complete verse (Hebrews 6:8)

Following are a number of back-translations of Hebrews 6:8:

  • Uma: “But if that land has nothing but sword-grass and thorns growing-on-it, it has no use. It will be cursed by God, and in the end be burned up.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But if the field has only cogon-grass growing on it and thorns (sampinit) it has no value. This field will soon be ‘wrathed’ by God/effected by the wrath of God and will finally be burned.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “However, if there is land that the only thing that will grow there are thorns and weeds, it has no value and it’s abandoned and it’s burned over by the owner. And the same way also, the person like this land, he will be punished by God.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But the bad soil where-weeds and thorns -grow is useless, so it is not long before (lit. and) God will punish it because he will burn it.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But well, suppposing only weeds and thorny plants sprout there, because what was planted was not looked-after-well, of course the owner will now curse it and burn it because it has no usefulness. Like that also, God will curse and punish all the people who make-themselves-like this earth/ground.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But the field that absorbs well the rain and only produces thorns will be burned because it is of no value. This represents the people whom God will punish.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Hebrews 6:8

The first half of the illustration (verse 7) recalls Genesis 1.11-12, and the second half (verse 8) echoes Genesis 3.17-18. The translator should not attempt to mark the reference by quotation marks, since only isolated words are quoted (such as grows thorns and weeds and cursed). The meaning of the sentence as a whole is rather different. In Genesis the curse makes the ground infertile; here God curses the ground because it is infertile.

It is impossible to be scientifically certain which species of plants are referred to as thorns and weeds. Weeds are probably some kind of thistle. The point is that, far from being useful (verse 7), they interfere with desirable plants. The translator should feel free to use the names of any plants in his area which meet this condition.

If it grows thorns and weeds must be restructured in some languages as “if thorns and weeds grow in it.”

It is worth nothing may be expressed as “it produces nothing,” “it has no value,” or even “no one wants it.”

Good News Translation and some other translations include a slight contradiction which may cause misunderstanding: the words in danger of being cursed are followed by the more definite and will be destroyed by fire. There is no contradiction in the text. It means either (a) that the land is about to be cursed and then finally burned (will be is implied) or (b) more probably, as Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch puts it, that the land is “under the threat of being cursed by God and finally burned.”

By God is implied.

In danger of being cursed by God may be rendered as “is near to being cursed by God” or “God is likely to curse it.” The final passive expression will be destroyed by fire may be expressed actively as “fire will destroy it.” There may, however, be a difficulty involved in suggesting that fire will destroy soil. In a sense, of course, this is a mixed figure of speech, since the text is in reality speaking about divine judgment of persons.

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 6:8

6:8

In this verse the author compares worthless land to the fruitful land in 6:7. In some languages it is necessary to make the comparison explicit. This may be done either at the beginning of the verse or at its end. For example:

But ⌊other people are like⌋ land that produces only thorns and thistles…
-or-
…This represents the people whom God will punish.

6:8a

But: The particle But introduces a contrast to the fruitful land in 6:7. In 6:8 the land produces useless plants like thorns and thistles and must be burned. The author implies that this land is like people who fall away from Christ (6:4–6). Translate the contrast in a natural way in your language.

land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless: Here the author refers to land where nothing grows except thorns and thistles. As in 6:7, in some languages it may not be natural to speak of land “producing” plants. Translate this meaning in a similar way as you did in 6:7. Some other ways to translate it are:

But the bad soil where weeds and thorns grow is useless.
-or-
But if that land has nothing growing on it but thorns and thistles it has no value

thorns and thistles: The words thorns and thistles refer to the most common weeds in Israel. Thorn bushes and thistle plants are not useful for anything. Even most animals will not eat them. It is fine to translate the phrase thorns and thistles with similar useless, thorny weeds that are found in your area or with general terms.

Some other ways to translate the phrase are:

nothing but sword-grass and thorns growing on it
-or-
weeds and thorny plants

These two types of plants are very similar. The word thorns refers to “plants that have thorns.” Thorns are sharp spikes that can hurt someone who touches them. The word thistles refers to prickly weeds. This word only occurs here and in Matthew 7:16. The author probably mentioned both of these plants to emphasize his meaning. In some languages it may be more natural to emphasize the meaning in a different way. For example:

only thornbushes (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
only useless/harmful plants
-or-
only weeds

Both words occur in Matthew 7:16. See how you translated them there.

is worthless: The word worthless indicates here that the land produces nothing of value. It is barren, and its owners do not get anything good from it. The author implies that it is like the people who go away from Christ. They cannot do anything good to please God. Other ways to translate this meaning are:

has no use/value
-or-
is worth nothing

6:8b

and its curse is imminent: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as imminent is often translated as “near.” There are two main ways to interpret it here:

(1) It means “in danger of.” For example:

and is in danger of being cursed (New International Version)

(2) It means “soon.” For example:

The farmer will soon condemn that field (New Living Translation (2004))

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). It is supported by more English versions and commentaries.

its curse: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as its curse refers here to a decision that God may make to condemn the people who are like the worthless land. When God speaks the condemnation (curse), it is a judgment that cannot be avoided.

In some cultures the meaning of curse is different from the biblical meaning here. If that is true in your culture you may have to use a different word. For example:

being judged/condemned
-or-
being punished/destroyed

The text strongly implies that God is the one who will punish the land (people). In some languages it is necessary to make that explicit. For example:

being cursed/punished by God
-or-

⌊ God⌋may soon condemn it.

In the end it will be burned: In Greek this clause is more literally “its end [is] for burning.” It means that, finally, the land will be burned. This implies that fire will burn all the plants on the land. (It does not imply that the land itself will burn.) In many places in the world, it is common to burn a field to prepare it for planting.

Some ways to translate this clause are:

finally, it will be burned
-or-
in the end, ⌊the farmer⌋ must burn the weeds off of it

In some languages it is necessary to make the meaning more explicit. For example:

it’s burned over by the owner. And the same way also, the person like this land, he will be punished by God.

General Comment on 6:7–8

Paragraph 6:7–8 compares soil and people. In some languages it is necessary to make the comparison more explicit. For example:

7 Some people are like land that gets plenty of rain. The land produces a good crop for those who work it, and it receives God’s blessings. 8 Other people are like land that grows thorns and weeds and is worthless. It is in danger of being cursed by God and will be destroyed by fire. (New Century Version)

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