complete verse (John 9:23)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 9:23:

  • Uma: “That is why his parents said: ‘He is big now, ask him yourself.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Therefore his parents said hep, ‘Ask him. He is no longer a child.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Therefore his parents said, ‘He is already an adult; you ask him.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “That’s what they said, because they were afraid of the rulers of the Jews. Because they had already made-an-agreement that if anyone said that Jesus was the Messiah, he wouldn’t be counted among his fellow Jews.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “That’s why the reply of his parents was like that, saying, ‘After all he’s no longer a child. He’s the one for you to ask.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Therefore these old people said, ‘Ask him yourselves. Now he is a big man, he will tell you how come.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Japanese benefactives (kīte)

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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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, kīte (聞いて) or “listen” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”

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

Translation commentary on John 9:23

The man’s parents are afraid to answer in his behalf, for fear that they themselves would be put out of the synagogue.

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 .