phylacteries, tefillin

The Greek in Matthew 23:5 that is translated as “phylacteries” or “tefillin” in many English translations is translated in Uma as “prayer headbands” (source: Uma Back Translation), in Yakan as “containers for the writing copied from the holy-book which are tied to foreheads and arms” (source: Yakan Back Translation), in Kankanaey as “storage-place of verses that are part of the law, that they tie around foreheads and arm/hands” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation), and in Tagbanwa as “that which is bound round the head and arm which containing a few words of the written word of God” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).

In Lokạạ it is translated as yakubẹẹn bạ yafọngi kaa likạ or “boxes where words are written,” therefore “describing the appearance of the item rather than its function.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )

The now commonly-used German term Denkzettel (literally “contemplation note”), which today is primarily used with the meaning of a penalty or an experience that’s supposed to change a person’s behavior, goes back to Martin Luther’s 1522 New Testament translation for “phylacteries.” It was kept through and including the revision of 1912. (Source: Redewendungen aus der Bibel )

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about phylacteries (source: Bible Lands 2012)

fringe, tzitzvit

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “fringe” or “tzitzit” in many English translations is translated in Uma as “the decorations [lit.: “fruit”] of clothes” (source: Uma Back Translation), in Tenango Otomi as “clothing that reaches the ground” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation) and in Mairasi as “wings of the garments” (source: Enggavoter 2004).

In Bura-Pabir a term is used that is traditionally used for the tassels worn on clothes by hunters. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

In Paasaal it is translated as “cloth mouth.” (Source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about tzitzvits (source: Bible Lands 2012)

complete verse (Matthew 23:5)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 23:5:

  • Uma: “‘They do have much behavior that is good, but their reason for doing that behavior is just to be seen by others. They use wide-wide prayer headbands, and they make the decorations [lit., fruit] of their clothes long, so that their following of the Law of Musa can be seen by others.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “All their deeds they do so that they are seen by people. Look at their containers for the writing copied from the holy-book which are tied to their foreheads and their arms, they are bigger than those of others and the tassels of their clothes are also long.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “They do many things so that people might praise them for they want to show that they are obeying the commands of God by means of layers of the written word of God which they tie on their hands and by means of the wide hem of their skirts.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “All they are doing, they do so that people will see and praise them. Therefore they enlarge the storage-place of verses that are part of the law, that they tie around their foreheads and their arm/hands, and they also lengthen the fringe(s) on the hem of their outer garment.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “What they do is wholly only to be seen by their fellowman. As for what is bound round the head and arm which contains a few words of the written word of God, they make theirs wide. And as for what is attached to the hem of cloaks, theirs are long.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “What all they do, they do only to elevate themselves before the people. They like to attach on their foreheads and on their arms the paper on which is written the word of God. They like to have their clothing that reaches the ground.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 23:5

They do all their deeds is expressed as “They do everything” by Good News Translation. It can also be “Everything they do is done” or “All of their acts are done.”

To be seen by men is rendered by Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition as “it is only to be seen by people.” Good News Translation removes the passive in favor of an active construction: “so that people will see them.”

Phylacteries (so most translations, and see illustration|fig:Phylactery_Image.jpg) represents a technical religious term which will not be understood by most readers. Good News Translation handles the specialized term with the explanatory phrase “straps with scripture verses on them which they wear on their foreheads and arms.” Several translations retain the traditional rendering and provide a footnote to help the reader (so New International Version, Phillips, New American Bible), while Barclay (“prayer-boxes”) attempts a one word equivalent; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch follows its dynamic equivalent translation (“prayer-straps”) with an explanatory note, thus being doubly helpful. Phylacteries were the small leather boxes in which were placed a piece of material on which had been written Exodus 13.1-6 and Deuteronomy 6.4-9; 11.13-21. In obedience to the Lord’s command, these small containers were tied to the forehead and upper left arm near the heart (see Exo 13.9, 16; Deut 6.8; 11.18). Make … broad means that the Pharisees attempted to emphasize the degree of their devotion to God by enlarging their phylacteries beyond the size of those ordinarily worn by other Jewish men.

There is no good reason to retain the word phylacteries, and most translators will use an explanatory phrase like that in Good News Translation. However, this is a rather long expression, and sometimes to find a good way to combine this with make … broad requires some restructuring; for example, “the leather boxes with Scripture verses in them that these people wear (on their foreheads and arms) are very big,” “they make sure that the boxes with Scripture verses that they wear are really big,” or “see how big they make those little boxes with Scripture verses in them, the ones they wear on their foreheads and arms.”

Fringes were “tassels” which were worn by Jews on the corners of their outer garments “as a sign of devotion to God” (TEV footnote). This was in obedience to the command of Numbers 15.37-41 (see also Deut 22.12). Jesus himself wore them (see 9.20; 14.36), but his criticism of the Pharisees was that they made theirs unnecessarily long in order to draw attention to their piety. Good News Translation has put the information about “tassels” in a footnote. However, some translators have included this in their translations with sentences such as “and the tassels on their coats that show their devotion to God, see how long they make these” or “and they make very long the tassels on their coats that people wear to show they are devoted to God.”

One possible restructuring of the whole verse that shows the meaning of Jesus’ words clearly is “Those things people wear to show their devotion to God such as the pouches with Scripture verses on the forehead and arms or the tassels on the coats, these people make sure theirs are very large and long.”

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 .