complete verse (Romans 14:16)

Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 14:16:

  • Uma: “So, if there is anything that is good according to our opinion, but it bothers the faith of our companions, it’s better that we not do it, so that that behavior of ours will not be criticized by others.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Even if it is good to you (sing.) if it is bad to your (sing.) brother who trusts in Isa, na, don’t do (it) so that they will not speak evil of you.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And if there is some behavior that some believers consider forbidden by God, but you know that God has not forbidden that behavior, don’t you do it so that no one can say that your behavior is bad.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Let us not do anything if its result would be that the freedom we count as good will be spoken-badly-of.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Although you know that you really are doing good, yet do not do it if people say you are doing sin when they see what you do.” (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 Romans 14:16

What you regard as good is ambiguous in this passage. Some take this as a reference to Christian salvation; the plural “good things” (Good News Translation good news) is used with this meaning in 10.15. On the other hand, the context seems to imply that what is referred to is the matter of Christian freedom. Paul is encouraging the men who are strong in faith not to let their Christian freedom acquire a bad name from persons outside the Christian community. Acquire a bad name is literally “to be spoken evil of” (Greek blasphēmeō) and is most generally used in reference to the actions committed by nonbelievers.

In English the phrase do not let would seem to imply “permission,” but this is not the implication of verse 16. The believers are admonished to act in such a way that they will not cause what they regard as good to be thought of by others as being bad. One may, therefore, translate verse 16 as “Do not cause what you think of as good to be thought of by others as being bad” or “Do not make other people speak of as evil what you think is good.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .