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The Greek term that is translated as a form of “save” in English is translated in Shipibo-Conibo with a phrase that means literally “make to live,” which combines the meaning of “to rescue” and “to deliver from danger,” but also the concept of “to heal” or “restore to health.”

In San Blas Kuna it is rendered as “help the heart,” in Laka, it is “take by the hand” in the meaning of “rescue” or “deliver,” in Huautla Mazatec the back-translation of the employed term is “lift out on behalf of,” in Anuak, it is “have life because of,” in Central Mazahua “be healed in the heart,” in Baoulé “save one’s head” (meaning to rescue a person in the fullest sense), in Guerrero Amuzgo “come out well,” in Northwestern Dinka “be helped as to his breath” (or “life”) (source: Bratcher / Nida), and in Noongar barrang-ngandabat or “hold life” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

In South Bolivian Quechua it is “make to escape” and in Highland Puebla Nahuatl, it is “cause people to come out with the aid of the hand.” (Source: Nida 1947, p. 222.)

See also salvation.

complete verse (1 Corinthians 7:16)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 7:16:

  • Uma: “For we don’t know: maybe you (sing.) woman who bring your (sing.) husband to believe in the Lord, or you (sing.) man will bring your (sing.) wife to believe in the Lord.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And you cannot be certain that the husband can yet be influenced/carried-along to trust in Isa Almasi by his believing wife, or the wife by her believing husband so that he/she will be saved.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “We must allow that our spouse who is not a believer divorce us because even if we do not permit it, we cannot also know if by means of us, that person will believe in the Lord or not.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because you (sing.) who believe, you (sing.) don’t know whether you (sing.) will persuade your (sing.) spouse to be saved or not.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “For if the marriage is not broken, because his/her spouse is a believer, maybe that will lead this one who is still an unbeliever to believe so that he/she can be saved.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “And now, the same for men and for women, who are believers, if they are married with people who are not believers, perhaps they will be able to cause that the person’s soul who is not a believer will be saved.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 1 Corinthians 7:16

Paul turns from addressing some of his readers generally to addressing an individual, a typical wife and husband. Translators must decide whether such a change is stylistically natural in their own languages. There is no difference in meaning.

Commentaries and translations give verse 16 almost opposite meanings, depending on whether they think this rhetorical question is expecting the answer “yes” or “no.” Good News Bible‘s footnote has the “pessimistic” understanding, where there is doubt. The positive statements of verse 14 and the end of verse 15 would naturally lead to an optimistic or hopeful understanding of verse 16. Conzelmann claims, among other arguments for the pessimistic interpretation, that the translation “perhaps you will save your husband/wife” makes verse 17 unclear. It is difficult to see why this should be so, (a) because verse 17 belongs to a different section, and (b) because in any case an optimistic interpretation of verse 16 would broaden naturally into the advice “go on living as you were when God called you.” The “optimistic” understanding of this verse is represented by Good News Bible‘s “How can you be sure … that you will not save your husband?” Revised Standard Version, New International Version, and New Jerusalem Bible attempt a neutral translation; New Revised Standard Version (“for all you know, you might save your husband … your wife”) and Revised English Bible (“a wife may save her husband…”) are optimistic. Barrett claims support for the optimistic interpretation from the context and from the Greek fathers; Fee believes the verse is deliberately ambiguous.

Wife may be rendered as “Christian wife” (Good News Bible). Many languages will place this word at the beginning of the sentence as Revised Standard Version does: “Christian wife, how can you…?”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .