The Greek that is typically translated with a generic expressions such as “he who,” “whoever,” or “if anyone” in English is translated with the plural form (“they”) in Daga. “A literal translation of these conveys the idea that one specific unnamed individual is being discussed. Thus, for instance, in John 5:24 ‘he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life’ meant in Daga that there was one fortunate individual to whom it applied.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 13:8:
Uma: “Let us not be in debt to others. But actually there is always a debt of ours to others. That debt of ours: we must love others. So, let’s not get tired of paying that debt of ours. For if we love others, we fill/fulfil the Lord’s Law.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “If you (pl.) have a debt, pay it when the day of payment is reached. Even if you no longer have a debt, you have yet a different debt. This debt is your love to your fellows. If you love each other, you follow already the law written by Musa.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Don’t stretch out for a long time your paying your debts to anybody, but rather you must stretch out forever your keeping your companions precious in your breath. Because the person who holds his companions dear, he has already fulfilled the commands of God.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “If we have a debt, let us not take-a-long-time to pay it. But our obligation to love-one-another, let’s count that as a debt that has no end. Because the one who loves his companions obeys God’s commands.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “If you are in debt, do not remain thus, pay what you owe. That which you must do always is that you love your fellowman, each one of you. Because the person who loves his fellowman is thus walking like the word which is said in the law how people must walk.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The Greek, Hebrew, and Ge’ez that is translated in English as “Law” or “law” is translated in Mairasi as oro nasinggiei or “prohibited things” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Noongar with a capitalized form of the term for “words” (Warrinya) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
In Yucateco the phrase that is used for “law” is “ordered-word” (for “commandment,” it is “spoken-word”) (source: Nida 1947, p. 198) and in Central Tarahumara it is “writing-command.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
Be in debt to no one is a very emphatic expression in the Greek text, and its most immediate meaning may be understood to be “Do not be under financial obligations to anyone.” It may also be understood in a somewhat broader sense: “Do not be under obligation to anyone.” The fact that the second clause refers to a debt of love may suggest that the first clause should also be understood in this broader sense. On the other hand, one may reason that the first clause is to be understood strictly in the sense of financial obligation, while the second clause introduces the broader implications of indebtedness. It may be difficult to combine the concept of financial obligation and the concept of general obligation to love one another. Therefore the second clause may be translated in some instances as “there is only one thing which you must do, and that is to love one another.”
One serious exegetical problem in this verse relates to the interpretation of the word translated Law. The Good News Translation (so also An American Translation* and Phillips) takes this as an explicit reference to the Jewish Law, while others understand this as a reference to law in general (see note in Jerusalem Bible). In view of the fact that Paul quotes specific commands from the Old Testament in the following verses, it seems better to take it as a reference to the Mosaic Law.
Obeyed (many translations have “fulfilled”) is a difficult word to render; the New English Bible translates as “has satisfied every claim of the Law,” An American Translation* “has fully satisfied the Law,” and the Jerusalem Bible “you have carried out your obligations.” If the reference is taken to the Mosaic Law, then the idea of obedience seems nearer to the meaning of this term (see Phillips “has obeyed the whole Law”).
Fellow-man is literally “the other,” a term which is rendered “neighbor” by many translators. The meaning of the word is not “neighbor” in the sense of one who lives nearby, but must be taken in the broadest possible sense, as including all people.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
In this section, Paul urged believers to love each other. This requirement to love is like a debt that they always owe, so they must always be loving each other. Loving others fulfills the Old Testament law.
Here are other possible headings for this section:
Love fulfills the Laws of Moses
-or-
We must love our fellow believers
Paragraph 13:8–10
13:8a
Be indebted to no one: The Greek text literally says: “To no one owe nothing.” The two negatives (“no one” and “nothing”) strengthen the command in Greek to not owe anything to others. Some languages can follow the Greek and have the correct meaning. For example:
Owe no one nothing!
But many languages translating both negatives would have the wrong meaning. If that is true in your language, translate the correct meaning. For example:
Owe nothing to anyone (New American Bible, Revised Edition)
-or-
Let us not be in debt to others
Be indebted: Here this word refers to a requirement to repay something, not just money. The word you use should allow for any requirement to repay something.
13:8b
except to one another in love: In contrast to having no requirements to repay anything (13:8a), these words indicate that we have the requirement to always love each other. Here are other ways to translate these words:
but for this one: Love one another
-or-
But actually there is always a debt of ours to others. That debt of ours is to always love each other
-or-
Even if you no longer have a debt, you have yet a different debt. This debt is your love to your fellows
-or-
but we are always required to do this: Love each other
-or-
But actually there is something we must always do. It is loving each other
one another: Here this phrase refers to other believers.
love: The word love refers to a strong affection and concern for a person. In some languages an idiom such as “give/put heart/liver” is used for the meaning of love. See how you translated this word in 12:9.
13:8c
For: Here this word introduces something that supports Paul’s words to love each other.
his neighbor: Here this word refers to someone other than yourself.
has fulfilled the law: Here the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as fulfilled refers to accomplishing what the law demands for us to do. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
will fulfill the requirements of God’s law (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
have done all that the Law demands (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
has met every requirement of the law (Revised English Bible)
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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