Jesus

The Greek Iēsous is “only” a proper name but one with great importance. The following quote by John Ellington (in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 401ff. ) illustrates this:

“In Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus Christ, Joseph is told that when Mary gives birth to a son ‘you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins’ (1:21). This name is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name [Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) which is a short form of a name meaning] ‘the Lord [Yahweh] saves.’ The name is very significant and is in itself especially dear to Christians around the world. (…) Unquestionably great importance is attached to the name of Jesus by Christians of all persuasions and backgrounds.”

While Iēsous (pronounced: /i.ɛː.suːs/) is transliterated as “Jesus” (pronounced /ˈdʒiːzəs/) in English (but was translated as “Hælend” [the “healing one”] in Old English — see Swain 2019) it is transliterated and pronounced in a large variety of other ways as well, following the different rules of different languages’ orthographies, writing systems and rules of pronunciation. The following is a (partial) list of forms of Jesus in Latin characters: aYeso, Azezi, Cecoc, Chesús, Chi̍i̍sū, Chisɔsi, Ciisahs, Ciise, Ciisusu, Djesu, Ɛisa, Ƹisa, Eyesu, Gesù, Gesû, Gesü, Ġesù, Ghjesù, Giêsu, ꞌGiê‑ꞌsu, Giê-xu, Gyisɛse, Hesu, Hesús, Hisus, Hisuw, Ià-sŭ, Iesen, Ié:sos, Iesu, Iesui, Iesusɨn, Iesusiva, Ié:sos, Ihu, Iisus, Iisussa, Ijeesu, iJisọsị, Iji̍sɔ̄ɔsi, Iosa, Íosa, Ìosa, İsa, I’sa, Isiso, Isõs, Ísu, Isus, Isusa, Iisussa, Isuthi, Itota, Îtu, Isuva, Izesu, Izesuq, Jasus, Jeeju, Jeesus, Jeesuse, Jeezas, Jehu, Jeisu, Jeju, Jejus, Jeso, Jesoe, Jesosa, Jesoshi, Jesosy, Jesu, Jesû, Jesua, Jesuh, Jesuhs, Jesuo, Jesús, Jésus, Jesúsu, Jethu, Jezed, Jezi, Jézi, Ježiš, Jezu, Jezus, Jézus, Jėzus, Jēzus, Jezusi, Jėzus, Jezuz, Jiijajju, Jíísas, Jiisusi, Jiizas, Jíìzọ̀s, Jisas, Jisase, Jisasi, Jisasɨ, Jisaso, Jisesi, Jisɛ̀, Jisos, Jisọs, Jisɔs, Jisu, Jiszs, Jizọs, Jizɔs, Jizọsi, Jizọsu, Jòso, Jusu, Jweesus, Ketsutsi, Njises, Sesi, Sisa, Sísa, Sisas, Sīsū, Sizi, Txesusu, uJesu, Ujísɔ̄si, ŵaYesu, Xesosi, ´Xesús, Xesús, Yasu, Ya:su, Ɣaysa, Yecu, Yeeb Sub, Yeeh Suh, Yeesey, Yeeso, Yeesso, Yēēsu, Yehsu, Yëësu, Yeisu, Yeisuw, Yeshu, Yeso, Yesò, Yëso, Yɛso, ye-su, Yésu, Yêsu, Yẹ́sụ̃, Yésʉs, Yeswa, Yet Sut, Yetut, Yexus, Yezo, Yezu, Yiesu, Yiisa, Yiisu, Yiitju, Yis, Yisɔs, Yisufa, Yitati, Yusu, ‑Yusu, :Yusu’, Zeezi, Zezi, Zezì, Zezwii, Ziizɛ, Zisas, Zîsɛ, Zjezus, Zozi, Zozii, and this (much more incomplete) list with other writings systems: ᔩᓱᓯ, ᒋᓴᔅ, Հիսուս, ᏥᏌ, ኢየሱስ, ያሱስ, ܝܫܘܥ, Ісус, Їисъ, 耶稣, იესო, ईसा, イエス, イイスス, イエスス, 예수, येशू, येशो, ਈਸਾ, ພຣະເຢຊູ, ජේසුස්, যীশু, ଯୀଶୁ, ཡེ་ཤུ་, ‘ঈছা, இயேசு, ಯೇಸು, ພຣະເຢຊູ, ယေရှု, ઇસુ, जेजू, येसु, เยซู, យេស៊ូ, ᱡᱤᱥᱩ, ယေသှု, యేసు, ᤕᤧᤛᤢ᤺ᤴ, އީސާގެފާނު, ਯਿਸੂ, ꕉꖷ ꔤꕢ ꕞ, ⵏ⵿ⵗⵢⵙⴰ, ଜୀସୁ, يَسُوعَ,ㄧㄝㄙㄨ, YE-SU, ꓬꓰ꓿ꓢꓴ, 𖽃𖽡𖾐𖼺𖽹𖾏𖼽𖽔𖾏, ꑳꌠ, ᠶᠡᠰᠦᠰ (note that some of these might not display correctly if your device does not have the correct fonts installed).

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In some languages the different confessions have selected different transliterations, such as in Belarusian with Isus (Ісус) by the Orthodox and Protestant churches and Yezus (Езус) by the Catholic church, Bulgarian with Iisus (Иисус) by the Orthodox and Isus (Исус) by the Protestant church, Japanese with Iesu (イエス) (Protestant and Catholic) and Iisusu (イイスス) (Orthodox), or Lingala with Yesu (Protestant) or Yezu (Catholic). These differences have come to the forefront especially during the work on interconfessional translations such as one in Lingala where “many hours were spent on a single letter difference” (source: Ellington, p. 401).

In Literary and Mandarin Chinese where transliterations of proper names between the Catholic and Protestant versions typically differ vastly, the Chinese name of Jesus (Yēsū 耶稣) remarkably was never brought into question between and by those two confessions, likely due to its ingenious choice. (Click or tap here to see more).

The proper name of God in the Old Testament, Yahweh (YHWH), is rendered in most Chinese Bible translations as Yēhéhuá 耶和華 — Jehovah. According to Chinese naming conventions, Yēhéhuá could be interpreted as Yē Héhuá, in which Yē would be the family name and Héhuá — “harmonic and radiant” — the given name. In the same manner, Yē 耶 would be the family name of Jesus and Sū 稣 would be his given name. Because in China the children inherit the family name from the father, the sonship of Jesus to God the Father, Jehovah, would be illustrated through this. Though this line of argumentation sounds theologically unsound, it is indeed used effectively in the Chinese church (see Wright 1953, p. 298).

Moreover, the “given name” of Sū 稣 carries the meaning ‘to revive, to rise again’ and seems to point to the resurrected Jesus. (Source: J. Zetzsche in Malek 2002, p. 141ff., see also tetragrammaton (YHWH))

There are different ways that Bible translators have chosen historically and today in how to translate the name of Jesus in predominantly Muslim areas: with a form of the Arabic Isa (عيسى) (which is used for “Jesus” in the Qur’an), the Greek Iēsous, or, like major 20th century Bible translations into Standard Arabic, the Aramaic Yēšūaʿ: Yasua (يَسُوعَ). (Click or tap here to see more.)

Following are languages and language groups that use a form of Isa include the following (note that this list is not complete):

  • Indo-Iranian languages: Persian, Dari, Central Pashto, Southern Pashto all use Eysa (عيسی or عيسىٰ for Southern Pashto), Sindhi uses Eysey (عيسيٰ), Southern Balochi Issa (ایسّا), Central Kurdish (Sorani) and Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) use Îsa (عیسای and Иса respectively), Turkmen has Isa, and Tajik Isoi (Исои — compare Iso/Исо in the Tajik Qur’an)
  • Turkic languages: Turkish uses İsa, Kazakh, Kumyk, Nogai, Crimean Tatar all have Isa (Иса), Kirghiz has Iysa (Ыйса), Uzbek has Iso (Исо — compare Iiso/Ийсо in the Uzbek Qur’an), Bashkir uses Aaisa (Ғайса), North Azerbaijani İsa, Uighur uses Eysa (ئەيسا), and Kara-Kalpak İysa (Ийса)
  • Caucasian languages: Bezhta and Lezghian use Isa (Иса), Avaric has Aisa (ГІиса), and Chechen Iza (Иза)
  • Various African languages: Somali, a Cushitic language, has Ciise, Kabyle has Ɛisa and Tahaggart Tamahaq has Yeswa (both Berber languages), the Saharan languages Central Kanuri, Manga Kanuri have Isa, the Atlantic-Congo languages Dagbani, Mampruli, and Bimoba use Yisa, and the Chadian Arabic Bible has Isa (عِيسَى)
  • In Indonesian, while most Bible translations had already used Yesus Kristus rather than Isa al Masih, three public holidays used to be described using the term Isa Al Masih. From 2024 on the government is using Yesus Kristus in those holiday names instead (see this article in Christianity Today ).
  • Some languages have additional “TAZI” editions (TAZI stands for “Tawrat, Anbiya, Zabur, and Injil” the “Torah, Prophets, Psalms and Gospel”) of the New Testament that are geared towards Muslim readers where there is also a translation in the same language for non-Muslims. In those editions, Isa is typically used as well (for example, the Khmer TAZI edition uses Isa (អ៊ីសា) rather than the commonly used Yesaou (យេស៊ូ), the Thai edition uses Isa (อีซา) rather than Yesu (เยซู), the Chinese edition uses Ěrsā (尔撒) vs. Yēsū (耶稣), and the English edition also has Isa rather than Jesus.)

In German the name Jesus (pronounced: /ˈjeːzʊs/) is distinguished by its grammatical forms. Into the 20th century the grammatical rules prescribed a unique Greek-Latin declination: Jesus (nominative), Jesu (genitive, dative, vocative), Jesum (accusative), from which today only the genitive case “Jesu” is still in active use. Likewise, in Seediq (Taroko), the morphological treatment of “Jesus” also occupies a special category by not falling under the normal rule of experiencing a vowel reduction when the object-specific suffix an is added “since it was felt that the readers might resent that the name has been changed that drastically.” (Compare Msian for “Moses” (Mosi) as an object, but Yisuan for “Jesus” (Yisu).) (Source: Covell 1998. p. 249)

In Lamba the name ŵaYesu consists of a transliteration Yesu and the prefix ŵa, a plural form for “proper names when addressing and referring to persons in any position of seniority or honor.” While this was avoided in early translations to avoid possible misunderstandings of more than one Jesus, once the church was established it was felt that it was both “safe” and respectful to use the honorific (pl.) prefix. (Source C. M. Doke in The Bible Translator 1958, p. 57ff. )

In virtually all sign languages, “Jesus” is signed with the middle finger of each hand pointing to the palm (or wrist) of the other in succession (signing the nails of the cross). In the context of Bible translation this has been pointed out as theologically problematic since the “semantic connections of the original name Jesus do point towards ‘salvation,’ they do not naturally lead to crucifixion.” (Source: Phil King in Journal of Translation 1 (2020), p. 33ff.)


“Jesus” in German Sign Language (source )

Following is the oldest remaining Ethiopian Orthodox icon of Jesus from the 14th or possibly 13th century (found in the Church of the Saviour of the World in Gurji, Ethiopia). As in many Orthodox icons, Jesus’ right hand forms the Greek letters I-C-X-C for IHCOYC XPICTOC or “Jesus Christ.” Another interpretation of the right hand is that it shows three fingers pointing to the Trinity, while the two other fingers point to Jesus’ two natures.

source (c) Jacques Mercier and Alain Mathieu

Orthodox icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )

The following is the so-called “Wales Window for Alabama.” It is a stained-glass window by the artist John Petts from Carmarthenshire, Wales, created in response to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing which took place in 1963:

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

The style of the following drawing of Jesus by Annie Vallotton is described by the artist as this: “By using few lines the readers fill in the outlines with their imagination and freedom. That is when the drawings begin to communicate.” (see here )

Illustration by Annie Vallotton, copyright by Donald and Patricia Griggs of Griggs Educational Service.

Other visual representation of Jesus in TIPs include several non-Western styles of art: traditional Korean art, traditional Chinese art, modern Chinese abstract art, northern and central Thailand’s popular art, Indian Hamzanama style, traditional Vietnamese art, or Japanese prints.

See also this devotion on YouVersion .

Father (address for God)

The Greek that is translated with the capitalized “Father” in English when referring to God is translated in Highland Totonac with the regular word for (biological) father to which a suffix is added to indicate respect. The same also is used for “Lord” when referring to Jesus. (Source: Hermann Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. )

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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. In the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017, God the Father is addressed with mi-chichi (御父). This form has the “divine” honorific prefix mi– preceding the archaic honorific form chichi for “father.”

If, however, Jesus addresses his Father, he is using chichi-o (父を) which is also highly respectful but does not have the “divine” honorific. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also Lord and my / our Father.

Translation commentary on Galatians 1:1

Good News Translation indicates that this is a genuine letter by beginning with From Paul (see also New English Bible, Jerusalem Bible; Phillips has “I, Paul”). In a number of languages it is necessary to indicate clearly the author of this letter by the first person singular pronoun “I.” Therefore, in some languages the letter may most appropriately begin “I Paul … send greetings to the churches of Galatia.”

Paul introduces himself as an apostle. This term usually refers to one who is sent to proclaim an important message, in this instance Christ’s message. This term has been described as having both an exclusive and inclusive usage. In the exclusive sense it refers to the original twelve disciples of Jesus (compare Luke 6.13), but in an inclusive sense it is applied to others who were engaged in the mission and proclamation of the Good News (compare Acts 14.4; Rom 16.7). In several of his letters Paul uses this term to designate his own ministry (for example, the Corinthian letters), thereby claiming equal status with the original disciples of Jesus.

One of the issues raised by Paul’s opponents is his qualifications and right to be an apostle. Not only are his credentials for this office called into question, but the very message which he has proclaimed and continues to proclaim is challenged. Paul meets the challenge head on. The first thing he does is to claim his right to be an apostle (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “Paul, an apostle, writes this letter”).

His call, he claims, did not come from man or by means of man (literally, “not from men nor through man”). This means that his apostleship is not derived from any human source (“not from men”) or dependent upon any human agency (“nor through man” or by means of man). In the Greek text, Paul switches from the plural “men” when talking about source to the singular “man” when talking about agency; this distinction is retained in some translations (for example New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible). However, many interpreters understand this change to be simply a matter of style, and therefore do not recommend its retention in translation (compare New English Bible “not by human appointment or human commission”; Phillips “appointed and commissioned … not by man”).

Paul’s call to be an apostle is not therefore dependent on human influence of any kind; on the contrary, it is from Jesus Christ and God the Father. The emphasis here is twofold; that is, his call is from Jesus Christ as well as from God. In the latter part of this chapter, he expands on this point (see verses 11-24). The Greek preposition in this phrase can be translated “through” (as in Revised Standard Version); most modern translations, however, understand it as Good News Translation does. Jesus Christ and God are linked to only one preposition, suggesting that for Paul there is no distinction between the calling by Jesus Christ and the calling by God.

Because of the elliptical structure of verse 1 and because of the passive construction, it may be necessary in some languages to restructure this beginning statement rather extensively. For example, in some languages one must say “Jesus Christ and God the Father called me to be an apostle,” or “… appointed me to be an apostle.” A further difficulty may be involved in the expression God the Father, since in some languages the term Father must always occur with some so-called possessive pronoun indicating the relationship of “Father” to someone else. In general, the most satisfactory expression is “God our Father,” and since Paul was here addressing his letter to the Galatians who were presumably believers in God, it would be possible to use “our” in the first person plural inclusive sense for those languages which make a distinction between inclusive and exclusive first person plural.

In translating the verb call, it is important to avoid an expression which would mean “to shout at.” The meaning here is “to summon” or “to appoint” or even, as in some languages, “to give a work to.”

In a number of languages an apostle is “a sent one” or “one given a special commission.” In some languages the term is almost equivalent to “ambassador,” that is, an individual who represents another person by carrying a message.

In some languages it is important to state the positive fact before the negative one, and therefore it may be perfectly appropriate to begin in some such form as “Jesus Christ and God our Father called me to be an apostle,” followed by the negative contrast, for example, “No man appointed me to be an apostle, and no man was sent in order to appoint me as an apostle.” The expression by means of man must refer to secondary agency; that is to say, Jesus Christ and God the Father did not appoint Paul by means of some human intermediary.

Since so much is interspersed between the statement of Paul as the author and his greetings to the churches of Galatia in verse 2, it may be useful to introduce the matter of greetings at two different points, for example, “I, Paul, send greetings to the churches of Galatia. Jesus Christ and God our Father have called me to be an apostle…. All the fellow Christians here join me in sending greetings to you in the churches of Galatia.” Only in this way can one do justice to the fact that the letter does begin with both a form of greeting and some defense of Paul’s position as an apostle. It must be noted, however, that if the greeting is introduced before the matter of Paul’s apostleship is discussed, then the intended emotive impact, which is so basic to the purpose of the letter, may be minimized, if not lost altogether.

The expression who raised him from death is added here without any explanation. It is Paul’s practice, when referring to God, to mention something of what he is and what he has done, usually in terms of what he has done in Christ Jesus. Elsewhere in his letters, God’s act of raising Jesus from death is taken as proof that Jesus is God’s Son (see Rom 1.4). Furthermore, the doctrine of Jesus being raised from death is central to early Christian preaching (see 1 Cor 15.4,12-20).

The clause who raised him from death must be clearly marked as nonrestrictive; that is to say, it does not specify which God it was who raised Jesus from death. In some languages a nonrestrictive meaning must be set off as a separate sentence, for example, “… God our Father. He raised Jesus from death,” “… caused Jesus to live again,” or “… come back to life.”

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Galatians 1:1

Section 1:1–5

Paul greeted the Christians in Galatia

This section is the introduction to Paul’s letter to the Galatians. In this introduction, Paul followed the customs of that time for writing a letter. The custom was to put the writer’s name first and then write the names of the people to whom the letter was sent. After that the writer greeted them with a wish for their well-being. So, Paul began this letter with his own name in 1:1. Then in 1:2 he mentioned the people to whom he was sending the letter. In 1:3 he greeted these people with a wish for their well-being. Among Christians, this wish was often a prayer for God’s blessing.

In this section, Paul briefly introduced two main themes of his letter.

(a) It was God and Jesus who had made Paul an apostle. It was not other people who had called him to become an apostle. That gave him very high authority. This authority is one of the themes of his letter, and he discussed it more fully in chapter 2.

(b) In 1:4, Paul reminded the Galatians that we Christians are saved because Jesus died for our sins. The main theme of the whole letter to the Galatians is that we are saved by the grace of God and by believing in Jesus.

Some other possible headings for this section are:

Greeting
-or-
Greetings from Paul

Paragraph 1:1–2

1:1a

Paul: Paul began this letter with his name. He did not use a verb. But you may need to add a verb to help your readers understand that Paul was the person who wrote the letter. For example:

This letter is from Paul (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-

?I,? Paul, ?am writing this letter? ?to you? .

an apostle: The word apostle refers to a person whom someone sends with his authority. He sends him to give a message or to accomplish a particular task. Here, the word apostle refers to a man whom Jesus chose and gave authority. After Jesus returned to heaven, his apostles were the leaders of the people who believed in him.

If you have already translated the Gospels, you can probably use the same term for apostle as you used there.

Some ways to translate apostle are:

a ?special? messenger
-or-
a representative
-or-
a person with authority ?from Jesus?
-or-
a chief leader ?of Jesus’s work?

See also apostle in the Glossary for more information.

1:1b

sent: In Greek, there is no verb in 1:1b. Many languages may need to supply a verb here as the Berean Standard Bible does. Here are some other examples of English versions that supply a verb here:

not sent from men (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
I was not chosen to be an apostle by human beings (New Century Version)
-or-
I was not appointed by any group (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
whose call to be an apostle did not come from human beings (Good News Translation)

not from men nor by man: There are at least two ways to interpret these two phrases:

(1) The focus is on the difference in meaning indicated by the two prepositions from and by. According to this interpretation, the phrase not from men means that no human being chose/commissioned Paul to be an apostle. The phrase nor by man means that there was no intermediary between God/Jesus and Paul when he chose/commissioned Paul to be an apostle. On the road to Damascus, Jesus spoke directly to Paul without going through any human being. For example:

It was not men who made me an apostle. It was not an intermediary who made me an apostle.

(2) The focus is on the plural and singular nouns men and man. According to this interpretation, the first phrase means that no group of men (such as the church in Antioch or Jerusalem) chose/commissioned Paul to be an apostle. The second phrase means that no individual man (such as Ananias, Peter, Barnabas, or James) chose/commissioned him to be an apostle. For example:

?chosen? not by any group or individual (God’s Word)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This is the interpretation that most English commentaries follow.

Some other ways to translate these phrases are:

?My call to be an apostle did? not ?come? from men. ?It did not come? through an intermediary
-or-
Men did not ?commission me to be an apostle? . ?Jesus? did not use an intermediary ?to chose/appoint me? .

1:1c

but: There is a contrast here. The contrast is between those (in 1:1b) who did not send Paul and God, who did send him. Languages have different ways to indicate this negative-positive type of contrast. Some of the ways are:

• With the conjunction “but.”

• With a conjunction other than “but.” This is a common way in English to show this type of contrast. For example:

rather
-or-
on the contrary
-or-
instead

• With no conjunction. For example:

b I was not chosen to be an apostle by human beings, nor was I sent from human beings. c I was made an apostle through Jesus Christ… (New Century Version)

by Jesus Christ and God the Father: This phrase means that Paul was chosen and sent through/by Jesus Christ and God the Father. His authority as an apostle came directly from God.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
I was chosen to be an apostle by Jesus Christ and by God the Father (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Jesus Christ and God the Father ?chose me? ?to be an apostle?

Jesus Christ: In the phrase Jesus Christ, Jesus is a personal name, and Christ is his title. Christ is not the surname of Jesus.

One way to show this is:

Jesus the Christ/Messiah

In some languages, people say the title before the name. For example:

Christ Jesus

Christ: The title Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah.” The Jews used this title to refer to the person whom God had appointed and promised to send as king and savior.

Some ways to translate Christ are:

• Use a title or a descriptive phrase in your language that has the same meaning as Christ. For example:

the Messiah
-or-
the Promised Deliverer
-or-
the Rescuer/Ruler whom God appointed

• Transliterate Christ and include a phrase that explains the meaning. For example:

Christ, the appointed one
-or-
Cristo, the Savior whom God promised to send
-or-
Christ, he comes from God

• Transliterate Christ and indicate in some way that it is a title. For example:

the Christ
-or-
Kirisita

If you do not indicate the meaning of Christ in the text, you may want to include a footnote to explain it. Or you may want to explain the meaning in a glossary. For example:

The word/title “Christ” refers to the one whom God had promised to send. He would be both king/ruler and savior.

God the Father: In some languages, it may be more natural to translate God the Father as:

Father God
-or-
God our Father

1:1d

who raised Him from the dead: This is a relative clause. In some languages, a literal translation of this relative clause may imply a wrong meaning. It may imply that there is one God who raised Jesus from the dead, and another God who did not raise Jesus. If this is true in your language, you should translate this clause as a separate sentence. For example

He raised Him from the dead
-or-
He made Jesus to live again

General Comment on 1:1b–d

In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of some of the clauses in 1:1b–d. For example:

1c I was chosen to be an apostle by Jesus Christ and by God the Father, 1d who raised him from death. 1b No mere human chose or appointed me to this work. (Contemporary English Version)

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