complete verse (Philippians 4:14)

Following are a number of back-translations of Philippians 4:14:

  • Uma: “But even so, your hearts are very good, relatives, to help me in my trouble.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But it is really good because I have been helped by you when I was in trouble.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “But in spite of that, you are very generous because you have helped me here in my many troubles.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But even though that is so, the way you helped me in my time-of-hardship was nonetheless admittedly good.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “However I am really very happy about this which you have done which is your help to me in my hardship now.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “It is good what you do, in that you help me when I am in need.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 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 4:14

Paul now returns to the note of his sincere appreciation to the Philippians for their kindness. The particle but is the same one used in 3.16, where Good News Bible renders it as however that may be. It indicates that the apostle is trying to keep his readers from drawing a wrong conclusion from what he has said in the previous verses. The particle can also be translated “all the same” (Jerusalem Bible Barclay) or “nevertheless” (Phillips).

It was very good of you is literally “you did well” or “you did nobly.” In a number of translations it is rendered “it was kind of you.”

To help me in my troubles translates a participial phrase which means literally “sharing my affliction.” The participle “sharing” is a compound and cognate of “partnership” in 1.5 and a cognate of “partakers” in 1.7. The word “affliction” is often used in the technical sense of the disaster that will come at the end of the age (Mark 13.19; 2 Thes 1.6), but in this context it means “hardships” (Jerusalem Bible New American Bible), “difficulties” (Goodspeed), or troubles (Good News Translation New American Bible). When Paul commends his readers for sharing his troubles, he is probably thinking both of the material help they provided and of the sympathy they showed in sending Epaphroditus to him. To help me in my troubles is a more concrete way of saying “to share the burden of my troubles” (New English Bible). The phrase suggests the closeness of the bond that held the apostle and his readers together.

In some languages there is danger in a literal translation of help me in my troubles, since this can be interpreted as “add to my troubles.” This danger may be avoided by translating “to help me when I was in difficulty,” or “to come to my aid when I was in trouble.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 4:14

4:14

Nevertheless: Even though Paul had learned to be content when he did not have what he needed, he still thanked the Philippian believers for their gift.

you have done well to share in my affliction: Paul expressed his gratitude to the Philippians for the gift they had sent him.

you have done well: This is literally “you did well.” Paul was praising what the Philippians did. He was recognizing that what they did was kind and generous. In this way, he was thanking them for the gift they had sent to him.

to share in my affliction: The Philippians had shared in Paul’s troubles by sending financial help to him. In this way, they became his partners. See notes on “partnership” in 1:5a.

to share: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as share is the same as the word used in 1:7, where the Berean Standard Bible translates it as “partners.”

© 2002 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

Sung version of Philippians 4

Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).

For more information, see here .