complete verse (Philippians 2:26)

Following are a number of back-translations of Philippians 2:26:

  • Uma: “He very much misses you all, relatives, and he is sad/upset, [thinking that] maybe you heard that he was sick.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “He really remembers/thinks-of you and he really wants to see you all. He is troubled because you heard that he is/was sick.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The reason I am sending him there to you is because he is very lonely for you, and it caused him great concern because you heard the news that he was sick.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “but I am having-him -go-home to you there because he misses you and he is extremely worried at his having-found-out that you heard that he had been sick.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Because he is now lonesome for you all and his sorrow is really big, for he knows that you became sorrowful when you heard news that he’d become ill.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “And this one can’t wait to see the day that he goes to see you. Because he was sad when he knew that you had heard that he was ill.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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

Translation commentary on Philippians 2:26

Paul now gives his reason for sending Epaphroditus back to Philippi. Since the context makes it clear that what Paul goes on to say is explanatory, it may be necessary to indicate clearly the meaning of the Greek conjunction rendered often as “since,” “because,” or “for.”

He is anxious to see you all is literally, “he was longing for you all.” Some Greek manuscripts read “he was longing to see you all,” but there is really no difference in meaning. In Greek, this construction of connecting a participle with an imperfect predicate verb indicates a continued or constant state. The verb rendered anxious to see is a very strong term, denoting a strong feeling of homesickness (Barclay “he was homesick to see you all”). It is used in 1.8 of Paul’s deep feeling towards the Philippians. Observe the recurring you all; the feeling of Epaphroditus for all the believers in Philippi is emphasized. He is anxious to see you all may be rendered as “he wants very much to see you all,” sometimes expressed idiomatically as “his heart is telling him how much he wants to see you all,” or “his heart is reaching out to you all.”

In Greek is very upset is a participle which goes with the imperfect predicate verb in the preceding clause. This is another strong verb, denoting great mental distress and agitation. It is used in Mark 14.33 to describe Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane. Such mental distress may be expressed idiomatically as “his heart is jumping” or “his insides are moving.” It may be necessary to introduce one element which is lacking in the second part of this verse. Epaphroditus’ distress involved the fact that he had learned that the believers in Philippi had heard about his sickness. Therefore it may be necessary to say “he was very distressed because he learned that you had heard about his sickness,” or “… that he was sick.”

Quoted with permission from Luo, I-Jin. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .