complete verse (Romans 9:12)

Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 9:12:

  • Uma: “When Ribka was about to give birth, God said to her: ‘Your (sing.) firstborn will submit to his younger-sibling.’ At the time of those words, those two children were not yet born, and they had not yet done anything good or evil. But it was at that time God made-certain ahead of time which one he chose to get his blessing. God’s purpose in doing like that was so we would clearly see: if God chooses people to receive his blessing, he does not choose them because of their behavior. He chooses them because of his own decision.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Before those twin children of hers were born, God said to Rebeka, ‘The younger will rule over the older.’ When God said that, the twins had not yet done good or bad because they were not yet born. But God chose one beforehand so that it is known that it is from his will/wish when he chooses someone. The reason God chooses a person is not because of his deeds which are good but by the will/wish of God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for Rebecca, when she was about to give birth God said to her, he said, ‘The older one will be a servant of his younger sibling.’ He said this before those twins were born and before they had done either good or evil. And the reason this took place was because God was teaching that when He chooses people, it’s not because of their good works but rather because He just wants to.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because before those two were born and they had as yet done nothing good or bad, God said to Rebecca, ‘The one who precedes will serve the one who comes-last.’ God said that so it would be known that his choice of the one was not based on what the two of them had done but rather on whom he had originally decided to call.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi (verses 11-13): “But before these children were born God told Rebecca that Esau would be born first. Then Jacob, the younger one would rule his brother. This is what is written in the Holy Book about what God said. He said: ‘I love Jacob, but concerning Esau, I do not love him.’ This is the word God spoke before the children were born. He didn’t wait until the children were born in order that it be seen which one lived good and which one lived bad. Therefore it is apparent here that God from the beginning has determined what will come to pass. It isn’t that he first saw how the children turned out, rather that what he determined to choose, that is what came to be.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

For the Old Testament quote, see Genesis 25:23.

Japanese benefactives (meshite)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

Here, meshite (召して) or “call” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God ("tell")

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, tsuge-rare-ru (告げられる) or “tell” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Romans 9:11 – 9:12

In Greek these two verses are one sentence, and it is in a different order from that of the Good News Translation. In the Good News Bible the sentence is restructured so as to make the meaning clearer for English readers. This arrangement makes it impossible to indicate a point where verse 11 ends and verse 12 begins.

But in order that the choice of one son might be completely the result of God’s own purpose is actually the second element in the Greek sentence structure. A literal translation of this clause is difficult, but an analysis of it will help to explain the Good News Translation rendering. The subject is “God’s purpose” and the verb is “in order that it might remain.” The subject is modified by an adjective phrase “according to choice.” Thus the entire clause reads “in order that the according-to-choice purpose of God might remain.” And the entire phrase, “the according-to-choice purpose of God,” refers to the purpose of God which expressed itself in a particular choice, in this context the choice of one son. The verb “remain” has the force of “continue to be,” so that the entire clause may be rendered: “in order that the purpose of God might continue to exist on the basis of the choice that he himself made.”

Last in the Greek sentence is the clause God said to her, “The older will serve the younger,” which comes from Genesis 25.23. Actually, God said to her represents a passive construction, “it was said to her,” but God is clearly the agent of speaking.

Even with the reordering of clause in verses 11 and 12 and the repetition of the expressions of choosing, there are still a number of difficulties involved in reproducing these verses in certain languages. In the first place, it may be necessary to place a purpose clause after the clause of means—for example, “God said to Rebecca, Your older son will serve your younger son. He said this in order to show that the choice of one son and not the other depended entirely upon God’s own plan,” or “… in order to show that God selecting one son and not another was because God planned it that way,” or “… God wanted it that way.”

The clause he said this before they were born may need to be somewhat more specific because of the particular context—for example, “he said this to Rebecca before her children were born” or “… before she gave birth to her two sons.”

Before they had done anything either good or bad may require slight modification in order to indicate that this is not any collective activity of the two—for example, “before either one had done anything, whether good or bad.”

So God’s choice was based on his call, and not on anything they did (the third element in the Greek sentence) is literally “not from works but from the one who called.” The term “works” must be taken in the broadest sense possible (not as a specific reference to the works of the Law). “The one who called” is a Semitic way of speaking of God. The New English Bible translates this part of the Greek text as “based not upon men’s deeds but upon the call of God”; Moffatt has “which depends upon the call of God, not on anything man does.”

The transitional particle so must be rendered in some languages as “hence” or “thus, as it can be seen,” since what follows is a conclusion.

It is extremely difficult in some languages to say God’s choice was based on his call, since this would imply that God called one or the other of the sons before he had even made a choice. This, of course, is not what is intended. The text itself indicates simply that the selection of one son in preference to another is a matter of God’s calling one rather than the other and not a matter of what either one of them did. It may be better, therefore, to translate: “what happened depended entirely upon God’s calling one rather than the other; it did not depend on anything that either one had done.”

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 9:12

9:12a

Some English versions place the words of 9:12a at the end of 9:11c. However, the Greek NT 5 has the words of 9:12a at the beginning of 9:12. The Berean Standard Bible follows this guidance. If the major language translation has it there, you may want to put your translation of 9:12a there.

not by works but by Him who calls: In some languages it is more natural to have the by part of this phrase before the not by reason. And some languages will use “and” instead of but. For example:

by him who calls and not by works

works: Here this word refers to actions or deeds, not things produced by a job or paid work. Here it refers to the actions or deeds of people, not God’s.

calls: Here the word calls means “chooses to be given a special benefit or purpose.” God chose Jacob to begin the nation of Israel. See how you translated this word in 1:6 or 8:28.

9:12b

she was told: This clause is passive. God spoke to her. Some languages must use an active clause here. For example:

⌊God/he⌋ told her

This clause introduces a quote from Scripture. Some language translations always introduce quotes from Scripture in their translations. For example:

⌊In the Holy Book,⌋ she was told
-or-

⌊In Scripture,⌋ ⌊God/he⌋ told her

The older will serve the younger: This sentence is found in Genesis 25:23. In the Hebrew culture (and many other cultures) the older sibling ruled the younger siblings. But God, to show his choice, would have the older sibling, Esau, server the younger sibling, Jacob, instead.

If you indicate the location of quotes from the Old Testament with cross-references, you may want to do so here.

serve: Here this word refers to doing the work of someone else because he or she was told to do it. Jacob’s descendants would make Esau’s descendants their servants. Here are other ways to translate this word:

be servant (Revised English Bible)
-or-
the younger one would rule his brother

General Comment on 9:11a–12b

It may be clearer in some languages to have the choice (9:12b) before the circumstances (9:11a–b) and purpose of the timing (9:11c–12:a). For example:

11-12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger,” in order that God’s plan of election might stand, not by works but by him who calls, even though the twins were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad
-or-

11-12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger,” in order that God’s plan of election might stand. That choice was not made by works but by him who calls, even though the twins were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad.

Note that if you do this, you will need to combine the verse references into one reference.

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