paradise

The Greek and Latin that is transliterated as “paradise” in English is often transliterated in other languages as well. Translations include “Place of well-being” (Toraja-Sa’dan, Tzeltal), “abode of happiness (or: of happy people)” (Marathi), “garden of eternal life” (Uab Meto), or the name of a place where you don’t have to work and fruits drop ripe in your hand (Ekari). (Source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)

In Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese it is translated as 乐园 / 樂園 (lèyuán in Mandarin, lok6jyun4 in Cantonese). This term, literally meaning “garden of joy,” originates from Buddhist terminology.

See also paradise of God.

truly truly - I tell you

The Greek that is often translated in English as “truly, truly, I tell you” or similar is translated in the Russian BTI translation (publ. 2015) as Поверьте Мне (Pover’te Mne) or “trust me.” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

See also Amen.

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Luke 23:26-43)

Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Luke 23:26-43:

As Jesus was being led away,
some soldiers grabbed a man named Simon Cyrene,
       who was on his way home from the fields —
they put the cross on his shoulders,
       and forced him to drag it behind Jesus.

A large crowd was following along,
among them some women,
       weeping and wailing for him.

Jesus turned toward the women and said:

       “Cry for yourselves, not for me, women of Jerusalem!
       Someday everyone will agree,
              ‘It’s better to be barren than blest with children.’
       If sparks ignite so quickly when someone is innocent,
              a volcano will surely erupt when the nation rebels,
       causing people to beg for mountains and hills
              to rush to their rescue.”

Two criminals were led out to be executed with Jesus,
and when they reached the place called “Skull,”
       each of them was nailed to a cross,
              with Jesus in between.

“Father,” prayed Jesus, “forgive these people —
       they don’t know what they’re doing.”

While the crowd was stunned and staring at the spectacle,
the soldiers gambled for his garments,
       as their leaders hurled spiteful insults,
“He saved others! If he’s God’s Favorite,
       then let him save himself.”

“So you’re king of this nation,” mocked the soldiers,
       offering Jesus a goblet of wine. “Ok, save yourself!”

On the cross above Jesus was posted a sign:
       “Here Hangs Your National Hero!”

One of the dying criminals also insulted Jesus,
       “Aren’t you God’s Favorite? Save yourself and us!”

The other criminal replied with a sharp rebuttal,
“Don’t you fear God? This man’s innocent,
       but we’re guilty as sin.”
Then turning to Jesus, he said,
       “Remember me when you come into power!”

“Today you’ll be with me in paradise,”
       Jesus assured the man.

complete verse (Luke 23:43)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 23:43:

  • Noongar: “Jesus said to him, ‘Truly, I tell you this day, you will be with me in Heaven.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “Yesus said to him: ‘Truly I say to you (sing.): today you (sing.) will be with me in Firdaus.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Isa said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, this day we (dual) will be there together in heaven.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus said to him, ‘What I say to you is really true, that today you and I will be together in the land of those made immortal.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “And Jesus said to him, ‘This that I tell you (sing.) is true. This day (lit. today day) you (sing.) will join me in heaven.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Replying, Jesus said, ‘What I will say to you really is true, that this very day you will be my companion later-today in heaven.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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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 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 Luke 23:43

Exegesis:

kai eipen autō ‘and he said to him,’ change of subject.

amēn soi legō ‘truly I say to you,’ cf. on 4.24.

sēmeron met’ emou esē en tō paradeisō ‘today you shall be with me in paradise.’ sēmeron contrasts with the future of Jesus coming as king. The predicate with esē may be met’ emou, or, en tō paradeisō, preferably the latter. Then met’ emou refers to the situation in which he will find himself in paradise, i.e. ‘in the company of Jesus.’ For the theological implications cf. commentaries.

paradeisos ‘paradise,’ here of the place where the redeemed are after death and before the coming of the kingdom, best envisaged as being in heaven.

Translation:

Truly, I say to you, see references on 4.24.

Paradise is often transliterated on the basis of the Greek, or of the language of prestige in the region: in Muslim countries, for instance, the base is usually the Arabic form, Firdaus. Translating the word one may say e.g. ‘Place of well-being’ (Toraja-Sa’dan, Tzeltal), ‘abode of happiness, or, of happy people’ (Marathi), ‘beautiful garden’ (cf. Fulah aljanna, borrowing another Arabic name, lit. ‘garden’), ‘garden of eternal life’ (Uab Meto), or, the name of a place where you don’t have to work and fruits drop ripe in your hand (Ekari).

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.