word.’

“‘Are you sure?’ I asked.

“He nodded.”

boldness

The Greek that is typically translated as “boldness” in English is often translated in the Protestant Mandarin Chinese Union Version with an existing Chinese proverb: tǎnrán wújù (坦然无惧) or “calm and fearless.” (Source: Zetzsche)

In Makonde it is translated as “being strong in heart.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

hope

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“Hope is sometimes one of the most difficult terms to translate in the entire Bible. It is not because people do not hope for things, but so often they speak of hoping as simply ‘waiting.’ In fact, even in Spanish, the word esperar means both ‘to wait’ and ‘to hope.’ However, in many instances the purely neutral term meaning ‘to wait’ may be modified in such a way that people will understand something more of its significance. For example, in Tepeuxila Cuicatec hope is called ‘wait-desire.’ Hope is thus a blend of two activities: waiting and desiring. This is substantially the type of expectancy of which hope consists.

In Yucateco the dependence of hope is described by the phrase ‘on what it hangs.’ ‘Our hope in God’ means that ‘we hang onto God.’ The object of hope is the support of one’s expectant waiting. In Ngäbere the phrase “resting the mind” is used. This “implies waiting and confidence, and what is a better definition of hope than ‘confident waiting’.” (Source for this and above: Nida 1952, p. 20, 133)

Other languages translate as follows:

  • Mairasi: “vision resting place” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Enlhet: “waitings of (our) innermost” (“innermost” or valhoc is a term that is frequently used in Enlhet to describe a large variety of emotions or states of mind — for other examples see here) (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. )
  • Kwang: “one’s future is restored to one’s soul like a fresh, cool breeze on a hot day.” (Source: Mark Vanderkooi right here )
  • Noongar: koort-kwidiny or “heart waiting” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Anjam: “looking through the horizon” (source: Albert Hoffmann in his memoirs from 1948, quoted in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 7)
  • Ron: kintiɓwi or “put lip” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Highland Totonac “wait with expectation” (to offset it from the every-day meaning of hope or wait — source: Hermann Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. ).
  • Alekano: “wait not hearing two ears” (meaning to “wait without being double-minded” — source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation June 1986, p. 36ff.)
  • Berom: “direct one’s liver toward”
  • Mixtepec Mixtec: “wait and remain strong on the inside”
  • Cerma: “swallow the spittle”
  • Adyghe: “the heart expects something good”
  • Keliko: “place one’s heart on the head”
  • Berik: “wait persistently and hold on to God”
  • Somrai: “hold the heart really tight” (source for this and six above: Wycliffe Germany )
  • Marathi: aasha (आशा) with a stronger emphasis on desire
  • Tamil: nampikkai (நம்பிக்கை) with a stronger emphasis on expectation (source for this and above: J.S.M. Hooper in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 2ff. )

In Mwera “hope” and “faith” are translated with the same word: ngulupai. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

C.M. Doke looks at a number of Bantu languages and their respective translations of “hope” with slightly varying connotations (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 9ff. ):

  • Xhosa and Zulu: themba “hope, expect,” also “have faith in, rely upon”
  • Tswana: tsholofelo “hope, expect, look for confidently”
  • Southern Sotho: tshepo “trust, rely on, believe in, have confidence in”
  • Kuanyama: eteelelo “waiting for”
  • Swahili: tumaini “confidence, trust, expectation, hope” (as a verb: “hope, trust, expect, be confident, be truthful, rely on”
  • Luganda: okusuubira “hope, trust, expect” also “look forward to, rely upon, anticipate, reckon”
  • Chichewa: chiyembekezo “wait for, wait, expect”
  • Koongo: vuvu “hope, expectancy, expectation, anticipation”
Syntyche D. Dahou (in Christianity Today, January 2021 or see here the same article in French ) reports on the two different terms that are being used in French (click or tap here to see the details):

“Unlike English, which uses the word hope broadly, the French language uses two words that derive from the word espérer (to hope): espoir and espérance. Both can first refer to something hoped for. In this sense, the word espoir usually refers to an uncertain object; that is, someone who hopes for something in this way does not have the certainty that it will happen (“I hope the weather will be nice tomorrow”). On the other hand, espérance describes what, rightly or wrongly, is hoped for or expected with certainty. It often refers to a philosophical or eschatological object (‘I hope in the goodness of human beings’; ‘I hope for the return of Jesus Christ’).

“When we speak of espoir or espérance, we then have in mind different types of objects hoped for. This difference matters, because both terms also commonly refer to the state of mind that characterizes the hopeful. And this state of mind will be different precisely according to the object hoped for.

“Having espoir for an uncertain yet better future in these difficult times may be a good thing, but it is not enough. Such hope can be disappointed and easily fade away when our wishes and expectations (our hopes) do not materialize.

“The opposite is true with espérance, which is deeper than our desire and wish for an end to a crisis or a future without pain and suffering. To face the trials of life, we need peace and joy in our hearts that come from expecting certain happiness. This is what espérance is: a profound and stable disposition resulting from faith in the coming of what we expect. In this sense, it is similar in meaning to the English word hopefulness.

“If we have believed in the Son of the living God, we have such a hope. It rests on the infallible promises of our God, who knows the plans he has for us, his children — plans of peace and not misfortune, to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). By using the two meanings of the word, we can say that the espérance that the fulfillment of his promises represents (the object hoped for) fills us with espérance (the state of mind).”

complete verse (Philippians 1:20)

Following are a number of back-translations of Philippians 1:20:

  • Uma: “My desire and what I greatly hope, is that I will not become shamed in this work of mine. I hope that I will keep being brave to say my witness/testimony–even more so at this time–so that whether I live or die, the name of Kristus will be made-big in me [lit., my body].” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Truly that is what I really want and expect/hope, that I will really not fail in the work which God has given to me. If only I will/would always be bold to proclaim, especially now, so that Isa Almasi is praised because of me. If/whether I am still living or if/whether I am killed, I want that Almasi is praised because of me.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And it is my strong desire and I have entrusted it to God, that I might always be able to do what He wants me to, so that I might not be ashamed at any time, especially now; I want that Christ be praised by means of me, by means of my being set free from this prison or if not, that Christ might be praised by means of my death.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “What I expect and exceedingly want is that there should be no cause-for-me-to-be-ashamed to God but rather that my courage to preach God’s word will suffice now as previously so that Cristo might continue to be praised because of me now when I am alive and even if I die.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And I am also really hoping/expecting that there will be nothing at all which I might do which would cause me to be ashamed. On the contrary, I am asking that my mind/inner-being become really extremely bold now, as it has been all this time, so that whether I die or am allowed to live, it will greatly bring praise/glory to Cristo.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “For me, if I fear to speak the word about Christ, it is a shame I do. Rather must I be strengthened to speak the word always, and not be afraid because I’m ion jail. Whether I am released, or whether I am put to death, is not important to me. Only it is that I search how to cause Christ to be looked well upon.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Christ, Messiah

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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 German Gute 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 Greek Septuagint‘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.”

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Christ .

Translation commentary on Philippians 1:20

Deep desire translates a vivid Greek word meaning “waiting or watching with outstretched head,” indicating an intense desire or eager expectation to catch sight of someone or something (cf. Rom 8.19). Since deep desire and hope are bound together by one article, New English Bible takes the two nouns as a reference to one event, and so translates “I passionately hope.” Only rarely can one translate deep desire literally. In some languages it is possible to speak of “great desire,” and one may often use a verbal expression such as “I desire very much.” If desire and hope are seen as being essentially a single expression of emotion, one may translate “I hope with all my heart.”

I shall never fail in my duty is a straightforward rendering of the literal “in nothing shall I be ashamed” (King James Version). Jerusalem Bible brings out the apostle’s confidence by rendering “I shall never have to admit defeat.” Any failure to stand firm in loyalty to Christ would, for Paul, be “shame.” A literal translation of “in nothing shall I be ashamed” my present serious difficulties in some languages, since “ashamed” may suggest certain connotations which would not fit this particular context. Accordingly, I shall never fail in my duty provides a more satisfactory basis for a dynamic equivalence of the Greek expression. However, it may be more satisfactory to express the goal of Paul’s desire and hope in a positive rather that a negative way, for example, “that I shall always do what I should,” or “… do what is right for me.” If the negative expression I shall never fail in my duty is transformed into a positive expression “shall always do what I should,” the following conjunction but should be changed to “and.”

At all times, and especially right now, is more vivid than a more literal “as always, so now” (Moffatt “that now as ever”). And especially right now seems to imply that the time of crisis is very near. I shall be full of courage translates a prepositional phrase, “with all boldness.” The dominant idea is boldness or confidence in speaking openly; hence New English Bible has “shall speak so boldly” (cf. 2 Cor 3.12; Eph 6.19; 1 Thes 2.2). Rarely can one translate literally I shall be full of courage. One can often say “I shall be very courageous,” but in some instances a translator may find it more useful to retain the figure of speech suggested by the Greek text, that is, “I shall speak up boldly,” or “I shall speak without fear of anyone.”

The literal meaning of the phrase rendered with my whole being is “in my body.” A number of other translations understand the expression in the same sense as Good News Translation (New English Bible “in my person”; Moffatt “in my own person”; Phillips “the way I live”). It refers to the apostle’s total person, which was always at the Lord’s disposal (1 Cor 6.19-20), whether in life or in death (Rom 14.8). It may be rendered as “in everything that I do,” “by means of all that I do,” or even “in everything that I say and do.”

I shall bring honor to Christ is a restructuring of a passive construction, “Christ will be magnified.” Some translators retain the original Greek form on the ground that Paul deliberately shrinks from making himself the primary agent. But a literal translation of the sentence structure is rather clumsy in most languages. I shall bring honor to Christ is essentially a causative construction; that is, Paul will cause people to honor Christ. It may be useful to restructure the clause in a way that will indicate this fact clearly, for example, “I shall cause people to honor Christ.” In some languages “to honor” may be expressed as “to recognize as great.” Therefore the entire expression may be translated as “I shall cause people to recognize Christ as being great.”

Whether I live or die is rather loosely attached to what immediately precedes. The connection may be expressed in some languages as “it makes no difference whether I continue to live or whether I die.” In other cases one may express the connection by “I shall cause people to honor Christ, either by what I do as I continue to live, or by my dying,” or “… by my being killed.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:20

1:20a

I eagerly expect and hope: There are two ways to interpret the Greek here:

(1) expect and hope are two related but separate concepts. (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New American Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)

(2) expect and hope are parts of the same concept, where one part modifies the other. You could translate this as “I eagerly and hopefully expect…” (NET Bible, Revised English Bible)

Interpretation (1) has stronger support in commentaries and English versions and is recommended.

eagerly expect: The Greek term that the Berean Standard Bible translates as eagerly expect can also mean “eagerly desire.” However, most scholars agree that the meaning here is “eagerly expect.”

hope: The word hope here refers not to what Paul wished for but to what he confidently expected.

I will in no way be ashamed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translated as ashamed can mean one of two things:

(1) “put to shame, disgraced.” Paul hoped he would not do anything that would bring him into disgrace. He wanted to be approved by God. Specifically, he trusted that he would continue to please God by glorifying Christ. (New American Standard Bible, Good News Translation, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, Revised English Bible, New Living Translation (2004))

(2) “feel ashamed.” Paul hoped that he would never be ashamed of Christ and the gospel. He expected that he would continue to be bold in proclaiming the gospel of Christ.

The Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version and NET Bible are ambiguous here. But it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Paul did not want to disappoint God. He trusted God would give him courage to keep on doing what was right (see the rest of 1:20). In this way God would protect him from disgrace.

1:20b

will have complete boldness: This is literally “in all boldness.” It may be necessary for you to translate boldness or “courage” with a verb or adjective. For example:

will be brave enough to…

boldness: Most commentators agree that the boldness Paul was concerned about was the boldness to speak about Christ during his trial. You could translate this as:

I will speak boldly/bravely.

1:20c

now as always: This means that Paul hoped to go on speaking as boldly for Christ as he had in the past.

Christ will be exalted: The Greek does not say who would exalt Christ, and there are two ways to understand what Paul was saying here:

(1) God, Christ himself, or the Spirit would bring honor to Christ through Paul. People would praise and honor Christ when they saw how Paul served God while he was alive or by the way he died because he believed in Christ. In this way God would glorify Christ through Paul’s body. (Revised English Bible)

(2) It was Paul himself who would exalt Christ. For example:

with my whole being I shall bring honor to Christ (Good News Translation)

Most translations do not explicitly say who would exalt Christ. If you can use the passive (be exalted), that would be appropriate. But if you must use an active verb with an explicit subject, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with the majority of commentators and say, “God will exalt Christ.”

in my body: The phrase in my body is a figure of speech meaning “through all I do.” Paul wanted to honor Christ whether he lived or died. In many languages it may not be possible to translate literally and give this meaning. If that is true in your language, you could translate this phrase:

in everything I say and do
-or-
with my whole being

1:20d

by life or by death: By this phrase Paul explained what he meant by “in my body.” He included two ideas:

(a) If I continue to live, I want to honor Christ by the way I live.

(b) If I die, I want to honor Christ by the way I die.

General Comment on 1:20

In some languages it may be necessary to reorder the words of 1:20. This can help to clarify what Paul meant here:

I earnestly expect and hope that I will be brave enough to continue to glorify Christ by the way I live and the way I die, as I always have done, so that I will not be ashamed.

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