love (for God)

Nida (1952, p. 125ff.) reports on different translation of the Greek and Hebrew terms that are translated as “love” when referring to loving God:

“The Toro So Dogon people on the edge of the Sahara in French West Africa speak of ‘love for God’ as ‘to put God in our hearts.’ This does not mean that God can be contained wholly within the heart of a man, but the Eternal does live within the hearts of men by His Holy Spirit, and it is only love which prompts the soul to ‘put God in the heart.’

“The Mitla Zapotec Indians, nestled in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico, describe ‘love’ in almost opposite words. Instead of putting God into one’s own heart, they say, ‘my heart goes away with God.’ Both the Toro So Dogon and the Zapotecs are right. There is a sense in which God dwells within us, and there is also a sense in which our hearts are no longer our own. They belong to Him, and the object of affection is not here on earth, but as pilgrims with no certain abiding place we long for that fuller fellowship of heaven itself.

“The Uduks seem to take a rather superficial view of love, for they speak of it as ‘good to the eye.’ But we must not judge spiritual insight or capacity purely on the basis of idioms. Furthermore, there is a sense in which this idiom is quite correct. In fact the Greek term agapé, which is used primarily with the meaning of love of God and of the Christian community, means essentially ‘to appreciate the worth and value of something.’ It is not primarily the love which arises from association and comradeship (this is philé), but it defines that aspect of love which prompted God to love us when there was no essential worth or value in us, except as we could be remade in the image of His Son. Furthermore, it is the love which must prompt us to see in men and women, still unclaimed for Jesus Christ, that which God can do by the working of His Spirit. This is the love which rises higher than personal interests and goes deeper than sentimental attachment. This is the basis of the communion of the saints.

“Love may sometimes be described in strong, powerful terms. The Miskitos of the swampy coasts of eastern Nicaragua and Honduras say that ‘love’ is ‘pain of the heart.’ There are joys which become so intense that they seem to hurt, and there is love which so dominates the soul that its closest emotion seems to be pain. The Tzotzils, living in the cloud-swept mountains of Chiapas in southern Mexico, describe love in almost the same way as the Miskitos. They say it is ‘to hurt in the heart.’ (…)

“The Q’anjob’al Indians of northern Guatemala have gone even a step further. They describe love as ‘my soul dies.’ Love is such that, without experiencing the joy of union with the object of our love, there is a real sense in which ‘the soul dies.’ A man who loves God according to the Conob idiom would say ‘my soul dies for God.’ This not only describes the powerful emotion felt by the one who loves, but it should imply a related truth—namely, that in true love there is no room for self. The man who loves God must die to self. True love is of all emotions the most unselfish, for it does not look out for self but for others. False love seeks to possess; true love seeks to be possessed. False love leads to cancerous jealousy; true love leads to a life-giving ministry.” (Source: Nida 1952)

In Mairasi, the term that is used for love for God, by God and for people is the same: “desire one’s face.” (source: Enggavoter 2004)

In Ogea the word for “love” is “die for someone.” (Source: Sandi Colburn in Holzhausen 1991, p. 22)

complete verse (John 14:24)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 14:24:

  • Uma: “People who do not love me, they do not follow my words. The words that you hear from me are not just from me. They are from my Father who sent me.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But the person who does not love me, he also does not follow/obey my teachings. And what I taught to you is not from me but from my Father who sent me.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The person who has no breath for me, he will not carry out my commands. And these words of mine to you, they don’t come from my thinking, but rather they come from my Father who sent me.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But the one who doesn’t love me, he also doesn’t obey/believe what I say. This that I have been saying to you, it is not I who am the originating speaker but rather my Father who sent me.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “That one who doesn’t hold me dear, he won’t follow/obey these things I am saying. These things which you have heard which I have been saying, I’m not just making them up. This truly is the word of the Father who sent me to come here.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “He who does not love me does not pay attention to what I teach. I am not speaking just on my own, it is the word of my Father who sent me.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff.), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.

In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.

Translation commentary on John 14:24

The first sentence of this verse expresses the other side of the truth stated in verse 23 (Whoever loves me will obey my teaching).

And the teaching you have heard is not mine identifies Jesus’ message with God’s word. This clause may be rendered “the words that you have heard from me are not just my own thoughts.”

Comes from the Father is literally “is of the Father” and may be taken either as a genitive of possession (“is the Father’s”) or as a genitive of source (“is from the Father”). Ultimately, the meaning is the same. Good News Translation takes it as a genitive of source, and so supplies comes from. In some languages it is difficult to speak of a “message coming from a person.” One can usually say “a person sent a message by someone” and it is normally possible to say “a person spoke a message,” but often one cannot say “a message comes.” The only equivalent may be “my Father told me to say this message” or “… to deliver this message.”

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 .