The Greek that is translated into English versions as “throne” is translated into Naro as ntcõó-q’oo: “he will rule.” The figure of the “throne” cannot be translated in the egalitarian Naro culture, so the idea had to be expressed more explicitly. (Source: Gerrit van Steenbergen)
In other languages it is translated as “stool/seat of the king” (Marathi), “seat of commanding/chieftainship” (Highland Totonac, Kituba), “seat of the Supreme one (lit. of-him-who-has-the umbrella)” (Toraja-Sa’dan — the umbrella being a well-known symbol of power in various parts of South and South-East Asia), “glorious place to sit” (Ekari) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel), “where God sits and rules” (Estado de México Otomi), “where God reigns” (Central Mazahua) (source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation, March 1965, p. 2ff.), or “bed of kingship” (Kafa) (source: Loren Bliese).
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin terms that are typically translated as “mercy” (or “compassion” or “kindness”) in English are translated in various ways. Bratcher / Nida classify them in (1) those based on the quality of heart, or other psychological center, (2) those which introduce the concept of weeping or extreme sorrow, (3) those which involve willingness to look upon and recognize the condition of others, or (4) those which involve a variety of intense feelings.
While the Englishmercy originates from the Latinmerces, originally “price paid,” Romance languages (Italian, Spanish, Corsican, Catalan) and other Germanic languages (German, Swedish, Danish — Barmherzigkeit, barmhärtighet and barmhjertighed, respectively) tend to follow the Latin misericordia, lit. “misery-heart.”
The Greek that is translated as “time of need” or similar in English is translated in Mwera as mobha ga ngakola mashili or “days of weakness.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The Greek that is typically translated as “boldness” in English is translated in the the widely-used Mandarin ChineseUnion Version with an existing Chinese proverb: tǎnrán wújù (坦然无惧) or “calm and fearless.” (Source: Zetzsche)
“The Greek word charis, usually translated by English ‘grace,’ is one of the desperations of translators. The area of meaning is exceptionally extensive. Note the following possible meanings for this word in various contexts of the New Testament: ‘sweetness,’ ‘charm,’ ‘loveliness,’ ‘good-will,’ ‘loving-kindness,’ ‘favor,’ ‘merciful kindness,’ ‘benefit,’ ‘gift,’ ‘benefaction,’ ‘bounty,’ and ‘thanks.’ The theological definition of ‘unmerited favor’ (some translators have attempted to employ this throughout) is applicable to only certain contexts. Moreover, it is quite a task to find some native expression which will represent the meaning of ‘unmerited favor.’ In some languages it is impossible to differentiate between ‘grace’ and ‘kindness.’ In fact, the translation ‘kindness’ is in some cases quite applicable. In other languages, a translation of ‘grace’ is inseparable from ‘goodness.’ In San Miguel El Grande Mixtec a very remarkable word has been used for ‘grace.’ It is made up of three elements. The first of these is a prefixial abstractor. The second is the stem for ‘beauty.’ The third is a suffix which indicates that the preceding elements are psychologically significant. The resultant word may be approximately defined as ‘the abstract quality of beauty of personality.’” (Source: Nida 1947, p. 223)
Other translations include (click or tap here to see more):
Inuktitut: “God’s kindness that enables us” (source: Andrew Atagotaaluk)
Nukna: “God gave his insides to one.” (“The ‘insides’ are the seat of emotion in Nukna, like the heart in the English language. To give your insides to someone is to feel love toward them, to want what is best for them, and to do good things for them.” (Source: Matt Taylor in The PNG Experience )
Uma: “(God’s) white insides” (source: Uma Back Translation)
the Germandas Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022) uses a large variety of translations, including “undeserved friendliness,” “wonderful work of God,” “loving attention,” “generous,” but also “undeserved grace” (using the traditional German term Gnade)
In Latvian the term žēlastība is used both for “grace” and “mercy.” (Source: Katie Roth)
For Muna, René van den Berg explains the process how the translation team arrived at a satisfactory solution: “Initial translation drafts in Muna tended to (…) use the single word kadawu ‘part, (given) share, gift,’ but this word is really too generic. It lacks the meaning component of mercy and kindness and also seems to imply that the gift is part of a larger whole. Consequently we now [translate] according to context. In wishes and prayers such as ‘Grace to you and peace from God’ we translate ‘grace’ as kabarakati ‘blessing’ (e.g. Gal 1:3). In many places we use kataano lalo ‘goodness of heart’ (e.g. Gal 1:15 ‘because of the goodness of his heart God chose me’) as well as the loan rahamati ‘mercy’ (e.g. ‘you have-turned-your-backs-on the mercy of God’ for ‘you have fallen away from grace’; Gal 5:4). In one case where the unmerited nature of ‘grace’ is in focus, we have also employed katohai ‘a free gift’ (typically food offered to one’s neighbo-1urs) in the same verse. ‘The reason-you-have-been-saved is because of the goodness of God’s heart (Greek charis, Muna kataano lalo), going-through your belief in Kristus. That salvation is not the result of your own work, but really a free-gift (Greek dooron ‘gift’; Muna katohai) of God.’ (Eph 2:8).
In Burmese, it is translated with the Buddhist term kyeh’jooh’tau (ကျေးဇူးတော်). LaSeng Dingrin (in Missiology 37/4, 2009, p. 485ff.) explains: “As regards the Christian term ‘grace,’ Judson [the first translator of the Bible into Burmese] could not have brought the Burmese Buddhists the good news about the redeeming work of Jesus Christ and its benefits (i.e., forgiveness and salvation), without employing the Burmese Buddhist term kyeh’jooh’tau (‘grace’). Deriving from Palikataññuta (“gratefulness”), kyeh’jooh’tau denotes ‘good deeds for others or benefits,’ which occur among humans. (…) When Christianized, kyeh’jooh’tau also refers to the atoning work of Jesus and its benefits, and can occur between humans and God. The word kyeh’jooh’tau looks very Burmese Buddhist, but it is Christian, too, and conveys the core of the Christian proclamation. Furthermore, kyeh’jooh’tau itself shows that translatability of Christianity cannot be imagined without reliance on Buddhism.” (See also the Burmese entry for God)
In American Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines “compassion” and “giving out.” (Source: RuthAnna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Grace” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including the writer and the readers of this letter).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of Hebrews 4:16:
Uma: “So then, relatives, let’s not be afraid any longer. We are brave/bold to come before God because Yesus is our Big Priest. Let’s approach God on his Seat in heaven, for he is loving. Let us approach him, so that we may feel/experience his love, and he will help us because of the whiteness of his insides [his grace], when we need it.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Because we (incl.) have now a High Priest therefore we (incl.) ought not to be afraid to come close to God praying to him because he loves and is merciful. He has mercy on us (incl.) and helps us (dual) in time of difficulties.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And because of Him there’s no reluctance in our thinking to get near, by means of praying, before the powerful God, because God is very gracious. He pities us and He will help us at the time of difficulties.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Therefore we should be brave to approach God who is consistently-merciful/gracious, because if we ask-him -for-mercy, he will have-mercy-on us and will help us at the hour that we need help.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Therefore now/today, (it’s) good if we don’t hang back indecisively, (but rather) let us come immediately into God’s presence, because even though he is high/important who is controlling everything, he is very gracious/merciful. And we can be sure that at the time we need his help, he will give us this grace/mercy that we are asking for in prayer. 4:3 Psalm 95:11. 4:4 Genesis 2:2. 4:5 Psalm 95:11. 4:7 Psalm 95:7-8. The point of this that David said is that, if they don’t harden their heads, they can be included in being able to rest under the jurisdiction of God. This-very-thing is what the writer of this Hebreo is referring to in-that even now, it’s just like that.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “So now let us be strengthened to call to God. We will ask his favor to help us. Because God has pity and when we ask him to help us, he helps us.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
This verse, like 4.10-11, contains some repetition which it may be better to avoid in translation. Languages have other ways than repetition by which to stress particular words and phrases. A possible translation avoiding this repetition would be “So let us go forward to God in confidence, knowing that he will freely give us all we need at the right time,” or even “… when we need it most.”
Let us have confidence is literally “with confidence”; see discussion on 3.6b. In some passages, especially of Acts, the Greek for this expression refers to confident “speaking out” in witness. Here the context shows that it refers to inner confidence. The translation of Let us have confidence should not suggest an unnecessary fear which people might have in approaching God. It may be necessary in some languages to translate Let us have confidence as “Let us not hesitate to” or “Let us be confident in.”
Approach God’s throne, where there is grace: most English translations have approach or “come forward.” “Go forward” seems more natural in English, since the writer’s point of view is that of human beings, not that of God.
“The throne of grace” (Revised Standard Version) is one of the writer’s ways of speaking indirectly about God. Indirect references to God were common among Jews and therefore among Jewish Christians. “God who is gracious” or “God who gives us such good gifts” would be non-Jewish equivalents. Approach God’s throne may be expressed as “go before God’s throne” or “go near to God’s throne.” But a literal rendering of this might be interpreted exclusively in the sense of “going to heaven.” Furthermore, it may not be natural to speak figuratively of a throne, so it may be best to translate approach God’s throne as “to approach God.” If one uses “God” in place of God’s throne, then where there is grace will be rendered as “who is kind” or “who shows kindness to people.”
Receive mercy is difficult to distinguish from find grace, and there is another reference to grace in the first part of the verse. Mercy and grace both have the meaning of a free gift from a superior, in this case God. In Paul’s writings, grace frequently refers to God’s gift of his Son, but this is not explicit here, though 5.9 expresses the same idea without using the word for “grace.” In some languages grace is a word little used outside church circles. If so, the translator may need to replace it by some such word as “love” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).
We will receive mercy may be rendered as “God will be merciful to us” or “God will show us kindness.” A literal rendering of find grace might suggest accidental discovery or coming upon as the result of searching. In fact, find grace is merely an equivalent of “experience kindness” or “experience love.” Accordingly, we will receive mercy and find grace may be restructured as “God will be kind to us and show us his love.” This may be further explained as “he will help us just when we need help.”
Us, following find grace to help, is not expressed in the Greek. The idea of asking God to help other people is not excluded.
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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