love (for God)

Click here to view graphically

Nida (1952, p. 125ff.) reports on different translation of the Greek and Hebrew terms that are translated as “love” when referring to loving God:

“The Toro So Dogon people on the edge of the Sahara in French West Africa speak of ‘love for God’ as ‘put God in our hearts.’ This does not mean that God can be contained wholly within the heart of a man, but the Eternal does live within the hearts of men by His Holy Spirit, and it is only love which prompts the soul to ‘put God in the heart.’

“The Mitla Zapotec Indians, nestled in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico, describe ‘love’ in almost opposite words. Instead of putting God into one’s own heart, they say, ‘my heart goes away with God.’ Both the Toro So Dogon and the Zapotecs are right. There is a sense in which God dwells within us, and there is also a sense in which our hearts are no longer our own. They belong to Him, and the object of affection is not here on earth, but as pilgrims with no certain abiding place we long for that fuller fellowship of heaven itself.

“The Uduks seem to take a rather superficial view of love, for they speak of it as ‘good to the eye.’ But we must not judge spiritual insight or capacity purely on the basis of idioms. Furthermore, there is a sense in which this idiom is quite correct. In fact the Greek term agapé, which is used primarily with the meaning of love of God and of the Christian community, means essentially ‘to appreciate the worth and value of something.’ It is not primarily the love which arises from association and comradeship (this is philé), but it defines that aspect of love which prompted God to love us when there was no essential worth or value in us, except as we could be remade in the image of His Son. Furthermore, it is the love which must prompt us to see in men and women, still unclaimed for Jesus Christ, that which God can do by the working of His Spirit. This is the love which rises higher than personal interests and goes deeper than sentimental attachment. This is the basis of the communion of the saints.

“Love may sometimes be described in strong, powerful terms. The Miskitos of the swampy coasts of eastern Nicaragua and Honduras say that ‘love’ is ‘pain of the heart.’ There are joys which become so intense that they seem to hurt, and there is love which so dominates the soul that its closest emotion seems to be pain. The Tzotzils, living in the cloud-swept mountains of Chiapas in southern Mexico, describe love in almost the same way as the Miskitos. They say it is ‘to hurt in the heart.’ (…) [See also pain-love]

“The Q’anjob’al Indians of northern Guatemala have gone even a step further. They describe love as ‘my soul dies.’ Love is such that, without experiencing the joy of union with the object of our love, there is a real sense in which ‘the soul dies.’ A man who loves God according to the Conob idiom would say ‘my soul dies for God.’ This not only describes the powerful emotion felt by the one who loves, but it should imply a related truth—namely, that in true love there is no room for self. The man who loves God must die to self. True love is of all emotions the most unselfish, for it does not look out for self but for others. False love seeks to possess; true love seeks to be possessed. False love leads to cancerous jealousy; true love leads to a life-giving ministry.” (Source: Nida 1952)

In Mairasi, the term that is used for love for God, by God and for people is the same: “desire one’s face” (source: Enggavoter 2004), likewise in Ogea, where the word for “love” is “die for someone” (source: Sandi Colburn in Holzhausen 1991, p. 22).

complete verse (Revelation 2:4)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 2:4:

  • Uma: “But there is something I reprimand/am-surprised-at you for: you no longer are loving like your loving at the first.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But there is something that I find fault with in you: you don’t love me now as you did in the beginning.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “However I know about some things you are doing that are not good. For when you first believed, your breath was big for Me, but now your breath is becoming somewhat small for Me.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “”But there is that which I dislike-about your way-of-life and it is this. You don’t love me and your companions like your former love should-(still)-be.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But there is indeed something which I am finding fault with in you. Your holding-dear of me is becoming small now, not like it was in the past.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But I have a word against you. This word is that you just a little love me, you do not continue to love me like when at the first you really put your hearts into loving me.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 2:4

But I have this against you: this is a word of censure. The phrase “to have against” reflects quite faithfully the Greek idiom, which is carried over also into Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Otherwise something like “But there is something in you I disapprove of” can be used, or “But I have this criticism to make of you,” or “But I must scold you about something.”

You have abandoned the love you had at first: this love may be their love for one another as Christians, or their love for Christ. Some commentators point out that the praise lavished on them in verses 2-3 assumes that they had continued to love Christ with the same fervor they had had at the first. Some translations (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje) explicitly have Christ as the object of that love; most commentators, however, favor the fellow believers as the object of their love (so Moffatt). This kind of love expresses itself in helping one another in the Christian life, in being loyal to one another, and acting always in the best interests of the whole body of believers. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible has “the fervor,” that is, the enthusiasm they had shown when they first became Christians. On the translation of love see 1.5b.

At first: this means “when you became Christians,” “at the beginning of your Christian life,” or even “when you first believed in me.”

In translating this passage, if a noun for “love” is used, no object is usually required; for example, “your love” or “the love you had.” But if an event word is used (which is generally preferable), it is recommended that something like the following be said: “you no longer love one another as you did when you became Christians” or “your hearts (or, livers) are no longer warm towards one another….”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• But I must scold (or, criticize) you about this: you no longer love your fellow Christians as you did when you first believed in me.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 2:4

Paragraph 2:4–6

2:4a

But I have this against you: This clause indicates that Jesus was displeased with the believers about something. He explained what he was displeased about in 2:4b. Other ways to translate this clause are:

But I have this complaint against you. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
However, I find fault with you in this way:
-or-
But I do have this ⌊one⌋ criticism of you.

2:4b

You have abandoned your first love: The word abandoned means “left” or “forsook.” It indicates that the believers love much less now than they did earlier. Other ways to translate this clause are:

you have abandoned the love you had at first (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
you love little compared to how you loved at first
-or-
you have less love now than formerly (New Jerusalem Bible)

John did not explicitly say whom the Ephesian believers now loved less. He was probably referring to their love in general, including love for God, for Jesus, and for fellow believers. If possible, do not say explicitly whom they loved less. However, some languages must say who was loved. If this is true in your language, you should add a general word or phrase. For example:

you love everyone less
-or-
You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! (New Living Translation (2004))

first: This word refers to the first time that the Ephesian believers began to follow Jesus. At that time they loved Jesus and one another very much, and they acted in ways that showed it.

love: The word love refers to a strong feeling of affection and concern for someone.

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.