Rom 8:24 – TIPs

save

The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as a form of “save” in English is translated in Shipibo-Conibo with a phrase that means literally “make to live,” which combines the meaning of “to rescue” and “to deliver from danger,” but also the concept of “to heal” or “restore to health.”

Other translations include:

San Blas Kuna: “help the heart”
Laka: “take by the hand” in the meaning of “rescue” or “deliver”
Huautla Mazatec: “lift out on behalf of”
Anuak: “have life because of”
Central Mazahua: “be healed in the heart”
Baoulé: “save one’s head”
Guerrero Amuzgo: “come out well”
Northwestern Dinka: “be helped as to his breath” (or “life”) (source for all above: Bratcher / Nida),
Matumbi: “rescue (from danger)” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
Noongar: barrang-ngandabat or “hold life” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
South Bolivian Quechua: “make to escape”
Highland Puebla Nahuatl: “cause people to come out with the aid of the hand” (source for this and one above: Nida 1947, p. 222)
Bariai: “retrieve one back” (source: Bariai Back Translation)

hope

Click here to view graphically

“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 (Romans 8:24)

Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 8:24:

Uma: “At this time, we have already been released from the punishment of our sins, and we hope in God, we hope he will give us all that he promised to us. Yet if we say we are hoping, that means we have not yet received what we are hoping for. For no one hopes for something he has already received.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “This indeed is what we (incl.) have been expecting/hoping since we (incl.) trusted Isa Almasi. But if our (dual) expectation/hope is fulfilled already we (dual) no longer have to expect/hope. Are we (dual) still expecting if our (dual) expectation is fulfilled?” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “We have already been freed from punishment, however, we are still waiting for God to carry this out. And when we say there’s something we are waiting for, what we mean is that that which we are waiting for has not yet come to pass, for there is no person who waits for that which has already happened.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Because this is what we have been hoping for since the time-we -were-saved. Because if it were already fulfilled, would we indeed still be hoping for it? Because no one hopes for what is already fulfilled.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “In that we believe that what God said will happen, therefore we are saved. But if it had already happened then no longer would we be waiting for it then.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Rom. 8:24)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including the writer of the letter and the readers).

Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.

Translation commentary on Romans 8:24 – 8:25

In verse 24 the emphatic element is the phrase by hope. There is some discussion as to whether Paul means by hope or “in this hope” (Revised Standard Version; see Moffatt “with this hope ahead”). In this context hope is close in meaning to “faith,” and so the rendering of the Good News Translation is more logical.

As most translators indicate, Paul uses the past tense of the verb “to be saved” in this verse: we were saved. To translate by a future tense is wrong (Jerusalem Bible “we shall be saved”), and even the use of the present (see Jerusalem Bible note “we are saved”) is misleading. Paul sometimes used this verb in a present tense (2 Corinthians 2.15), and more often in a future tense (5.9, 10), but in the present passage he uses the past tense, since his focus of attention is on the beginning of the salvation experience. Although the Christian hope is a confident expectation that God will do what he says (see 5.2), it is still something that will not be “seen” until the final day. And even though the Christian is confident that his hope will finally the realized, he must wait for it with patience. The word rendered patience in this passage is also translated as patience in 15.4, 5, but as endurance in 5.3. The word itself seems to have more of an active force than the English word “patience” suggests, and it may be more closely related to our concept of “endurance.”

It is particularly difficult in many languages to use hope without indicating who hopes. It is particularly complex to use hope merely as an expression of means without indicating the participants. Therefore, the first clause of verse 24 may require some recasting—for example, “for the fact that we were saved was because we hoped,” “for by our hoping we were saved,” or “because we looked forward with confidence God saved us.”

Since hope must frequently be expressed by some descriptive phrase such as “look forward to with confidence,” this may require some modification in the last part of the first sentence of verse 24—for example, “but if we already see what we have been looking forward to with confidence, then we are not really looking forward to it at all.” Similarly, the last sentence of verse 24 may be rendered as “for no one looks forward to something which he already sees” (in this way changing a rhetorical question into a statement). In line, then, with what has already been done in verse 24, verse 25 may be translated as “but if we look forward confidently for something which we do not see, then we do endure in our looking forward,” “… we do look forward with endurance,” “… steadfastly,” or “… not moving at all.” On the other hand, if hope is expressed by some highly idiomatic expression as, for example, “the power of the abdomen” (as it is in some languages), then quite naturally the structure of verses 24 and 25 will have to be considerably different.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Romans 8:24

Paragraph 8:24–25

8:24a

For: Here this word introduces an explanation of 8:23.

in this hope: The word in indicates that the salvation we are waiting for includes the redemption of our bodies. We hope in that redemption and that hope is based on God’s promises that now belong to the new believer. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

with ⌊an accompanying⌋ hope
-or-
We were given this hope when we were saved (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
this is what we have been hoping for since the time we were saved

we were saved: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:

⌊God⌋ saved us

saved: This word refers to being rescued from something harmful or dangerous. Here it refers to God rescuing people from going to hell for their sins. See how you translated this word in 5:10.

General Comment on 8:24a

In some languages putting “in this hope” first would make the hope the basis for being saved, or another possibly wrong meaning. If that is true in your language, put that phrase in its usual place. For example:

For we were saved in/with hope

8:24b

but: The Greek word here often introduces something that contrasts with 8:24a, as does the word but here. The word can also introduce something new. For example:

Now (English Standard Version)

Some languages can omit this word for the correct connection.

hope that is seen is no hope at all: This clause indicates that if we already have something we hoped for, then we are no longer hoping for it. In many languages a literal translation would not have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, translate the correct meaning. For example:

if it had already happened then no longer would we be waiting for it then
-or-
if we say we are hoping, that means we have not yet received what we are hoping for
-or-
whoever, from his hoping has seen and received it, he holds it so it is not a thing for hope
-or-
If someone is waiting for anything, and has taken it already, he will not wait for it again/more/further

that is seen: Here this word indicates that the hope is fulfilled. Some languages must use a different word to clearly indicate that meaning here. See the above examples.

8:24c

The Greek of 8:24c begins with the Greek word that is usually translated as “for.” Here this word introduces something that supports what Paul said in 8:24b. Some languages can omit this word for the correct connection, as the Berean Standard Bible does.

Who hopes for what he can already see?: This is a rhetorical question. It emphasizes that no one hopes for what he already sees or has. Translate this clause with that meaning. Here are some ways:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Who hopes for what they already have? (New International Version (2011))
-or-
Who hopes for something that he holds? No way!

• As a statement. For example:

Certainly no one hopes for something he already sees/has
-or-
People do not hope for something they already have (New Century Version)
-or-
no one hopes for something he has already received

© 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.

Commentaire sur la traduction de la lettre aux Romains 8.24

Car nous avons été sauvés, mais c’est en espérance : en grec, la notion d’espérance est mise en évidence au début du verset et la même racine est répétée à plusieurs reprises. Plusieurs versions suivent l’ordre grec : « Car c’est en espérance… », (Osty-Trinquet, Segond Révisée) ; « Car c’est dans l’espérance », (Nouvelle Bible Segond).

La conjonction γάρ gar est souvent rendue en français par Car, mais aussi par « en effet » (Parole de Vie).

nous avons été sauvés : pour sauver, voir Rom 5.9. Bien que Paul utilise le verbe sauver parfois au présent (2 Cor 2.15) et à plusieurs reprises au futur ( Rom 5.9, Rom 5.10 ; Rom 9.27 ; Rom 10.9 ; Rom 11.26), il utilise ici le passé (aoriste). Beaucoup de versions optent pour une traduction au passé (Bible en français courant, Nouvelle Bible Segond). Mais certains voient une sorte d’action passée qui continue dans le présent. La Parole de Vie dit « nous sommes sauvés, mais en espérance seulement ».

mais c’est en espérance : selon la note de la Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Paul veut dire que « notre salut est déjà acquis, mais nous attendons encore sa pleine réalisation ». Bénétreau pense aussi que le salut est acquis mais il demeure un objet d’espérance. Pour espérance, voir Rom 4.18. On pourrait dire « Dieu nous a sauvés, mais nous ne voyons pas encore cela dans sa pleine réalisation ».

Or, voir ce qu’on espère n’est plus espérer : cette phrase, qui commence par la conjonction de transition de, est marquée par la répétition : « mais l’espérance qui est vue n’est pas espérance ». La conjonction peut être rendue par Or, « mais » ou être omise selon les langues.

voir : ce verbe peut avoir plusieurs sens, voir physiquement ce qu’on devant soi ou aussi obtenir ou gagner ce qu’on espère. Dans plusieurs langues, le verbe voir a aussi un sens très large et pourrait être retenu ici.

espère… espérer : bien que l’espérance chrétienne implique une attente confiante de ce que Dieu va faire conformément à ce qu’il a promis, il s’agit ici de ce qui sera vu au dernier jour. Le passif du grec (« l’espérance qui est vue ») pourrait être rendu à l’actif par « si les gens voient ce qu’ils espèrent, ce n’est plus de l’espérance ». Dans certaines langues, ce sera : « Si nous obtenons ce que nous attendons avec confiance ». Dans d’autres, on sera plus explicite : « Mais si nous espérons et recevons ce que nous avons espéré… »

ce que l’on voit, comment l’espérer encore ? : il s’agit d’une question rhétorique en grec, qui semblerait dire, litt. « car celui qui voit, espère-t-il ? » On pourrait suivre la Bible en français courant : « qui donc espérerait encore ce qu’il voit ? » ou affirmer « car personne n’attend encore ce qu’il voit déjà ».

Source: Margot, Jean-Claude & Zogbo, Lynell. La lettre aux Romains – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2021.

Search

Step into the multitudes of languages of the Bible and join the worldwide conversation!

Verse: Romans 8:24