neighbor

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The Greek that is translated as “neighbor” in English is rendered into Babatana as “different man,” i.e. someone who is not one of your relatives. (Source: David Clark)

In North Alaskan Inupiatun, it is rendered as “a person outside of your building,” in Tzeltal as “your back and side” (implying position of the dwellings), in Indonesian and in Tae’ as “your fellow-man,” in Toraja-Sa’dan it is “your fellow earth-dweller,” in Shona (translation of 1966) as “another person like you,” in Kekchí “younger-brother-older-brother” (a compound which means all one’s neighbors in a community) (sources: Bratcher / Nida and Reiling / Swellengrebel), in Mairasi “your people” (source: Enggavoter 2004), in Mezquital Otomi as “fellow being,” in Tzeltal as “companion,” in Isthmus Zapotec as “another,” in Teutila Cuicatec as “all people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), and in most modern German translations as Mitmensch or “fellow human being” (lit. “with + human being”).

In Matt 19:19, Matt 22:39, Mark 12:31, Mark 12:33, Luke 10:27, Luke 10:29 it is translated into Ixcatlán Mazatec with a term that refers to a person who is socially/physically near. Ixcatlán Mazatec also has a another term for “neighbor” that means “fellow humans-outsiders” which was not chosen for these passages. (Source: Robert Bascom)

In Noongar it is translated as moorta-boordak or “people nearby” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

save

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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.

judge (noun)

The Greek that is translated as “judge” in English is translated in Noongar as birdiyar djonanykarinyang or “boss of testing/judgement” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

See also judge.

judge vs. condemn

The Greek terms krino and katakrino/katadikazo that are translated as “judge” and “condemn” respectively in English are translated with only one term in Kutu (tagusa). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (James 4:12)

Following are a number of back-translations of James 4:12:

  • Uma: “For only one is worthy to give laws to mankind and to be the Judge/Decider. He is God, who has authority to punish us or free us from punishment. So we, who are we that we dare to criticize our companion!” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “God is the one who gave the law, there is no one else, and he is the judge. He is the only one who can save and can destroy. Therefore we (dual) have no authority to say that our (dual) companion is at fault.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “There is only one source of the law and that is God, and there is only one also who has the authority to investigate the behaviour of mankind, and that is also God. He is the one who punishes, and he is also the one who frees from punishment. But as for us (incl.) by contrast, we have no authority to decide who will be freed from punishment.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “God and no-other is who gave us the law and he alone has-authority to judge us. Neither is there another who is able to save and to punish us. If that is so, we people definitely have no authority to judge our fellow by saying that he is bad.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “For the truth is, God alone is where the law comes from and he alone is possible/acceptable as Judge. Because only he has authority to save/free or exterminate. But as for you (sing.), who are you (sing.) to pass judgment on your (sing.) fellowman?” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But only God it is who gave the law and it is he who is the judge. He is the one who says which person will be saved or will go to punishment. But you, what right have you to judge the conduct of other people?” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on James 4:12

There is one lawgiver and judge: this lawgiver and judge is God. That God is judge is a common teaching in the Bible (Gen 18.25; Psa 82.1, 8; Rom 3.6; Heb 12.23). The Bible also says that God is the lawgiver (Psa 9.21 in the Septuagint; compare also Jer 9.13). The statement in Greek is literally “one there is the lawgiver and judge,” with focus and emphasis on the oneness of God. God alone is the lawgiver. He alone is not under any law. He alone is judge. In translation it may be desirable to make it clear that God is the lawgiver and judge, and at the same time to place emphasis on the oneness of God; for example, “God is the only lawgiver and judge” (Good News Translation) or “There is only one lawgiver and judge—God.”

James is obviously not saying that there should not be any lawgiver or judge in the world. He is emphasizing that God the lawgiver is the one and only true judge who can carry out his verdict, and that his verdict counts. In order to bring out this point clearly, we may say, for example, “God is the one who gave this law of love, and he is the one who judges us according to it.”

As the Lord of life and death, God is able to save and to destroy. That God can kill and make alive is a recurring theme in the Bible (Deut 32.39; 1 Sam 2.6; Matt 10.28) In saying this James may be suggesting that those who judge others condemn themselves. We are reminded of Paul’s rebuke of the “superior” Jews seeking to pass judgment on the Gentiles: “… for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself…” (Rom 2.1; NRSV). Here James is talking about God’s absolute power to determine a person’s eternal destiny, either salvation or condemnation. The verb is able refers to God’s power and so may be rendered as “… has power to…” (Goodspeed). In some languages to save and to destroy may be too abstract, and therefore the translator may have to supply objects to make the actions more concrete; for example, “to save life [or, people] or destroy it [or, them]” (Revised English Bible), or even “to save us or destroy us,” or “to save our lives or kill us.” In some languages the construction to save and to destroy is more naturally rendered as “both to save and to destroy,” while in others it may be better to express the construction as showing an alternative relationship, “either to save or to destroy” (so Translator’s New Testament).

In translating this sentence translators may wish to follow the Good News Translation rendering for the following reasons. First, it makes clear the information that is not stated directly, namely that God is the lawgiver and judge. Secondly, it makes the participial expression “he who is…” a separate sentence, making it easier to understand and to translate into languages not accustomed to using this type of construction. Thirdly, it uses the word “alone” in the second sentence, in addition to the word “only” in the first sentence, to bring out the force of the Greek word “one” that appears as the first word in the sentence for emphasis.

But who are you that you judge your neighbor?: in closing the section James uses a rhetorical question to express scorn with some element of sarcasm. The purpose of this question is to bring shame to those guilty of passing judgment on their neighbors, for to pass judgment on a neighbor is to overstep due bounds; it steals God’s authority. The force of who are you…? may be rendered “Who do you think you are…?” (Good News Translation), “How can you…?” (Phillips), or “What right do you have to…?” (Contemporary English Version). If we wish to bring out the aspect of scorn more clearly, we may try to render the rhetorical question as an emphatic statement; for example, “You certainly have no right to…!” The word neighbor can be taken in the general sense of “fellow man” (so Barclay) or in the more restricted sense of “fellow believer.” See the discussion in 2.8.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• God is the one who gave this law, and he will judge us according to it. He alone has the power to save us or destroy us. So you certainly have no right to condemn your fellow Christians.

Quoted with permission from Loh, I-Jin and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Letter from James. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .