endure for a while, temporary

The Greek that is translated as “endure for a while” or “temporary” in English versions is idiomatically translated in Kekchí as “they are like passers by,” an apt description of the transient enthusiast for Christianity. In Toraja-Sa’dan it is translated as “their heart is shallow.” in Javanese as “they are not steadfast” and in Pamona as “only a moment is their heart quiet.”

complete verse (Matthew 13:21)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 13:21:

  • Uma: “But their faith is not strong, that is why they do not last long. If they are persecuted/bothered or things are made difficult for them because of their faith in the Good News, they [right away] retreat/back-slide.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But the message of God does not grow deep roots in their livers. Therefore they do not remain long. When trouble comes or when they are persecuted because they follow the message, they no longer believe.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “But their faith was not drawn tight, and it is not long before trouble comes to them or tribulation because of their receiving the word of God, and they return to their former custom.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But the word didn’t take-root in their minds, therefore when difficulties arrive or they are hardshipped due-to their having-received the word of God, they do not continue to believe but rather they immediately turn-their-backs-on their faith.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But they don’t store it well in their heads. That’s why they don’t hold fast in their believing/obeying, like plants which don’t have roots. When hardship comes or they will be caused to suffer because of this believing/obeying of theirs of the word of God, they will drop/give-up at once.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “These are the people who do not grab the word well. It takes very little for them to separate from the word. When they are persecuted for the word which they believe, then their hearts turn back.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

word / command (of God) (Japanese honorifics)

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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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-kotoba (みことば) or “word (of God)” in the referenced verses.

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

Translation commentary on Matthew 13:21

Yet he has no root in himself: in such a context root is used symbolically of “stability” or “steadfastness.” Revised Standard Version retains the root imagery, but this is not necessary and perhaps not even the best procedure to follow, since the comparison shifts from a plant to a person. INCL maintains the figure with some effectiveness (“but the message does not take root in them”), while Good News Translation drops the imagery (“But it does not sink deep into them”). Other possibilities include “but it does not make a deep impression on them,” “but they don’t really make it part of them,” and “but the word does not really establish itself in their lives.”

Endures for a while translates an adjective in Greek which means “temporary” or “lasting only for a while.” Other than the Marcan parallel (4.17), the word occurs elsewhere in the New Testament only twice (2 Cor 4.18; Heb 11.25). New English Bible has “no staying-power,” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “unstable” or “unsteady.” The phrase endures for a while can be handled in either of two ways. The subject can be the person who received the word, as in “he believes only for a short time” or “he accepts the message only for a little while.” A second way is for the word to be the subject, as in “the word stays in him only for a short time” or “this word does not remain a part of his life very long.” Of course, this phrase should flow naturally from the previous one.

Tribulation (Good News Translation “trouble”) is found elsewhere in Matthew in 24.9, 21, 29. Persecution occurs only here in the Gospel. The word refers to a campaign to oppress or punish people because of their belief or their race. The combination of the two words is found elsewhere only in Mark 4.17 and 2 Thessalonians 1.4, though Romans 8.35 is similar with the addition of “hardship” (Good News Translation). The first of these two nouns (tribulation) is used of difficulties in general; the second does refer to persecution in particular. Depending on the receptor language, translators have used words like “troubles,” “suffering,” and “hard times” for tribulation and persecution. However, some translators have employed verbal phrases to render these terms, as in “when people (start to) persecute him and cause him to suffer” or “… make trouble for him and give him suffering.”

These things happen on account of the word, that is, “because he has believed (or, accepted) the message.” As in verse 19, word is used in the sense of “message” (Good News Translation).

Fall away (Good News Translation “give up”) occurs with similar meaning in 24.10; Mark 4.17; 14.27, 29; John 16.1. It can be rendered as “he stops believing the word” or “he abandons his faith.”

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 .