complete verse (Philippians 4:17)

Following are a number of back-translations of Philippians 4:17:

  • Uma: “The reason I say that, is not just because I want to receive gifts. My real desire [is] that from that goodness of your hearts, the blessings of God to you, relatives, will continue to increase.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “It is not that I am just happy to receive from you. But/instead I really want that your reward from God will be added to.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I’m not saying this so that I might always get what you have to give; I want that God’s reward to you might be big.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But I want to make-known to you that it’s not what you are giving that I am looking for but rather the adding-to of your reward.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “I don’t mean to say that what is big in my mind/inner-being is to be always getting this grace/aid of yours, but rather what I want is that you continue this which you are doing which is like fruit of your believing/obeying for you will be rewarded by God.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “I am rejoicing not only because you gave me what I needed for eating, rather I rejoice because what you did for me causes God to look with more favor on you.” (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 4:17

I … want to receive (literally, “I seek”) is in Greek an intensive verb with an active meaning of “I hunt for.” It is repeated in Greek in order to emphasize a strong contrast … not that I … want to … rather, I want to. This may be rendered as “my interest is not to receive gifts,” “my concern is not that I receive gifts,” or “I am really not interested in receiving gifts.”

Three key words now follow, all of them current business terms when this letter was written. (1) The word rendered profit is literally “fruit,” but it can be used in the sense of “interest” gained in a business transaction (Moffatt). (2) The word added translates a participial form of a verb meaning “to increase,” “to accumulate,” “to multiply,” suggesting compound interest. Paul welcomes the gifts, not so much for his personal benefit as for that of his friends. He considers their gifts a profitable investment in the service of God, for God will repay them rich dividends by adding interest to their account. (3) The third current business term appears in verse 18, namely receipt.

In some languages it may be impossible to produce a satisfactorily literal translation of I want to see profit added to your account, for many societies do not have the type of commercial structure which would provide the basis for such a rendering. In some instances the closest equivalent may be “I want to see even more good deeds added to the list of what you have done,” or “I want you to have an even better record of the good that you have done.”

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 4:17

4:17

In this verse Paul one again used business language. He used the metaphor of a bank account. The good things the Philippian believers were doing to help Paul preach the good news were like adding interest to their bank account (that is, putting more money into their account). He implied that God was keeping a record of these things they were doing for his kingdom and would reward them.

4:17a

Not that I am seeking a gift: Paul was not telling the Philippians that he appreciated their help so that they would continue to send him gifts. Even though he needed it, the money was not what he was mainly concerned about. You could translate this as:

The thing I am mainly concerned about is not the gifts ⌊that you send⌋.

seeking: Paul was referring to how he was thinking, not to the physical action of seeking or looking. He meant that he was not hoping and expecting that the Philippians would send him another gift.

a gift: It may be helpful to translate this as “another gift,” to indicate that Paul was referring to possible future gifts.

4:17b

I am looking for the fruit that may be credited to your account: Paul meant that the main thing he wanted was to see them continue serving the kingdom of God, which would result in God rewarding them.

the fruit that may be credited to your account: This is a financial expression referring to profit or interest building up in a bank account. Paul was using it in a spiritual sense here to mean that their generosity to Paul pleased God. Do not keep this financial metaphor, unless it has the same meaning in your language. Use a term or expression in your language that would make clear what Paul was really referring to here.

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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®).

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