complete verse (1 Corinthians 10:24)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 10:24:

  • Uma: “Let’s not just do what helps ourselves. Let’s also do what helps others.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Let us (dual) not think about our (dual) good but we (dual) should think about what is good for our (dual) companion.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And we must not only think about what is good for our own situation, but rather, we must also think about how we can take good care of our companions.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Each one ought to think of the betterment of his fellows, not just his own betterment only.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “We should not look for what is for our own benefit, but rather what is for the benefit of our companion.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “It is necessary that we look for the good of other people, not just that we look for our own good.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 1 Corinthians 10:24

Third person imperatives such as Let no one seek are not very common in modern English, so Good News Bible changes the construction into a statement using “should,” in the sense of “ought to.” Paul is here giving general advice; there is nothing in the language to suggest that he is referring to a particular person. For this reason, although his own and his neighbor are in the singular in the Greek, Good News Bible is right in English to translate neighbor as “others,” since more than one person is implicit here. As elsewhere, Good News Bible uses “you” forms in order to avoid masculine pronouns.

In some languages it will be helpful to translate this verse in the following way: “You should work for the interests of others rather than your own interests.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .