complete verse (2 Timothy 2:24)

Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Timothy 2:24:

  • Uma: “And it is not proper if we who are the Lord’s slaves are not in-harmony with our companions. We must make-gentle our behavior to all people, be-smart/skilled at teaching, and patient.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “As for us (incl.) the servants of God (we) ought not to fight with anyone. We (incl.) ought to pity/have mercy on all people and we (incl.) ought to know how to teach and (we ought) not easily be bored/fed-up with teaching.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And you know also that it is necessary that the servant of the Lord does not quarrel, rather he treats everybody well. He must know how to teach and he must also be patient.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “And the one who serves the Lord, he shouldn’t be quarreling, but rather the way he should be to all people is kind. It is also necessary that he be skilled and patient to teach” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “For the truth is, violently-disputing is not a good habit for one who is now a servant of the Lord, but rather conducting-oneself-properly and being gracious to his fellowman, knowing how to teach, and enduring persecution/being-hardshipped.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The person who is God’s worker must not be wanting quarrels. Rather he must love all people. He must know how to be a good teacher. He must be patient with what people say.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Lord

The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.

In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.

In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:

  • referring to “God,” especially in Old Testament quotations,
  • meaning “master” or “owner,” especially in parables, etc.,
  • as a form of address (see for instance John 4:11: “Sir, you have no bucket”),
  • or, most often, referring to Jesus

In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.

Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”

When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).

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Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):

  • Navajo (Dinė): “the one who has charge”
  • Mossi: “the one who has the head” (the leader)
  • Uduk: “chief”
  • Guerrero Amuzgo: “the one who commands”
  • Kpelle: “person-owner” (a term which may be applied to a chief)
  • Central Pame: “the one who owns us” (or “commands us”)
  • Piro: “the big one” (used commonly of one in authority)
  • San Blas Kuna: “the great one over all” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Guhu-Samane: Soopara (“our Supervisor”) (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.)
  • Balinese: “Venerated-one” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Yanesha’: “the one who carries us” (source: Nida 1952, p. 159)
  • Northern Emberá: Dadjirã Boro (“our Head”)
  • Rarotongan: Atu (“master or owner of a property”)
  • Gilbertese: Uea (“a person of high status invested with authority to rule the people”)
  • Rotuman: Gagaja (“village chief”)
  • Samoan: Ali’i (“an important word in the native culture, it derives from the Samoan understanding of lordship based on the local traditions”)
  • Tahitian: Fatu (“owner,” “master”)
  • Tuvalu: Te Aliki (“chief”)
  • Fijian: Liuliu (“leader”) (source for this and six above: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1994, p. 329ff. )
  • Bacama: Həmə miye: “owner of people” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
  • Hopi: “Controller” (source: Walls 2000, p. 139)
  • Iyansi: Mwol. Mwol is traditionally used for the “chief of a group of communities and villages” with legal, temporal, and spiritual authority (versus the “mfum [the term used in other Bantu languages] which is used for the chief of one community of people in one village”). Mwol is also used for twins who are “treated as special children, highly honored, and taken care of like kings and queens.” (Source: Kividi Kikama in Greed / Kruger, p. 396ff.)
  • Ghomala’: Cyəpɔ (“he who is above everyone,” consisting of the verb cyə — to surpass or go beyond — and — referring to people. No human can claim this attribute, no matter what his or her social status or prestige.” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn )
  • Binumarien: Karaambaia: “fight-leader” (Source: Oates 1995, p. 255)
  • Warlpiri: Warlaljamarri (owner or possessor of something — for more information tap or click here)

    We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.

    New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.

    Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )

  • Mairasi: Onggoao Nem (“Throated One” — “Leader,” “Elder”) or Enggavot Nan (“Above-One”) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Obolo: Okaan̄-ene (“Owner of person(s)”) (source: Enene Enene)
  • Angami Naga: Niepu (“master,” “owner”)
  • Lotha Naga: Opvui (“owner of house / field / cattle”) — since both “Lord” and YHWH are translated as Opvui there is an understanding that “Opvui Jesus is the same as the Opvui of the Old Testament”
  • Ao Naga: Kibuba (“human master,” “teacher,” “owner of property,” etc.) (source for this and two above: Nitoy Achumi in The Bible Translator 1992 p. 438ff. )
  • Seediq: Tholang, loan word from Min Nan Chinese (the majority language in Taiwan) thâu-lâng (頭儂): “Master” (source: Covell 1998, p. 248)
  • Thai: phra’ phu pen cao (พระผู้เป็นเจ้า) (divine person who is lord) or ong(kh) cao nay (องค์เจ้านาย) (<divine classifier>-lord-boss) (source: Stephen Pattemore)
  • Arabic often uses different terms for adonai or kurios referring to God (al-rabb الرب) and kurios referring to Jesus (al-sayyid الـسـيـد). Al-rabb is also the term traditionally used in Arabic Christian-idiom translations for YHWH, and al-sayyid is an honorary term, similar to English “lord” or “sir” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
  • Tamil also uses different terms for adonai/kurios when referring to God and kurios when referring to Jesus. The former is Karttar கர்த்தர், a Sanskrit-derived term with the original meaning of “creator,” and the latter in Āṇṭavar ஆண்டவர், a Tamil term originally meaning “govern” or “reign” (source: Natarajan Subramani).
  • Burunge: Looimoo: “owner who owns everything” (in the Burunge Bible translation, this term is only used as a reference to Jesus and was originally used to refer to the traditional highest deity — source: Michael Endl in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 48)
  • Yagaria: Souve, originally “war lord” (source: Renck, p. 94)
  • Aguacateco: Ajcaw ske’j: “the one to whom we belong and who is above us” (source: Rita Peterson in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 49)
  • Konkomba: Tidindaan: “He who is the owner of the land and reigns over the people” (source: Lidorio 2007, p. 66)
  • Chichewa: Ambuye Ambuye comes from the singular form Mbuye which is used to refer to: (1) someone who is a guardian or protector of someone or group of people — a grandparent who has founded a community or village; (2) someone who is a boss or master over a group of people or servants and has absolute control over them; (3) owner of something, be it a property, animals and people who are bound under his/her rule — for people this was mostly commonly used in the context of slaves and their owner. In short, Mbuye is someone who has some authorities over those who call him/her their “Mbuye.” Now, when the form Ambuye is used it will either be for honorific when used for singular or plural when referring to more than one person. When this term is used in reference to God, it is for respect to God as he is acknowledged as a guardian, protector, and ruler of everything. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation).
  • Hdi uses rveri (“lion”) as a title of respect and as such it regularly translates adon in the Old Testament. As an address, it’s most often with a possessive pronoun as in rvera ɗa (“my lion” = “my lord” or “sir”). So, for example, Genesis 15:2 (“O Lord God”) is Rvera ɗa Yawe (“My lion Yahweh”) or Ruth to Boaz in Ruth 2:13: “May I find your grace [lit. good-stomach] my lion.” This ties in nicely with the imagery of the Lord roaring like a lion (Hosea 11:10; Amos 3:8; Joel 3:16). Better still, this makes passages like Revelation 5:5 even richer when we read about rveri ma taba məndəra la Yuda, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”. In Revelation 19:16, Jesus is rveri ta ghəŋa rveriha “the lion above lions” (“lord of lords”). (Source: Drew Maust)

Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient Greek Septuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”

See also Father / Lord.

Translation commentary on 2 Timothy 2:24

The expression the Lord’s servant appears only here in the New Testament, although “servant of Jesus Christ” appears in many of the New Testament letters (for example, Rom 1.1; James 1.1; 2 Peter 1.1; Jude 1), and in Titus 1.1 Paul calls himself “a servant of God.” In some languages “God’s servant” will be a good model. Some suggest that the Lord’s servant is used here in a technical sense to refer to those in the ministry, in contrast to the laity. The term of course is used of Timothy but has a wider application to include other church leaders as well. In that case it will be possible to translate this first phrase as “God’s servants must not…” and continue using the plural pronoun through verse 25.

As is common in lists found in these letters, there is mention of at least one negative trait to be avoided and several traits to be emulated. The negative trait in this case is quarrelsome, for which see previous verse; the Lord’s servant thus contrasts in behavior with those who quarrel in verse 23. This could of course be understood to mean that Timothy should not confront the false teachers at all, a misunderstanding that is corrected by the positive traits. In kindly to every one the false teachers are included. Kindly translates a word that occurs only here in the New Testament and primarily means “gentle” in the sense of not being harsh or cruel, hence “kind.” An apt teacher translates one Greek word that is also one of the qualities of a bishop (see 1 Tim 3.2). Forbearing translates a word that occurs nowhere else in the New Testament and characterizes someone who is able to endure any difficulty without complaining, hence “patient.” One should note that Good News Translation makes patience a quality of teaching, hence “a good and patient teacher.” This is possible, but of course it is also possible to list patience as a separate virtue; for example, “and they must be good teachers and very patient” (Contemporary English Version).

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• God’s servants must not quarrel with other people. Instead they should be kind toward everyone. They should also be good teachers and very patient.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on 2 Timothy 2:24

2:24a

a servant of the Lord: The phrase a servant of the Lord is a general statement referring to all pastors and all teachers of Christian doctrine. Timothy was also a servant of the Lord, so Paul obviously intended it to apply to him also.

Paul made this general statement using the word servant in the singular. In some languages, it will be necessary to follow the example of the New Living Translation (2004 Revision) and make servant plural.

The Lord’s servants must not quarrel

In many languages the form for general statements has a particular person and number marker or pronoun to indicate the subject of the verb. Some examples are:

We(incl) who are the Lord’s servants…
-or-
You (sing) who are the Lord’s servant… (See Good News Translation, for example.)
-or-
Someone who is the Lord’s servant…
-or-
People who are the Lord’s servants…

You should use the pattern that is natural in your language and use consistent pronouns. In this context, the statements in 2:24–25 apply to Paul himself, to Timothy, and to anyone else who serves as a pastor or a leader for other Christians.

the Lord: Here the Lord refers to God.

2:24b

but: The word but is a translation of the Greek conjunction de. Here Paul contrasts 2:24a with 2:24b. Some English versions translate this word as “instead.”

must be kind to everyone: In 2:24a, Paul told Timothy how the servant of the Lord must not act toward other people. In 2:24b, he told Timothy how the servant of the Lord should act toward everyone, including non-Christians, including those who want to argue with him. He did not say that Timothy should completely avoid people who did not believe the good news. He knew that if Timothy talked with them in a kind manner, he might be able to explain to them the truths that they needed to hear.

2:24c

able to teach: A servant of the Lord must be able to teach. The teaching referred to here implies teaching the truth to both believers and non-believers. It also refers to teaching against false doctrine.

2:24d

and forbearing: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as forbearing means “to be patient” with those who oppose you. Many English versions translate this word as “patient.” For example, the New Living Translation (2004 Revision) says: “They must be…patient with difficult people.” It is recommended that you also translate this word as “patient.”

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