complete verse (2 Corinthians 11:25)

Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Corinthians 11:25:

  • Uma: “Three times I was punished by the Roma people, they beat me with a staff. One time also I was ganged-up-on by people who threw rocks at me wanting to kill me. Three times the ship I was on sank in the sea. One time I floated on the sea a night and a day.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Three times I was beaten (with thick stick) by the tribe Roma. And once I was thrown at with stones by the people. Three times the ship I was travelling on was destroyed. And I have been drifting in the middle of the ocean all day and night when the ship I travelled on was destroyed.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Three times I was beaten with walking sticks. People threw stones at me because they wanted to kill me. Three times the ship I was riding on sank, and there was a time that I was a night and a day in the deep sea, just floating on something.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Three times I was beaten (i.e. with a hard object, usually wood). Once also they threw-at me with stones until I was-intended-to die. In my riding-on ships, three times they have sunk. And once, I was in the ocean floating (on something) for a day and a night.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Three times now I have experienced the punishment of being beaten-with-sticks/poles, and once I experienced the punishment of being stoned. Three times also I experienced that the ship I was travelling on was shattered, and once I was floating for a day and a night far out at sea.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Three times I was caned. One time I was stoned. Three times the boat I was on sunk into the water. One night and one day I was on the water of the sea because the boat sunk.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 2 Corinthians 11:25

Beating with wooden rods was a form of punishment used by the Romans (see Acts 16.37). To make clear that the beatings in verse 25 were by Romans and not by Jews, Good News Translation adds “by the Romans” (likewise Moffatt, Bible en français courant, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). But Good News Translation as it stands risks losing the fact that a different instrument was used in this beating, especially since “whipped” implies that a flexible whip was used rather than a rod or stick. This distinction, however, may be easily preserved by saying something like “the Romans beat me with sticks three times” (compare Contemporary English Version).

I was stoned in contemporary American English means that one was drunk or experiencing the hallucinating effects of drugs. This is clearly not the meaning of the text. Hence New Revised Standard Version says “I received a stoning” (see Acts 14.19). The passive formulation will have to be made active in many languages. But since the agent of this action is not known, one may say “some people threw stones at me in order to kill me” or “my enemies stoned me” (Contemporary English Version).

I have been shipwrecked: in an attempt to translate this English passive verb actively, Good News for the World says “Three times I was in a boat when it broke in the sea” But this may be misunderstood to mean that the same boat was wrecked each time. In those languages where the passive presents difficulties, one may say “I have been in three different ships that broke up in the sea.”

A night and a day translates a compound word in Greek consisting of the words “night” and “day.” Good News Translation provides a more natural rendering in English, “twenty-four hours” (so also Revised English Bible). However, it may be more natural in the receptor language to follow the more literal rendering instead of counting the hours. In some languages there is a specific term that refers to a twenty-four hour period.

I have been adrift at sea: literally “I have done [night and day] in the deep.” The idea is that Paul was actually in the water, probably holding on to some piece of the wrecked ship. Some may therefore want to translate “one time I had to spend all day and night in the water.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellingworth, Paul. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .