pearl

The Greek that is translated as “pearl” in English is translated in Matumbi as samani ngu’lu’ or “valuable thing,” since pearls are not known. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

sell

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “sell” in English is translated in Noongar as wort-bangal or “away-barter.” Note that “buy” is translated as bangal-barranga or “get-barter.” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)

See also buy and buying / selling.

complete verse (Matthew 13:46)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 13:46:

  • Uma: “When he found a mutiara that was very expensive, he went and sold all his goods/belongings, and he used-to-buy that mutiara.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When he finds/found one very valuable pearl he sells/sold all his belongings and buys/bought that one pearl.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when he finds one pearl which is most expensive, he sells all he possesses, and he buys it.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When he saw one that was extremely-valuable, he went-home and sold all his possessions so that he would have a way to go buy that pearl.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When he had found one which was really first-class, he went home and sold all his possessions and bought that one.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “When he has found a pearl of very great price, then he sells all that he has and buys the pearl he had found.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 13:46

Finding obviously does not indicate the man found it lying about somewhere, but rather “he found a very valuable one for sale.”

One pearl of great value is translated “one that is unusually fine” by Good News Translation. New English Bible has “one of very special value,” New Jerusalem Bible “one of great value,” New American Bible “one really valuable pearl.”

Sold translates a Greek perfect tense, but there is some suspicion among grammarians that the form is here equivalent to the aorist, since it is used in parallel with an aorist tense and is itself not known to possess an aorist form. For effect Good News Translation utilizes the present “sells.”

Went and sold all that he had and bought it may be rendered “went and sold everything he owned so he could buy that pearl.”

For stylistic reasons Good News Translation translates it of the Greek text as “that pearl.”

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 .