1 Cor. 14:8 is translated in English as “And if the bugle (or: “trumpet”) gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?” In the translation into Binumarien this verse resonated deeply with the translators.
Lynette Oates (1992, p. 278) explains: “[Translation team member] Des read the verse from 1 Corinthians, ‘If the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for the battle?’
“‘That’s exactly right!’ Sisia[, another translation team member,] commented energetically. In the old days, a fight leader would give a battle call and everyone of his followers would immediately drop what he was doing, grab his bow and arrows and race off with him to battle. If he didn’t give a clear call, people would say, ‘What does he want?’ and not go. But if his call was unmistakable they would go.’
“He paused. Des could tell by his expression he had something else to add. That’s exactly what this work we are doing is all about. The Book in another language, Kate or Pidgin [two larger languages in Papua New Guinea with existing Bible translations that are difficult to understand for Binumarien speakers], is like an unclear call to us. We just don’t understand it. But in our own language it is clear. We know exactly what it is saying to us.’
“They translated several more verses till they came to the words, ‘I’d rather speak five words with my understanding than ten thousand with an unknown tongue’ [in 1 Cor. 14:19].’ Sisia reacted as if he had received an electric shock. He began to bounce up and down on his stool. He rocked his body from side to side and threw his hands about.
“‘That’s absolutely right!’ he almost shouted. If only those who first came had given us this Book in our language, we’d be better people today. Five words in your own tongue is better than words and words and words in someone else’s.’
“He continued to fling himself around. Paul would rather have five words in a known tongue than thousands in an unknown one. Paul’s right! He’s always right! If only we’d had just a few words in our own tongue from the beginning, things would have been so much better!'”
The Greek that is typically translated as “mind” in English is translated in Warao as obojona, a term that “includes the concepts of consciousness, will, attitude, attention and a few other miscellaneous notions.” (Source: Henry Osborn in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 74ff. )
In Elhomwe it is often translated as “heart,” “because all thoughts come from heart in Elhomwe thought.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Eastern Highland Otomi: “speaking strange languages” (source for his and two above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
IndonesianAlkitab Terjemahan Lama version (publ. 1958): “speak the language of the spirit” (bahasa roh) — “which leaves a strong impression that this is a mystical experience.” (Source: Ekaputra Tupamahu in: Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2018, 41/2, p. 223ff.)
In most Protestant Mandarin Chinese translations, the term fāngyán (方言) or “dialect / regional language” is used. The widely-used Catholic Sigao translation uses yǔyán 语言 (語言) or “language” instead. (See also W. Chong in Religions 2024, 15, p. 288ff. )
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated as in den Sprachen der Engel reden or “speaking in the language of angels.” The translators explain (p. 104): “According to Jewish understanding, angels primarily spoke Hebrew. The ‘languages’ of angels are specific texts (such as songs). This is not related to a formal knowledge of language.” Note that in the latter part of 1 Corinthians 14 (from verse 26 on) and in Acts 2:4, Berger / Nord use “foreign language” instead.
The Greek that is often translated as “church” in English is translated into Avaric as imanl’urazul ahlu: “the community of believers” or “the believing people.”
Magomed-Kamil Gimbatov and Yakov Testelets (in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 434ff. ) talk about the genesis of this term (click or tap here to read more):
“The word ‘Church’ presents particular difficulties, as we might expect when we think that even many Christians do not understand it correctly. When people today say ‘church,’ they often mean a particular building, or an organization consisting chiefly of clergy (priests and monks). It is even harder to find a word or combination of words which adequately translates the meaning for people unfamiliar with Christianity. Surprisingly, the Greek word ekklesia, indicating in the classical language ‘an assembly of the people,’ ‘a gathering of citizens,’ has come into Avar and other Dagestani languages in the form kilisa. This, like the word qanch (‘cross’), is an ancient borrowing, presumably from the time before the arrival of Islam, when Dagestan came under the influence of neighboring Christian states. In modern usage, however, this word indicates a place of Christian worship. Thus it is completely inappropriate as a translation of its New Testament ancestor ekklesia.
“We were obliged to look at various words which are closer to the meaning of the Greek. Some of these words are dandel’i (‘meeting’), danderussin (‘assembly’), the Arabic-derived mazhlis (‘meeting, conference’), zhama’at (‘society, community’), ahlu (‘race, people, family, group of people united by a common goal or interest’, as in the Arabic phrase ahlu-l-kitab ‘people of the Book’ or ‘people of the Scriptures’), which describes both Jews and Christians, and ummat (‘people, tribe’). In Islamic theology the phrase ‘Mohammed’s ummat’ means the universal community of Muslims, the Muslim world, in the same way as the Christian world is known as ‘Isa’s ummat.’ None of these descriptions on their own, without explanation, can be used to translate the word ‘Church’ in the New Testament. Thus, after long consideration, we adopted the phrase imanl’urazul ahlu, meaning ‘the community of believers,’ ‘the believing people,’ This translation corresponds closely to New Testament teaching about the Church.
“It is interesting that the same word ahlu with the meaning ‘tribe, community’ has been used by translators for different reasons in the introduction to the Gospel of Luke in order to translate the expression in the original Greek pepleroforemenon en hemin pragmaton (πεπληροφορημένων ἐν ἡμῖν πραγμάτων), which the Russian Synodal translation renders ‘about the events well-known amongst us’ (Luke 1:1). The expression ‘amongst us’ cannot be translated literally into Avar, but has to be rendered ‘among our people’; and here the same term was used as for the word ‘church’, literally ‘among our tribe, community (ahlu).'”
In Kamo “church” is fang-balla (“owners of writing-people”) when referring to the church community and “house of writing-people” when referring to a church building. David Frank explains: “In Kamo culture, Christianity was associated with writing, so Christianity is called balla, which they say means ‘people who write.’ Christianity is balla, and Christians are called fang-balla, which means ‘owners of Christianity.’ That is the term that is used for the church, in the sense of people, rather than a building. In Philemon 1:1b-2a, Paul says he is writing ‘To our friend and fellow worker Philemon, and to the church (fang-balla ‘owners of Christianity) that meet in your house.’ The word fang “owner’ is very productive in the Kamo language. A disciple is an ‘owner of learning,’ an apostle is an ‘owner of sending,’ a believer is an ‘owner of truth,’ a hypocrite is an ‘owner of seeing eyes.’ The expression ‘house of writing-people’ is used in Matthew 16:18, which reads in Kamo, ‘And so I tell you Peter, you are a rock, and on top of this rock foundation I will build my house of writing-people, and never even death will not be able to overcome it.” (See also Peter – rock)
In Bacama there also is a differentiation between the building (vɨnə hiutə: “house of prayer”) and the community (ji-kottə: “followers”) (source: David Frank in this blog post ).
In 16th-century Classical Nahuatl, a transliteration from Spanish (Santa Yglesia or Santa Iglesia) is typically used rather than a translation, making the concept take on a personified meaning. Ottman (p. 169) explains: “The church building, or more precisely the church complex with its associated patio, has a Nahuatl name in common usage — generally teopan, something like ‘god-place,’ in contradistinction to teocalli, ‘god-house,’ applied to a prehispanic temple — but the abstract sense is always Santa Iglesia, a Spanish proper name like ‘Dios’ or ‘Santa María’, and like ‘Santa María’ often called ‘our mother.’ As a personified ‘mother,’ in the European tradition as well as in Nahuatl, She instructs Her children or chastises them; as Bride of Christ, She both longs for Her heavenly rest and bears witness to it, in the ‘always-already’ of eschatological time; as successor to the Synagogue, the blindfolded, broken-sceptred elder sister who accompanies Her in painting and sculpture, She represents the triumphant rule of truth. ‘The Church’ can mean the clerical hierarchy; it can also, or simultaneously, mean the assembly of the faithful. It dispenses grace to its members, living and dead, yet it is also enriched by them, living and dead, existing not only on earth but in purgatory and in heaven.”
In Lisu the building (“church”) is called “house of prayer” (source: Arrington 2020, p. 196) whereas in Highland Totonac the community is referred as “those who gather together” (source: Hermann Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. ), in Huehuetla Tepehua as “those who gather together who have confidence in Christ” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), in Uma as “Christian people” (source: Uma Back Translation), in Kankanaey as “the congregation of God’s people” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation), and in Tagbanwa as “you whom God separated-out as his people because of your being-united/tied-together with Jesus Christ” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).
In American Sign Language, “church” (as in the community of believers) is made up of the combination of the signs for “Jesus-into-heart” (signifying a believer), followed by the sign for “group.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Church” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
While British Sign Language also uses a sign that focuses on a group of people believing in Jesus (see here ), another sign that it uses combines the signs for “ringing the (church) bells” and a “group of people.” (Source: Anna Smith)
“Church” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 14:19:
Uma: “But in a service I would far rather speak with a language that others knew so that they understood my words. I would rather speak a word or two [a pat phrase used at the beginning of a (hopefully) short speech] to teach others, than to speak at-length in a language from the Holy Spirit that others could not understand.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “But if in the gathering of the trusters in Isa Almasi I choose yet to speak five words only if only the people understand in order that I am able to preach to them than that I speak thousands of words in language that people don’t understand.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “but in spite of that, if I’m in a gathering of believers, I don’t use it because it’s better for me to speak there even five words that can be understood and can help my companions, rather than my speaking thousands of words that cannot be understood.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “But when I join-in-congregating, it is better if I say only five words that can-be-understood so that my companions will be instructed than ten thousand words in a different language that is not understandable.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “But in the gathering of believers, this is really what I want, even to be able to speak just five syllables as long as it can be understood and is a means-of-strengthening the believing/obeying of others, rather than thousands of words that can’t be understood by anyone.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “But there where the people gather, it is much better that with just five words I teach the people if those are words which they hear, rather than I speak ten thousand words which the people do not understand the meaning of.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
In church means “in a meeting of Christians” (see the comments on 1 Cor. 14.4).
With my mind, as in verse 15, probably means “with my understanding.” Good News Bible has tried to make this clearer by saying “that can be understood.” This is probably a better translation, as nonecstatic speech is speech that can be understood.
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 .
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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