complete verse (Philippians 4:16)

Following are a number of back-translations of Philippians 4:16:

  • Uma: “And not only that, when I was still in Tesalonika village, there was my lack/need, several times you sent me something.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And when I was also there in Tessalonika it was not only once that you sent money to me to help my need.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when I was still in Macedonia, in the town of Thessalonica, you always sent help to me.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Even during that time-when-I-was in Tessalonica, twice (appreciative particle) you sent what I needed.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The truth is, when I was in Tesalonica, your (financial) help to me just kept on arriving.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “When I still was living there in the city of Tesalonica, two times, three times you sent money to provide for what I needed for living.” (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 4:16

In Greek this verse is introduced by a particle which is often not translated. The particle can be understood in two ways: it can mean “that,” introducing an object clause connected with you … know in verse 15; or it can mean “for,” introducing a justification for what the apostle has said in the preceding verse. The latter alternative seems to be more natural (cf. Revised Standard Version New English Bible). This connection indicates that verses 15 and 16 refer to the same gifts.

What Paul proceeds to say is literally “even in Thessalonica you sent to my need both once and twice.” The sentence can be rephrased as more than once when I needed help in Thessalonica, you sent it to me, or “even in Thessalonica you contributed to my needs more than once.” The word “even” points to the fact that the Philippians had sent help soon after the apostle’s departure from their city. Help refers probably to “money,” as the renderings of Goodspeed and Moffatt show (cf. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). One can, therefore, translate “when I needed money in Thessalonica.”

The phrase “both once and twice,” occurring also in 1 Thes 2.18, is sometimes taken to mean “not once but twice” (Phillips New English Bible New American Bible) or, more specifically, “twice” (Jerusalem Bible). But it probably means simply more than once (Good News Translation Moffatt), with no indication of the exact number of times.

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 4:16

4:16a

For: This Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For indicates 4:16 is an example and proof of the Philippians’ generosity which Paul had just been talking about.

even: This implies that Paul had been surprised that they sent gifts to him so soon after he left Philippi.

Thessalonica: Thessalonica was another town in Macedonia, not far from Philippi. Paul went there after he had left Philippi. Perhaps that is why Paul seemed surprised to receive a gift from them there. One way you could express 4:16a could be:

You sent help to me…even while I was still in Thessalonica ⌊before I left Macedonia⌋.

4:16b

you provided for my needs: Paul did not specify what sort of help the Philippians had sent him. However, the gifts were probably gifts of money.

again and again: In the Greek this literally means “both once and twice.” Scholars do not know the exact meaning of this idiom. There are three possibilities:

(1) It means “twice.” The Philippians sent gifts to Paul twice. (New Jerusalem Bible, God’s Word)

(2) It means “more than once.” They sent gifts more than once, but Paul did not say how many times. (Good News Translation, NET Bible, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version)

(3) It means “repeatedly.” They sent gifts repeatedly, that is, several times. (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, New Century Version)

The first meaning has stronger commentary support and it is recommended that you follow it in your translation (1).

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Sung version of Philippians 4

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