complete verse (2 Corinthians 6:13)

Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Corinthians 6:13:

  • Uma: “I am speaking here like I am speaking to my own children: I request that you open your hearts to return our (excl.) love.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “I talk to you like you are my true children. We (excl.) ask/pray you, love us (excl.) also like we (excl.) love you.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I will speak to you as if you were my own children; you must love us also.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Therefore you whom I consider as my children, please-be-so-kind-as-to repay/return our (excl.) big love to you.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “I am now regarding you as my children. Hopefully, since I am not holding back from you, you will reciprocate with holding dear which is not insincere.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “I call on you like a father when he calls on his children. Love me just like I love you.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Japanese benefactives (hirokushite)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

Here, hirokushite (広くして) or “extend” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 2 Corinthians 6:13

In return is literally “the same recompense.” The sense is clear. Paul asks the Corinthians to open their hearts to him and his colleagues just as he and his associates have opened theirs to the Corinthians. That is, in return for the love that Paul and his associates have for the Corinthians, they want to be repaid by experiencing love from the people they love.

That Paul compares the Corinthians to children does not mean that they are immature (as in 1 Cor 3.1-2); rather in this context the word children is an expression of affection (see 1 Cor 4.14; Gal 4.19). Revised English Bible says “If I may speak to you like a father.”

The Greek has no pronoun before children. Some languages will require a possessive pronoun here. Though the pronoun “our” (Paul and his co-workers) would be appropriate, in light of the first person singular I speak, the pronoun “my” (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant) seems more appropriate. Translators should avoid suggesting that Paul actually has children.

Widen your hearts also: see comments on 6.11. Good News Translation keeps the metaphorical language (“Open your hearts wide!”) while translating the meaning also (“show us the same feelings that we have for you”). Depending on how verse 11 has been rendered, translators may want to consider one of the following models: “love us with all your hearts also” or “make room in your hearts for us also.”

The whole verse may possibly be rendered “since we still love you, I am asking that you rekindle your love for us. (I am talking to you now as if you were my children.)”

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 .