complete verse (Hebrews 13:5)

Following are a number of back-translations of Hebrews 13:5:

  • Uma: “Also, don’t desire money too much. Be happy with what you have. For there are words of God that say: ‘I will not abandon you (sing.), I will not leave you (sing.).'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “You should not crave money instead whatever you have you should be thankful for. God says hep, ‘I will not leave you, I will not abandon you.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Be on your guard so that your desire for money is not too much. It’s necessary that you be satisfied with what you own, because God said, ‘I will not leave you and I will not abandon you.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Don’t grab-after money but rather be content with what you have, because God said, ‘I will absolutely not abandon or turn-my-back-on you.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “It’s necessary that you live not wanting-to-get-rich. What’s good is, be happy with just-as-much-as you have (lit. can find), not always wanting-to-add-to-it. Because here is what God said, he said, ‘I really will never separate-from/divorce or abandon you.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Do not think that money is supremely important. Be content with whatever thing God gives you. Because God says: ‘I will not forget you. And I will not separate from you.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

oneself (go-jishin) (Japanese honorifics)

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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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God or a person or persons to be honored, the honorific prefix go- (御 or ご) can be used, as in go-jishin (ご自身), a combination of “onseself” (jishin) and the honorific prefix go-. This can also be used for other reflexive pronouns (myself, himself, yourself etc.)

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

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

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

See also pronoun for “God”.

Honorary "are" construct denoting God (“say”)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Hebrews 13:5

Compare 10.34. The source of this quotation is not quite certain; Deuteronomy 31.6, 8; Genesis 28.15; Joshua 1.5; and 1 Chronicles 28.20 are all possible. This verse brings another change of theme, as the new paragraph in common language translations, Moffatt, and New English Bible shows. However, sexual immorality and the love of money are often linked, as in 1 Corinthians 5.10-11, as different kinds of selfishness. Other translations do not begin a new paragraph here, but in common language translations shorter paragraphs are generally better.

The word translated lives is singular and means the way of life of each reader, considered collectively. Whether singular or plural is used depends on how the receptor language deals with objects in the possession of each member of a group; Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente has the singular “life.” The thought of verse 5a (though not the language) is found also in Luke 3.14.

Keep your lives free from the love of money may seem to be a rather roundabout way of rendering “Do not love money” or “Do not desire to have a lot of money.” The Greek contains no suggestion of freedom as opposed to slavery, but the context suggests a continuing process.

For and, it may be more natural to use a word meaning “but” or “on the contrary.” What you have renders a plural expression in the Greek text, “the things you have.” Be satisfied with what you have may be rendered as “be happy that you have what you have.”

God is clearly implied; in the Greek, “himself” (Revised Standard Version “he”) is emphatic and cannot mean “scripture.”

Never in both cases gives the meaning of what is in Greek an emphatic “not.”

It is important in rendering I will never leave you; I will never abandon you to employ two expressions which will not seem to be merely repetitive. This can usually be done by making the second term stronger than the first; for example, “I will not go away from you; I will not leave you without anything” or even “… leave you to be harmed by others”—which would be the implication of a term such as abandon or “desert.” Alternatively, a single strong expression may be used.

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Sung version of Hebrews 13

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®).

For more information, see here .