The Greek term that is translated in English as “bread” or “loaf” is translated in Samo, it is translated as “Sago,” which serves “like ‘bread’ for the Hebrews, as a generic for food in the Samo language. It is a near-perfect metonymy that has all the semantic elements necessary for effective communication.” (Source: Daniel Shaw in Scriptura 96/2007, p. 501ff.)
In Chol it is translated as waj, the equivalent of a tortilla. (Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight)
John Beekman (in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 180f. ) explains: “The word ‘bread’ in Scripture primarily occurs as either a specific term for bread (including the Lord’s Supper), or as a generic term for food. It is not surprising, however, the some aboriginal groups use something other than bread as the staff of life. The Chols, with their cultural focus in the cultivation of corn, use waj, a type of thin corn flake. Since a meal is not complete without this main item of food, the term has been extended to include any other foods which may be served along with waj. While bread is known to them, its use is limited to a few occasions during the year when it functions as a dessert. In translating this term in the Chol New Testament, consistent use has been made of the word waj whenever the function of bread as a basic food was in focus. John 6:35, “I am the bread of life,” was thus translated with this word. If the word for bread had been used, it was feared that the Chol would compare Christ to the desirable, but not absolutely necessary, dessert.”
Robert Bascom adds his thoughts to this in relation to other Mayan languages (in Omanson 2001, p. 260): “In many Mayan languages, ‘bread’ can be translated waj or kaxlan waj. The first term literally means anything made from corn meal, while the second term literally means ‘foreigner’s waj,’ and refers to the local wheat-based sweet breads which are so popular within the broader European-influenced culture of the region. On the one hand, waj would be a better dynamic equivalent in cases where ‘bread’ meant ‘food,’ but in cases where the focus is literal or the reference well-known, kaxlan waj would preserve a flour-based meaning (though in biblical times barley was more in use than wheat) and not insert corn into a time and place where it does not belong. On the other hand kaxlan waj is not the staff of life, but refers to a local delicacy. In cases such as these, it is even tempting to suggest borrowing pan, the Spanish word for ‘bread,’ but native speakers might respond that borrowing a foreign word is not necessary since both waj and kaxlan waj are native terms that cover the meaning (though in this case, perhaps not all that well).”
In Mairasi it is translated bread tubers. Tubers are the main food staple and are therefore synonymous with food. (Source: Enggavoter 2004). In Yagaria, Kâteand Yabem it is translated as “taro cake.” (Source: Renck, p. 101)
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding the addressee).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
In Fijian, the paucal exclusive forms neitou and keitou (“of me and a few [two or slight more]”) are used instead. This choice is understandable in view of the introduction found in both letters to the Thessalonians, where the writer Paul indicates clearly that the letters were co-authored by two other colleagues, Silas and Timothy, hence the use of a pronoun referring to three people (“Paul, Silas and Timothy”).
Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Thessalonians 3:8:
Uma: “We did not eat food that we did not buy. Night and day we worked and labored so as not to bother you.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “We (excl.) did not just-stay-with/sponge-on you but we (excl.) paid for our (excl.) food. We (excl.) worked hard not only during the day but also at night so that we (excl.) had our livelihood, so that you should not have expense on our (excl.) behalf.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “We did not beg our food from anybody, rather we paid for it. Day and night we worked hard so that you might not have difficulty because of us.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Neither did we (excl.) take anything we (excl.) needed without our (excl.) paying-for-it, because we (excl.) put-ourselves-to-hardship to work every-day and every-night so that none of you would be hardshipped by our (excl.) needs.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “We(excl.) weren’t just eating what was given to us (excl.) without paying for it. On the contrary, night and day we (excl.) really persevered so that we (excl.) wouldn’t become a bother to any of you.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “We did not ask for what we ate. Rather we looked for how we could provide for ourselves. Day and night we worked to gain what we ate, because we did not want our expenses to fall on anyone.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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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).
This verse restates in more detail what Paul has said in verse 7 about his own and his companions’ example. As often in Paul’s writings (e.g. 1 Thess. 1.5, 8), this verse consists of a negative statement followed by a positive one, and the two are contrasted by a strong “but.” Good News Translation brings out the contrast by beginning a new sentence with instead. Conversely, we worked and toiled and we kept working day and night (literally “but in work and toil night and day we worked”) should be taken closely together.
We did not accept anyone’s support without paying for it is literally “nor did we eat bread from anyone for nothing.” “Bread” is a common Hebrew idiom for food of any kind (cf. Jerusalem Bible “have our meals at anyone’s table,” Translator’s New Testament “we paid for all the food we were given”). Some translations, like Good News Translation, are even wider; New English Bible has “board and lodging,” and Barclay “maintenance.” There is a slight contradiction in meaning between accept … support and without paying for it, since to accept someone’s support implies becoming someone’s debtor. In translation into other languages, it is best to make it clear that Paul did not accept any object (food, or at most board and lodging) without paying for it.
Without paying for it is essentially a negative condition meaning “unless we paid for it,” or “if we did not pay for it.” The combination of a negative statement, we did not accept anyone’s support, with the negative condition may prove misleading in some languages, and a shift to a completely positive statement may be necessary, for example, “we accepted help from people only if we paid for it,” or “we let people help us, but we always paid them for what they did.” A more specific reference to food might be introduced as “we paid for all the food we received from anyone.”
The contrast between the first and second parts of verse 8 may be introduced in a somewhat fuller manner by saying “Instead of receiving something for nothing, we worked and toiled….”
Worked and toiled in Greek are nouns indicating events, which Good News Translation and some other translations therefore render by verbs. The same nouns are used in 1 Thess. 2.9. We kept working day and night so as not to be an expense to any of you is identical in Greek with part of 1 Thess. 2.9, where Good News Bible had trouble for expense. The difference in translation can be attributed to the difference in contexts. Paul’s point in 1 Thess. 2 is “we came to you with pure motives, asking nothing for ourselves, but eager to share the Christian message with you.” In 2 Thess. 3 Paul is concerned, not only to defend the evangelists’ own behavior, but to offer it as an example to his readers. His main interest now is not their behavior in general, but the work they did. In other respects, the notes on 1 Thess. 2.9 apply to this verse also.
It may be impossible in some languages to find two verbs corresponding to worked and toiled. The two words found in the Greek text do not indicate different kinds of activity; they are used simply to emphasize that much labor was involved. Therefore one may say “we worked very hard indeed.”
A literal rendering of we kept working day and night can be misleading in some languages, since it might be understood to mean “all day and all night,” thus allowing no time for rest or anything else. It may therefore be necessary to use a more general statement such as “we are working almost all the time,” or “we hardly stopped working.”
The purpose clause so as not to be an expense to any of you may be expressed in some languages as a reason, for example, “because we did not want to be an expense to any of you,” or “because we did not want any of you to have to pay something to help us.”
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it: The Greek word artos, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as food, literally means “bread.” However most English versions (except some of the older versions) agree that it means more than just bread here. There are two possibilities:
(1) It means any sort of food.
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), NET Bible, God’s Word, New Jerusalem Bible, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (2004 Revision), New Century Version)
(2) The expression “to eat someone’s bread” is an idiom that means “to accept someone’s hospitality.” It therefore includes lodging as well as food.
(Good News Translation, Revised English Bible)
It is recommended that you follow the first option (1) in your translation.
without paying for it: Greek teachers often went from town to town receiving food and accepting a place to stay in return for their teaching. Paul was probably emphasizing that he and his companions were not like that. This does not mean that Paul and his companions never accepted an invitation as guests to a meal from time to time.
3:8b
Instead: In 3:7b–8a, Paul wrote what he and his companions did not do. In this part of the verse he wrote the positive, what they did do.
in labor and toil: The Greek words kopos and mochthos, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as labor and toil, are the same words that the Berean Standard Bible translated “labor” and “toil” in 1 Thessalonians 2:9a. The two words have similar meanings. Paul used this repetition to emphasize that they worked very hard. If you do not have two similar words you can use here, or if it would be unnatural for you to use such repetition, you could translate this as “laboring very diligently/hard.” The following expression “we worked night and day” also has a similar meaning, and you may have to combine all three into one expression. The second Meaning Line in the Display does this.
we worked night and day: The Greek verb form ergazomenoi, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as we worked, indicates an action that continues over a period of time. See the note on 1 Thessalonians 2:9b.
3:8c
so that we would not be a burden to any of you: The Greek word epibareō, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as be a burden, refers to not being a financial burden on the Thessalonians. Paul and his companions worked to support themselves so that they could buy their own food, rather than expecting anyone to provide it for them. This part of the verse is identical to 1 Thessalonians 2:9c in Greek.
In this part of the verse Paul used a negative expression to explain the purpose for which they worked so hard: so that we would not be a burden…. In 3:9b, he gave the positive purpose: “to offer ourselves as an example…”
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.
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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