complete verse (Hebrews 5:2)

Following are a number of back-translations of Hebrews 5:2:

  • Uma: “Big Priests are just mankind too, and they certainly also have many weaknesses. That’s why they know [how] to be gentle [lit., soften their behavior] to take care of people whose hearts are not yet clear [i.e., not yet mature] and who do not yet know the right way.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And the high priest, because he is also human, he has also weaknesses therefore he knows how to be merciful towards the people who have gone astray from God because they are ignorant (mainly in religious matters).” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And since he is just a human who always makes mistakes, it’s possible for him to be patient with his fellow men who make mistakes also because they do not understand.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “He is able-to-be-patient-with/put-up-with his companions who go-astray who don’t know that what they are doing is not right, because even he, he also has faults.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Well, because as for him, (he is) also just a person who is always/often being defeated by the sins he wants-to-do, he can easily feel pity for those who sin and who get-lost/misled because they have no idea what is good and what is not.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “This one pities his fellow men who do not know what to do, who are overcome by sin because they are not strong. He pities them because he also it not strong.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Hebrews 5:2

If in verse 1 God is made the subject of the sentence, it may be important to introduce “the high priest” as the subject of verse 2; for example, “Since a high priest is himself weak in many ways.”

He himself is weak is more literally “he himself is surrounded by weakness.”

In choosing a term for weak, it is important to avoid an expression which will mean merely physical weakness. Sometimes misunderstanding may be avoided by speaking of “a person who is weak in his heart” or “someone who is not strong toward God.”

The central meaning of be gentle is that of reacting in a moderate way to anything which might arouse anger. Like feel sympathy in 4.15, it also suggests feeling and the possibility of suffering. Unlike to be gentle in English, the Greek word is a rare one, not found anywhere else in the Greek Bible. Is able to be gentle may be expressed as “is able to feel in his heart for others” or “is able to understand how others feel.”

Those who are ignorant and make mistakes are probably a single group of people. However, the Greek for make mistakes suggests something more worthy of blame than to be ignorant, which means simply “not to know.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “he has understanding for those who have done wrong unintentionally.” The Old Testament background suggests that the writer means those who make mistakes because of their ignorance; see comment on weaknesses in 4.15. The distinction is between those sins which can be dealt with by some kind of sacrifice and those which cannot. It is important to make it clear in translation that those who are ignorant and make mistakes are one group of people, not two. Therefore this phrase may be rendered as “those who make mistakes because they do not know any better” or “those who do wrong because they do not know that what they are doing is wrong.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Hebrews 5:2

5:2

He is able to deal gently…since he himself is beset by weakness: This verse tells the reason that human high priests are able to be gentle with weak people. The high priests are able to be gentle (5:2a) because they know that they themselves are weak and sinful (5:2b).

In some languages it is more natural to change the order of 5:2a and 5:2b, so that the reason in 5:2b comes first. For example:

2b Since he himself is weak in many ways, 2a he is able to be gentle with those who are ignorant and make mistakes. (Good News Translation)
-or-

2b Chief Priests are just human too, and they certainly also have many weaknesses. 2a That’s why they know how to be gentle to take care of people who are not yet mature and who do not yet know the right way.

If you put the reason first like this, it may also affect the first part of 5:3. You may need to repeat information in 5:3a. For an example, see the General Comment on 5:2–3 at the end of 5:3a–b.

5:2a

He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and misguided: This clause indicates that the high priest was able to be calm and moderate with those who were weak and ignorant. He controlled himself so that he would not become angry.

Other ways to translate this clause are:

he knows how to be gentle/merciful towards ignorant people and people who go astray
-or-
he can be patient with people who do not know ⌊how to do God’s will⌋ and do wrong

deal gently with: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as deal gently with occurs only here in the New Testament. It refers to treating other people with calmness and respect. It indicates that the high priest should control his own feelings so that he will be patient even with the sinfulness of the people. He should be gentle with them and not treat them harshly.

Some other ways to translate this verb are:

be patient with
-or-
treat with compassion
-or-
feel pity for

those who are ignorant and misguided: Here the words ignorant and misguided both refer to the same type of people. These people sin because they do not know the way that God wants them to live or they do not seem to be able to live that way.

The word ignorant indicates that the people do not know how to behave. The word misguided indicates that they live without knowing what they should do. They act without being aware of the purpose of those actions. The author uses these similar words to emphasize the meaning.

Some other ways to translate this meaning are:

his fellow men who do not know what to do, who are overcome by sin because they are not strong.
-or-
his companions who go astray who don’t know that what they are doing is not right

5:2b

since he himself is beset by weakness: This clause tells the reason why the high priest was able to help weak and ignorant people (5:2a). He could help them because he himself was a weak human being, so he understood the weakness of others.

beset by weakness: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as beset by weakness is more literally “surrounded by weakness” or “clothed with weakness.” It indicates that a high priest is affected in many ways by human weakness. The word weakness refers here to a type of weakness that makes it difficult for a person to do what is right. It refers to moral or spiritual weakness, not to bodily weakness.

Some other ways to translate the phrase beset by weakness are:

he also has faults.
-or-
he also is not strong/able ⌊to overcome all sins⌋

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