complete verse (Matthew 27:19)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 27:19:

  • Uma: “While Pilatus was sitting there on the deciding seat, a messenger arrived from his wife who said: ‘Don’t you (sing.) punish that person who is not wrong/guilty! For because of him I have had a disturbing/worrisome dream last night.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “While Pilatus was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent a message to him, she said, ‘Do not do anything to that man who has no sin. For last night I had a dream and I really suffered/endured in my dream because of him.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And while Pilate was still sitting in the house of judging, a letter arrived from his wife which said, ‘Don’t you mess with that man, because he has no sin. I was greatly tormented a while ago during the night because I had a nightmare because of him,’ she said.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “While Pilato was still on the chair of the judge, there was that which his wife sent-via-someone to him saying, ‘Don’t join-in-acting-with-others to punish that person who has no sin, because there is that which I dreamed last night concerning him, and I have been extremely hardshipped because of this dream of mine.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And it wasn’t only that, for when he was still sitting there on the seat of the judge, there was word which his wife sent-privately to him, saying, ‘Don’t get-involved/meddle with that person who has no sin, because what I dreamed concerning him last night frightened me very much.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Pilate was sitting in the chair where he judged. But the wife of Pilate sent him word saying: ‘Concerning this man you are trying, he is a good man. Do not get mixed up in his case. Because last night it was frightful what I dreamed will happen,’ she said.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

righteous, righteousness

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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:

  • Bambara, Southern Bobo Madaré, Chokwe (ululi), Amganad Ifugao, Chol, Eastern Maninkakan, Toraja-Sa’dan, Pamona, Batak Toba, Bilua, Tiv: “be straight”
  • Laka: “follow the straight way” or “to straight-straight” (a reduplicated form for emphasis)
  • Sayula Popoluca: “walk straight”
  • Highland Puebla Nahuatl, Kekchí, Muna: “have a straight heart”
  • Kipsigis: “do the truth”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “do according to the truth”
  • Huautla Mazatec: “have truth”
  • Yine: “fulfill what one should do”
  • Indonesian: “be true”
  • Navajo (Dinė): “do just so”
  • Anuak: “do as it should be”
  • Mossi: “have a white stomach” (see also happiness / joy)
  • 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)
  • Central Subanen: “wise-good” (source: Robert Brichoux in OPTAT 1988/2, p. 80ff. )
  • Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “live well”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “goodness before the face of God” (source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl: “the result of heart-straightening” (source: Nida 1947, p. 224)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “entirely good” (when referred to God), “do good” or “not be a debtor as God sees one” (when referred to people)
  • Carib: “level”
  • Tzotzil: “straight-hearted”
  • Ojitlán Chinantec: “right and straight”
  • 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)
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun: “having sin taken away” (Source: Nida 1952, p. 144)
  • Nyamwezi: wa lole: “just” or “someone who follows the law of God” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Venda: “nothing wrong, OK” (Source: J.A. van Roy in The Bible Translator 1972, p. 418ff. )
  • 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)
  • “did what he should” (Eastern Highland Otomi)
  • “a clear man, good [man]” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter 2004)

See also respectable, righteous, righteous (person), devout, and She is more in the right(eous) than I.

Japanese benefactives (-naide)

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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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, -naide (ないで) or “do not (for their sake)” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”

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

3rd person pronoun with high register (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used.

In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also third person pronoun with exalted register.

Translation commentary on Matthew 27:19

The third scene (verses 19-20) opens with this verse, which contains an incident recorded only by Matthew. Both the use of the word righteous (used of Joseph in 1.19) and the dream motif (compare the birth and childhood narratives) reflect special concerns of Matthew’s Gospel.

Not all translators retain the transition Besides. Some do by saying “In addition to that” or “He also said that because.”

“Pilate” (Good News Translation) is not identified by name in the Greek text, but since a new scene is introduced, it may be wise to do so in translation.

The judgment seat refers to the official seat on which a judge sat when making a decision (see Acts 18.12, 16, 17; 25.6, 10, 17). In Romans 14.10 and 2 Corinthians 5.10 it is used of the judgment seat of God. A number of translations refer specifically to the seat itself (New International Version “on the judge’s seat,” New American Bible “presiding on the bench”), while others depict a court scene without specifically mentioning the judge’s seat (Barclay “presiding over his court,” New English Bible “sitting in court,” Good News Translation “in the judgment hall”). One other possibility is “while he was sitting to pass judgment.”

His wife sent word to him is more literally “his wife sent to him saying.” For most languages it will perhaps be obligatory to indicate what was sent; Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, and New American Bible have “his wife sent him a message,” which is close to the restructuring of New International Version, Phillips, and Barclay. New English Bible shifts to a type of passive construction: “a message came to him from his wife.”

Have nothing to do with is often better expressed “Don’t have anything to do with.”

Righteous (see 1.19) is rendered “innocent” by a number of translations (Good News Translation, New English Bible, New International Version, An American Translation, Moffatt, Barclay), because this is apparently the meaning it has in the context.

Today (so most translations) is rendered “last night” by Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, New English Bible, and Phillips. This adverb does not always refer specifically to daytime as opposed to nighttime; it may even be used of the entire twenty-four hour period which marks off one “day” from another. In fact, it is used in conjunction with “night” in Mark 14.30, where the combination means either “this very night” or simply “tonight.” Both Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (“Because of him I had a terrible dream last night”) and Phillips (“I had terrible dreams about him last night!”) are rather dramatic in their renderings, as is Jerusalem Bible (“I have been upset all day by a dream I had about him”).

Notice from these last examples that suffered is not translated to mean she was in pain, but rather that she had been bothered greatly by the dream she had about Jesus. “I had a dream about him today that upset me very much” will express this.

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 .