The Parable of the Sower (image)

The parable of The Parable of the Sower is illustrated for use in Bible translations in West Africa by Wycliffe Cameroon like this:

Illustration 1999 Mbaji Bawe Ernest, © Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. Used with permission.

sunrise, sunset

The Hebrew and Greek terms that is translated as “sunrise” and “sunset” or similar in English are translated in Chichewa as “sun coming out” and “sun entering.” The understanding is that the sun moves and that when it is evening it goes back where it belongs. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also periods of the night.

complete verse (Matthew 13:6)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 13:6:

  • Uma: “When the sun got hot, it wilted till it was dry, because its roots were not deep.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When the sun was shining, immediately (the plants) drooped and because the roots were not deep, they withered.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “However when the sun shone, the plant quickly dried up because what its roots had penetrated was very shallow only.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But when the sun became-high, they wilted and withered, because their roots were lacking.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But when the heat became scorching, they shrivelled, because there was nowhere they’d been able to put their roots down deep.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The roots did not go deep into the earth. When the sun came up, it burned the seeds which had sprouted.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 13:6

They were scorched indicates a brief time lapse between verses 5 and 6, for in this verse they no longer refers to the seeds of verse 5, but rather to “the young plants” (Good News Translation). Evidently the seeds sprout after the heat of the day, but the next day, when the sun comes out in full force again, the newly sprouted plants are scorched by the same heat that initially made the seeds sprout so quickly. In many languages it will be necessary to transform the Greek passive were scorched to an active with the agent expressed, as in Good News Translation; for example, “the sun scorched the young plants.”

As Revised Standard Version indicates, root is singular in Greek; however, a number of translations prefer the plural “roots” (Good News Translation, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Phillips). In many languages it will be necessary to render “because they did not have enough roots,” or “… long enough roots,” or “… the roots did not go deep enough,” since plants require some degree of root before they will sprout. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch restructures considerably but with the same impact: “because they did not have enough soil.”

They withered away is translated “the plants soon dried up” by Good News Translation.

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 .