The Seventh Commandment (image)

Painting by Wang Suda 王肅達 (1910-1963),
Copyright by the Catholic University Peking, China

Text under painting translated from Literary Chinese into English:
The Seventh Commandment
The holy woman washes the Lord, a wicked disciple chastises her

Image taken from Chinese Christian Posters . For more information on the “Ars Sacra Pekinensis” school of art, see this article , for other artworks of that school in TIPs, see here.

fat, oil

The different Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “(olive) oil” and “(animal) fat” in English are translated in Kwere with only one term: mavuta. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (John 12:5)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 12:5:

  • Uma: “‘That oil is very expensive, about three hundred silver coins. Why wasn’t this just sold, and the money given to the poor people!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Judas said, ‘It would have been better for that fragrant oil to have been sold and the money given to the poor. The value of that is wages for a whole year.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “‘Es, Es! How many hundreds is the worth of this? It would be better if this perfume were sold and the money given to the poor.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘Why! This perfume ought to have been sold to be given to the poor, because it is worth how many thousands.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “‘Why wasn’t that perfume sold, so that it’s purchase-money would be given to the poor? It’s certain the price of it would be the same as one year’s wages.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “‘How come the oil wasn’t sold in order to give to the poor? Because it could have been sold for three hundred days’ wages.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on John 12:5

Three hundred silver coins is literally “three hundred denarii.” According to Matthew 20.2 a “denarius” (the singular of “denarii”) is equivalent to the average daily wage of a laborer. By translating “three hundred dollars” in its earlier editions, Good News Translation simply tried to find a cultural equivalent, like New English Bible, which renders “thirty pounds.” Moffatt (“ten pounds”), Goodspeed (“sixty dollars”), and Phillips (“thirty pounds”) likewise attempt to give a cultural equivalent. Rapid currency inflation in nearly all parts of the world quickly renders all such translations obsolete. New American Bible renders simply “three hundred silver pieces.” Whatever term the translator uses, it should reflect a high amount in relation to the average earnings of a working-class man. In view of the rapid change in the buying power of the money in current use almost everywhere, it may be best to use such a phrase as “silver pieces,” and then to provide a footnote indicating that “a silver piece” was the average daily wage of a working-class man. Some translations actually say “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for the equivalent of three hundred days’ wages?”

Although the Greek of this verse merely has a question (Why wasn’t this perfume sold…?), Phillips (“Why on earth wasn’t this perfume sold? It’s worth thirty pounds…”) and New American Bible (“Why was not this perfume sold? It could have brought three hundred silver pieces…”) render it by a question and a statement, thus indicating that the value of the perfume is in focus here. It is necessary to supply such a term as the money in this verse, though it does not appear in the Greek text. Otherwise the translation may end by sounding as if the perfume should be sold for three hundred dollars and at the same time given to the poor. Note, for example, Revised Standard Version, which has a rather literal rendering of the Greek (“Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”).

Since the question posed by Judas Iscariot was essentially rhetorical (that is to say, he was not really asking for information), it may be best in some languages to transform it into a strong statement, for example, “This perfume should have been sold for three hundred silver coins, and then the money given to the poor.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .