Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 9:3:
Uma: “If it could be, [I wish] I could be cursed and separated from Kristus, as long as my Jewish relatives could be released from the punishment of their sins.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “If it were only possible I would endure/take it on me to be separated from Isa Almasi and go into hell in place of my people/nation/tribe, my fellow tribesmen of Isra’il, so that only they do not go to hell.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I would like, if it were possible, that I be punished in place of them and that my having been made one with Christ be removed, so that they might be the ones to be freed from punishment.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Because if it were possible, I would like to be the one (lit. even-if I am the one) to take-their -place to be punished and separated from Cristo.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “If I could save my fellow Jews I would do it even if it meant that I would go to punishment and not be able to see Christ. Only it isn’t possible.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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 GermanGute 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 GreekSeptuagint‘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.”
I myself is an emphatic construction in Greek and the Good News Translation seeks to indicate the emphasis.
Under God’s curse renders one word in Greek (Revised Standard Version “accursed”; New English Bible “outcast”; Jerusalem Bible “condemned”). In the Septuagint this translates a Hebrew word describing persons or things that could not be put to ordinary use, since they were set apart to God and so had to be destroyed. In Greek this word is anathema, and Paul says, literally, “I could wish that I myself were anathema from Christ.” The Good News Translation and others (Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, An American Translation*, Moffatt) indicate this statement as having two elements: under God’s curse and separated from Christ. Others take it as having only one element: “outcast from Christ” (New English Bible) and “separated from Christ” (New American Bible). For the use of this word in the Septuagint, see such passages as Leviticus 27.28; Deuteronomy 7.26; Joshua 6.17-18; 7.12-13; Zechariah 14.11. In the New Testament this term occurs also in 1 Corinthians 16.22 and Galatians 1.8-9.
It is important that the introductory phrase for their sake be clearly related to what follows. This may be expressed in some languages as “if I could help them I would wish” or “in order to help them I would be glad to.” In many instances it is best to treat this introductory statement as a condition of probability, certainly not of actual fact, since Paul is not stating that his being cursed by God would, in fact, be of benefit to his kinsman. Therefore, “if I could help them I would wish” or “if it would be of help to them I could wish.”
That I myself were under God’s curse may be restructured as “that God himself would curse me” or “that the curse from God’s power would be upon me.”
The last phrase, separated from Christ, may be translated as “no longer belong to Christ” or “no longer have a part with Christ.”
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 .
For: Here this word introduces an explanation of what Paul said in 9:2.
I could wish: There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wish :
(1) It means wish here.
(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Good News Translation, New American Standard Bible, King James Version, New American Bible, Revised Edition, English Standard Version, God’s Word, NET Bible)
(2) It means pray here. For example:
I could pray (New Jerusalem Bible)
(New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because the context does not indicate or imply that this action is directed to God. Also, it might be appropriate for Paul to wish that he was accursed for the sake of the Jews, but it would not be appropriate for him to pray for God to make him accursed and cut off from Christ.
Here are other ways to translate this clause:
if it were possible, I would like
-or-
If I could save my fellow Jews I would do it even if it meant
-or-
If it were possible, I really would not refuse to
could wish: Here the word could indicates that Paul had a true desire to see the Jews saved but stopped short of actually wishing that to happen. See the above examples.
were cursed: Here these words refer to something that is marked for destruction. All people who reject Jesus as the Christ are cursed. Here are other ways to translate this word:
were under a curse
-or-
be placed under God’s curse (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
be put in ⌊eternal⌋ punishment
and cut off from Christ: The Berean Standard Bible and some English versions add the phrase and cut off. It explains the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as from. Here this word indicates separation from Christ forever. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
separated from Christ (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
⌊remove me⌋ from ⌊my life in⌋ Christ
9:3b
for the sake of my brothers, my own flesh and blood: This refers to the Jews who do not believe in Jesus. It refers to some benefit for these Jews related to the possibility of Paul being cut off from Christ. Paul explained clearly in 10:1, but did not say here what he might expect from a wish to be accursed for the sake of these Jews. You may want to explain in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:
10:1 explains that Paul wanted very much for the Jews who do not believe in Jesus to believe in him.
for the sake of: This phrase refers to helping or causing advantage for someone. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
to help
-or-
for
-or-
to benefit
See how you translated the phrase “on behalf of” in 1:5.
my brothers, my own flesh and blood: Here the phrase my brothers refers to Jews, because Paul was a Jew. The phrase my own flesh and blood explains the phrase my brothers, because the word brothers is often used to refer to fellow Christians. Connect the second phrase to the first in a way that it explains the first phrase. For example:
my brothers, my kinsfolk by natural descent (Revised English Bible)
-or-
my fellow Jews who are related-to-me-by-blood
-or-
my fellow Jews, ⌊they are⌋ my true tribesmen
my own flesh and blood: This phrase refers to people of the same tribe or people group as Paul according to natural descent. The Jews and Paul all descended from Jacob, whose other name was Israel. This phrase makes it clear that Paul was talking specifically about people who were related to him by birth. See the above examples.
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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