reveal

The Greek that is translated as “reveal” in English is translated in Maan with the expression “take the leaf from it.” (Source: Don Slager)

complete verse (1 Corinthians 3:13)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 3:13:

  • Uma: “So, if for instance the house is burned up, it will be apparent what materials are good and what are not good, because the good materials will last, but the not good materials will all be burned up. So also, the work of every worker of the Lord’s will be apparent when the Lord comes again. On that day, the Lord will inspect the work of every person, whether it is good or not.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “In the future when the day comes when Isa Almasi judges the people, it will be known what material each one used, if it was good or bad. It will be known because it will all be tested like going through fire.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “In the future on the day when the Lord will check up on me, the work of each believer will be tested; to know whether it is proper or not. It will be tested by means of fire and that work which is like wood and grass and bamboo, will be removed. And that work which is like gold and silver and expensive stones, that cannot be removed.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But on the day that the Lord judges all people, the correct value of what each-one has made/built will be seen, because it will be tested with fire.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But in that day of judgment, the kind of work done by each one will really be comprehended through fire, as to whether or not their teaching was in harmony with what-gives-stability to the house which is Cristo. Because, in that day, the work of everyone will be tested by fire.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But concerning each worker, according to the work he has done, it will be made known very well on the day when he is judged as to whether his work is good or not. Because on that day there will be fire. Because of the fire it will appear how good the work was done by each of the builders.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 1 Corinthians 3:13

This verse is remarkable for the number of synonyms that Paul uses to describe the idea of “revealing” or “making clear.” These synonyms are become manifest, will disclose it, and it will be revealed.

Good News Bible‘s “the quality of” is implicit in the Greek and becomes explicit in the last part of the verse, where Paul says that “fire will test it and show its real quality.”

The phrase will become manifest or “will be seen” (Good News Bible) may be expressed as “will be revealed” or “will be known.” But in languages that do not commonly use the passive voice or may not have the passive voice, one may say “people will see.” It may also be helpful to place this phrase at the beginning of this verse and say “And people will see the quality of … when the Day of Christ….”

The Day is one of the expressions used in the Old Testament of the time when God will judge his people, or the world. In the New Testament it has the added meaning of the day of Christ’s return (see 1 Thes 5.4 and also 1 Cor 1.8). Good News Bible translates “Day of Christ” because throughout this passage Paul shows that Christ is central to God’s purposes from beginning to end (see verses 11, 23). If, however, “Day of Christ” is not clear to the intended readers of the translation, the Day may be translated “the Day of Judgment” or “the day when Christ comes to judge.”

For the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire: the Greek may mean (1) “the Day is revealed in (or, by) fire,” that is, fire will be a sign of the Day of Judgment, or less probably (2) “each person’s work is revealed by fire,” that is, by whether or not it can be burnt. The reasons for (1) are that “Day” is the nearest noun in the Greek that can serve as the subject of the verb be revealed, and that (2) would make Paul repeat himself. Revised Standard Version is ambiguous. Bible en français courant clearly picks (1): “that day will manifest itself by fire.” Out of all the translations that we consulted, only Good News Bible explicitly chooses (2). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has just one sentence, reducing the seeming repetition in the Greek: “On that day, the worth of each person’s work will be tested in fire.” Another way to express this is: “on that day fire will test each person’s work to show its quality (or, worth).”

Test does not seem to be used in the technical sense of testing or proving gold while refining it. The context speaks of destruction and survival on the Day of Judgment, rather than speaking of purification. It is therefore better to use an expression that has the wider meaning of a test that one either passes or fails.

Some Greek manuscripts add “itself” between the fire and will test. Some copyists may have omitted this word because it adds nothing to the sense. But others may have added it to strengthen the sentence. The emphatic “itself” following a noun is rare in Paul’s writings. So it is probably better to omit “itself”; the UBS Greek text puts this word in square brackets.

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 .