The Greek in Matthew 1:19 that is translated as “planned to dismiss her” or similar is translated in Dan idiomatically as “planned to put a thorn in the path of their engagement.” (Source: Don Slager)
In Guanano a suffix is used when an expectancy reversal is going to happen in a narrative. In this case, the suffix ma is attached to the verb for “abandon” to mark that the expected action (Joseph dismissing Mary) is not going to happen. (Source: Nathan Waltz in Notes on Translation, December 1977, p. 15ff.)
The Greek in Matthew 1:19 that is translated as “expose (her) to public disgrace” or similar in English is translated in Low German as düsse Sak an de grote Klock hang or “to hang it on the great bell” (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006).
The name that is transliterated as “Joseph” in English is translated in Finnish Sign Language with the sign signifying “woodworker” (referring to Mark 6:3). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 1:19:
Uma: “Yusuf was a person who submitted to the Law of Musa. That is why he said in his heart: ‘I will just end my engagement with Maria.’ But he did not want to embarrass/shame Maria. So, his intention was just to end it quietly, people did not need to know.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Her fiancé Yusup, his deeds were straight/righteous. Therefore when he knew that Mariyam was pregnant, he did not want that Mariyam would be ashamed. Therefore he thought they would just separate but it shouldn’t be made widely-known.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Now Joseph obeyed the system of laws left by Moses. And because of this he was not going to go ahead and marry Mary, however he didn’t want her to be shamed so he thought that it would be settled secretly.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Jose consistently-obeyed the law of Moses, but he also didn’t want to (publicly-)shame Maria, so he decided to divorce her without the many-people coming-to-know.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well, as for Jose who was the bridegroom, he was-wanting-habitually-to-do what was straight/righteous, which is why he would just back-out (of the agreement). But because he was a good/nice person, and he didn’t want to shame Maria, he was thinking not to do-it-publicly.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Now Joseph was about to be her husband. Upon learning that she was now carrying a child, Joseph wanted to do what the law said and divorce his woman. But he did not want that many people know what had happened.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The Greek, Hebrew, and Latin terms that are translated in English mostly as “righteous” as an adjective or personified noun or “righteousness” (also as “upright(ness)” and “just(ice)”) are most commonly expressed with concept of “straightness,” though this may be expressed in a number of ways. (Click or tap here to see the details)
Following is a list of (back-) translations of various languages:
Paasaal: “white heart” (source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
(San Mateo del Mar Huave: “completely good” (the translation does not imply sinless perfection)
Nuer: “way of right” (“there is a complex concept of “right” vs. ‘left’ in Nuer where ‘right’ indicates that which is masculine, strong, good, and moral, and ‘left’ denotes what is feminine, weak, and sinful (a strictly masculine viewpoint!) The ‘way of right’ is therefore righteousness, but of course women may also attain this way, for the opposition is more classificatory than descriptive.”) (This and all above from Bratcher / Nida except for Bilua: Carl Gross; Tiv: Rob Koops; Muna: René van den Berg)
Yatzachi Zapotec: “walk straight” (source for this and four previous: John Beekman in Notes on Translation November 1964, p. 1-22)
Makonde: “doing what God wants” (in a context of us doing) and “be good in God’s eyes” (in the context of being made righteous by God) (note that justify / justification is translated as “to be made good in the eyes of God.” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
Aari: The Pauline word for “righteous” is generally rendered by “makes one without sin” in the Aari, sometimes “before God” is added for clarity. (Source: Loren Bliese)
Ekari: maakodo bokouto or “enormous truth” (the same word that is also used for “truth“; bokouto — “enormous” — is being used as an attribute for abstract nouns to denote that they are of God [see also here]; source: Marion Doble in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 37ff. ).
Guhu-Samane: pobi or “right” (also: “right (side),” “(legal) right,” “straightness,” “correction,” “south,” “possession,” “pertinence,” “kingdom,” “fame,” “information,” or “speech” — “According to [Guhu-Samane] thinking there is a common core of meaning among all these glosses. Even from an English point of view the first five can be seen to be closely related, simply because of their similarity in English. However, from that point the nuances of meaning are not so apparent. They relate in some such a fashion as this: As one faces the morning sun, south lies to the right hand (as north lies to the left); then at one’s right hand are his possessions and whatever pertains to him; thus, a rich man’s many possessions and scope of power and influence is his kingdom; so, the rich and other important people encounter fame; and all of this spreads as information and forms most of the framework of the people’s speech.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in Notes on Translation 1964, p. 11ff.)
German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999): Gerechtheit, a neologism to differentiate it from the commonly-used Gerechtigkeit which can mean “righteousness” but is more often used in modern German as “fairness” (Berger / Nord especially use Gerechtheit in Letter to the Romans) or Gerechtestun, also a neologism, meaning “righteous deeds” (especially in Letter to the Ephesians)
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
Her husband Joseph is rendered simply “Joseph” by Good News Translation, Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition, New English Bible; Barclay has “her intended husband,” and Phillips “her future husband.” Having said in verse 18 that she was engaged to Joseph, to put “husband” here would be confusing. But translators who cannot say simply “Joseph” will do well to follow Barclay or Phillips with “intended” or “future,” or perhaps “promised husband.”
The Greek adjective just is translated in Good News Translation by the clause “who always did what was right.” There is, however, much difference of opinion regarding its precise meaning in the context, and at least three possibilities present themselves: (1) “one obedient to the commands of God, an upright man, a man of character”; (2) “kind” or “compassionate” (see 25.37-40; 10.41); (3) “good” (see Psa 145.17). The adjective is a key term in the Gospel of Matthew and is discussed more fully in conjunction with the noun form at 5.6, “righteousness.” But see also 5.45, which may be the best commentary on the word. Although there is some overlap, the meaning of “good” (Phillips) or “compassionate” seems most appropriate for the present context. Good News Translation‘s “who always did what was right” is close, if taken in the sense of Micah 6.8. It is interesting that many languages have less difficulty with this word than English does, since they have ways of referring to people who treat others “correctly,” by which they include the idea of “compassion” as well as “legal correctness.” Sometimes “straight” covers this, or “good” or “true.”
Unwilling to put her to shame: the relation between this clause and what precedes it depends in large measure upon the interpretation given the adjective rendered just by Revised Standard Version. If it is understood to mean Joseph kept the Law, that would normally imply that of course he would not follow through with the marriage plans; however, then the fact that he was unwilling to disgrace Mary is unexpected, so “but” would be appropriate, as in Good News Translation: “but he did not want to disgrace Mary publicly.” But if the meaning is taken to be “good,” then there is no need to signify a contrast. One may then follow the restructuring either of Phillips (“who was a good man and did not want to see her disgraced”) or of Jerusalem Bible (“being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity”). Apparently it is the rather rigid interpretation of this adjective with the meaning of “just” that leads many translators to introduce this clause which follows by the conjunction “but.”
The verb put … to shame (Good News Translation “disgrace … publicly”) occurs only here and in Colossians 2.15 in the New Testament. Joseph had two courses of action open to him. He could either have brought charges against Mary in court or else have divorced her privately in the presence of two witnesses. Joseph chose the more merciful course of action. Strictly speaking, the punishment for adultery was death by stoning, although the penalty in New Testament times may have been less severe. Most translators find that the idea of “publicity” is an important part of “shame,” and therefore do something similar to Good News Translation. “He did not want her to suffer public shame,” or “He did not want to cause shame to come on her,” or “He did not want other people to see her in disgrace.”
Resolved means “decided,” “made up his mind to…,” or “planned.”
Divorce: if there is a word for this in their language, translators must find out first whether it can be used for what is essentially the breaking of an engagement. Perhaps “call off the marriage” or “break the promise to marry.”
The adverb quietly (so also Phillips, New English Bible, New American Bible; Good News Translation, An American Translation “privately”) in other contexts may carry the meaning “secretly” (Translator’s New Testament, Moffatt, Barclay). But in the present context the meaning is not “secretly” (that is, “without witnesses”), but “without bringing charges” or “without a public trial and without statement of the cause.”
Some translators say “without accusing her before others,” or “without making her case public (or, known to everyone),” or “without telling other people.” Sometimes it is necessary to make explicit the source of her shame (as Joseph saw it, at least), as in “He did not want to accuse her of adultery in front of other people when he broke the engagement.”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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