mat

The Greek that is translated as “mat” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as Strohsack or “straw mattress.”

See also mat, bed.

the Jews (the authorities in Jerusalem)

In the English Good News Bible (2nd edition of 1992), this occurrence of the Greek hoi Ioudaioi, traditionally “the Jews” in English, is translated with “the authorities (in Jerusalem)” in contexts that imply that the referred groups are hostile to Jesus For an explanation of the differentiated translation in English as well as translation choices in a number of languages, see the Jews.

Sabbath

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “Sabbath” in English is rendered as “day we rest” in Tzotzil, in Mairasi as “Jew’s Rest Day,” in Quiotepec Chinantec as “day when people of Israel rested,” in Shilluk as “day of God,” in Obolo as Usen Mbuban or “Holy Day,” and in Mandarin Chinese as ānxírì (安息日) or “rest day” (literally: “peace – rest – day”). (Sources: Tzotzil: Marion Cowan in Notes on Translation with Drill, p. 169ff; Mairasi: Enggavoter 2004; Quiotepec Chinantec: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.; Shilluk: Nida 1964, p. 237; Obolo: Enene Enene; Chinese: Jost Zetzsche)

In Matumbi it is translated as Sabato ya Ayahudi or “Sabbath of the Jews,” to distinguish it from the Islamic Sabbath (which is Friday) or the Christian Sabbath (which is Sunday). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

In the old Khmer version as well as in the first new translation this term was rendered as “day of rest” (Thngai Chhup Somrak / ​ថ្ងៃ​ឈប់​សំរាក). Considered inadequate to convey its religious meaning (not only about cessation of work, but also in honor of Yahweh as the Creator), the committee for the Today’s Khmer Version (publ. 2005) decided to keep the Hebrew word and use its transliterated form Thgnai Sabath (​ថ្ងៃ​សប្ប័ទ). “The Buddhist word Thngai Seil ‘day of merits’ used by some Catholics was once under consideration but was rejected because it did not receive unanimous support.” (Source: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 233ff. )

In Spanish, the translation is either día de reposo (“day of rest”) or sábado (usually: “Saturday,” derived from the Greek and Hebrew original). Nida (1947, p. 239f.) explains that problem for Spanish and other languages in its sphere of influence: “In translation ‘Sabbath’ into various aboriginal languages of Latin America, a considerable number of translators have used the Spanish sábado, ‘Saturday,’ because it is derived from the Hebrew sabbath and seems to correspond to English usage as well. The difficulty is that sábado means only ‘Saturday’ for most people. There is no religious significance about this word as the is with ‘Sabbath’ in English. Accordingly the [readers] cannot understand the significance of the persecution of Jesus because he worked on ‘Saturday.’ It has been found quite advantageous to use the translation ‘day of rest,’ for this accurately translated the Hebrew meaning of the term and resolves the problem in connection with the prohibitions placed upon some types of activities.”

In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts closing of the blinds of a store:


“Sabbath” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Sabbath .

complete verse (John 5:10)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 5:10:

  • Uma: “That is why the Yahudi rulers admonished the person who had just be healed, they said to him: ‘It is the Sabat Day now! You (sing.) cannot carry your (sing.) mat.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Therefore when the leaders of the Yahudi saw the man who had been healed carrying his for-lying-on, they said, ‘Hoy. Today is a day of-no-work. You are breaking our (incl.) law by carrying that for-lying-on of yours.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “This happened on the Sabbath day which is the day God commanded long ago to the Jews that no person was allowed to work on that day because it was a day of rest.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “So the leaders of the Jews said to that man, ‘It is against our law that you (sing.) carry that mat of yours (sing.), because today, it is the day for-resting.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “That’s why the leaders of the Judio said to that man whom Jesus had healed of his illness, ‘Why are you carrying around that on which you lie? Isn’t it so, of course, that like that is taboo on this Day of Rest because it’s against the law?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The Jews who were leaders said to the man who had been sick, ‘You are not allowed to carry your mat now, it is the rest day now.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on John 5:10

On the Greek phrase “the Jews” translated Jewish authorities see Appendix I. In many languages the closest equivalent is “the officials among the Jews.” In some, however, the best translation is “the leaders among the Jews.”

The use of the Greek imperfect tense for told (literally “were telling”) may be either a reflection of John’s narrative style or an attempt to emphasize the fact that the Jewish authorities kept repeating this statement to the man who had been healed. The force of the imperfect tense may be indicated in some languages by translating “insistently told the man”

The Jews had very strict laws concerning what could or could not be done on the Sabbath, and it was a breach of their law for a man to carry his sleeping mat on that day. It may be helpful to note the logic (or lack of it) in the present situation. According to Jewish teaching, certain situations demanded that the Sabbath law be overridden. For example a male child was to be circumcised on the eighth day after birth, even if the eighth day fell on a Sabbath. If a person’s life were in immediate danger, measures to save it could be taken on the Sabbath. However, here was a man who had been sick for 38 years and whose life was obviously not in immediate danger. Therefore, to heal him on the Sabbath was considered to be a breach of the Sabbath law. But from Jesus’ point of view the making of a sick man whole had priority over the law of the Sabbath, even though the man’s life was not in immediate danger. Still another factor is involved. It is mentioned later by Jesus in his controversy with the Jews: God does his works of goodness even on the Sabbath, and for that reason the Son must also heal people on that day.

It is against our law is literally “it is not lawful.” The reference is not to the Mosaic Law as such but to the rabbinic interpretation of the Mosaic law. It is against our Law for you to carry your mat may be rendered in some languages “our laws say that you must not carry your mat” or “our laws contain these words, ‘You must not carry your mat on the rest day.’ ”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .