complete verse (Colossians 3:21)

Following are a number of back-translations of Colossians 3:21:

  • Uma: “And you fathers, don’t hurt the hearts of your children [an idiom meaning make angry or make sad], lest they give us hope [lit., so that their hearts are not lessened].” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “You parents, don’t overly cause your children to be angry so that they will (not) become discouraged (lit. their livers will not become weak.)” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for you parents also, it’s necessary that your scolding your children is not too much, because their desire to do what is right might be removed from them.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “As for you who are their fathers, don’t be-excessive in scolding your children so they don’t get discouraged/disillusioned.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “You parents also, especially the men, do-well your supervision of your children, for if not, maybe they will get discouraged (lit.their mind/inner-being will fall).” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Listen you parents, when you call your children, search for how they will not become angry, in order that they will not be downhearted.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Colossians 3:21

Parents is how Good News Translation translates hoi pateres (also Jerusalem Bible Bible de Jérusalem Traduction œcuménique de la Bible); all others have “fathers.” The plural of the word for “father” may be used in the sense of “parents” (see Heb 11.23); but the more common word for “parents” is used in verse 20, and it probably is true that in this verse it is the fathers who are being addressed, not both the fathers and the mothers.

In place of the vocative expression parents, it may be appropriate in some languages to use a qualifying clause, for example, “you who have children.”

Irritate translates erethizō “to provoke, nag, embitter, make resentful.” The situation envisaged seems to be that of the father constantly correcting and reprimanding the child for every little wrong or imagined wrong. It may be important to make more explicit the significance of irritate, for example, “to make your children bitter by always complaining about what they do” or “do not make your children angry by always criticizing them for everything they do.”

Discouraged translates a Greek word found only here in the NT; in this context, it means that the child feels that he can never do anything right and so gives up trying.

Discouraged may often be expressed idiomatically as “they will no longer have a heart,” “they will close their minds to everything,” or “they will hide inside of themselves.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .