The Greek that is translated as “you bear the name of Christ” or similar in English is translated in Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “You are companions of Christ.”
truly truly - I tell you
complete verse (Mark 9:41)
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 9:41:
- Uma: “‘Indeed I tell you: if there are those who help you because you are followers of Kristus, they will certainly receive a reward in the future day. Even if it is only plain water they give you to drink because you follow me, they will receive a reward.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “Truly I say to you that whoever gives you even only one glass of water for you to drink because you are disciples of Almasi, he will really be recompensed/rewarded (with) good.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “It’s very true what I say to you that if there is a person and he gives you even a single cup of water, and the reason he gives it to you is that you are disciples of me, the chosen one of God, it is not possible that God will not reward him because of that which he does.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “This that I say to you is true that even the one who only gives-a-drink of a glass of water to you because you are called Cristo’s disciples, he will absolutely be-rewarded.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “What I will say to you is true, that whoever will cause one of you to drink a cup of water because you belong to Cristo, it’s certain that he will be rewarded.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Christ, Messiah
The Greek Christos (Χρηστός) is typically transliterated when it appears together with Iésous (Ἰησοῦς) (Jesus). In English the transliteration is the Anglicized “Christ,” whereas in many other languages it is based on the Greek or Latin as “Kristus,” “Cristo,” or similar.
When used as a descriptive term in the New Testament — as it’s typically done in the gospels (with the possible exceptions of for instance John 1:17 and 17:3) — Christos is seen as the Greek translation of the Hebrew mashiaḥ (המשיח) (“anointed”). Accordingly, a transliteration of mashiaḥ is used, either as “Messiah” or based on the Greek or Latin as a form of “Messias.”
This transliteration is also used in the two instances where the Greek term Μεσσίας (Messias) is used in John 1:41 and 4:25.
In some languages and some translations, the term “Messiah” is supplemented with an explanation. Such as in the German Gute Nachricht with “the Messiah, the promised savior” (Wir haben den Messias gefunden, den versprochenen Retter) or in Muna with “Messiah, the Saving King” (Mesias, Omputo Fosalamatino) (source: René van den Berg).
In predominantly Muslim areas or for Bible translations for a Muslim target group, Christos is usually transliterated from the Arabic al-Masih (ٱلْمَسِيحِ) — “Messiah.” In most cases, this practice corresponds with languages that also use a form of the Arabic Isa (عيسى) for Jesus (see Jesus). There are some exceptions, though, including modern translations in Arabic which use Yasua (يَسُوعَ) (coming from the Aramaic Yēšūa’) alongside a transliteration of al-Masih, Hausa which uses Yesu but Almahisu, and some Fula languages (Adamawa Fulfulde, Nigerian Fulfulde, and Central-Eastern Niger Fulfulde) which also use a form of Iésous (Yeesu) but Almasiihu (or Almasiifu) for Christos.
In Indonesian, while most Bible translations had already used Yesus Kristus rather than Isa al Masih, three public holidays used to be described using the term Isa Al Masih. From 2024 the government will use Yesus Kristus in those holiday names instead (see this article in Christianity Today ).
Other solutions that are used by a number of languages include these:
- Dobel: “The important one that God had appointed to come” (source: Jock Hughes)
- Noongar: Keny Mammarap or “The One Man” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Mairasi: “King of not dying for life all mashed out infinitely” (for “mashed out,” see salvation; source: Lloyd Peckham)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “One chosen by God to rule mankind” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Bacama: Ma Pwa a Ngɨltən: “The one God has chosen” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
- Binumarien: Anutuna: originally a term that was used for a man that was blessed by elders for a task by the laying on of hands (source: Desmond Oatridges, Holzhausen 1991, p. 49f.)
- Noongar: Keny Boolanga-Yira Waangki-Koorliny: “One God is Sending” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Uab Meto: Neno Anan: “Son of heaven” P. Middelkoop explains: “The idea of heavenly power bestowed on a Timorese king is rendered in the title Neno Anan. It is based on the historical fact that chiefs in general came from overseas and they who come thence are believed to have come down from heaven, from the land beyond the sea, that means the sphere of God and the ghosts of the dead. The symbolical act of anointing has been made subservient to the revelation of an eternal truth and when the term Neno Anan is used as a translation thereof, it also is made subservient to a new revelation of God in Jesus Christ. The very fact that Jesus came from heaven makes this translation hit the mark.” (Source: P. Middelkoop in The Bible Translator 1953, p. 183ff. )
In Finnish Sign Language both “Christ” and “Messiah” are translated with sign signifying “king.” (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
“Christ / Messiah” in Finnish Sign Language (source )
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient Greek Septuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew mashiah was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments (click or tap here to read more):
“Another important word in the New Testament that comes from the Septuagint is christos, ‘Christ.’ Christ is not part of the name of the man from Nazareth, as if ‘the Christs’ were written above the door of his family home. Rather, ‘Christ’ is an explicitly messianic title used by the writers of the New Testament who have learned this word from the Septuagint’s translation of the Hebrew mashiach, ‘anointed,’ which itself is often rendered in English as ‘Messiah.’ To be sure, one detects a messianic intent on the part of the Septuagint translator in some places. Amos 4:13 may have been one of these. In the Hebrew Bible, God ‘reveals his thoughts to mortals,’ but the Septuagint has ‘announcing his anointed to humans.’ A fine distinction must be made, however, between theology that was intended by the Septuagint translators and that developed by later Christian writers. In Amos 4:13 it is merely possible we have a messianic reading, but it is unquestionably the case that the New Testament writers exploit the Septuagint’s use of christos, in Amos and elsewhere, to messianic ends.”
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 Mark 9:41
Exegesis:
Apparently for stylistic reasons Revised Standard Version has changed amēn legō humin ‘truly I say to you’ from the position it occupies in the Greek text to the beginning of the verse.
potisē humas potērion hudatos ‘he should give you to drink a cup of water’: the verb potisē ‘should give to drink’ takes two direct objects in Greek, humas ‘you’ and potērion hudatos ‘a cup of water.’
potizō (15.36) ‘give to drink,’ ‘make to drink.’
potērion (cf. 7.4) ‘a cup.’
en onomati hoti ‘in the name that’: the phrase means ‘on the ground that’ (Moulton & Milligan quote a papyrus in which the phrase onomati eleutherou means ‘in virtue of being freeborn’; Goodspeed, ‘on the ground that you belong to Christ’); onoma ‘name’ is used with the meaning ‘title,’ ‘category’: ‘under the category that you belong to Christ,’ ‘in your capacity as a follower of Christ.’ Most translations use ‘because’ (American Standard Version, Moffatt, Montgomery, The Modern Speech New Testament, Manson; Lagrange pour la raison que vous êtes au Christ); the Revised Standard Version ‘because you bear the name of Christ’ is more interpretive in character. Translator’s New Testament has ‘in the Name, for you are Messiah’s.’
misthon (only here in Mark) ‘pay,’ ‘wages,’ ‘reward.’
For ou mē ‘not’ cf. 9.1; apollumi ‘lose’ cf. 1.24.
Translation:
For syntactic problems involving truly see 8.12.
The order adopted in the Revised Standard Version with respect to the expression truly, I say to you is generally better in most languages, since the direct discourse is not interrupted.
In some languages cup must be translated in terms of the closest equivalent, e.g. ‘little calabash’ (Southern Bobo Madaré). In other instances one cannot say ‘cup of water,’ but ‘water in a cup’ (Barrow Eskimo).
The verb give must always be treated with care, for there are many implications involved in some languages. For example, there may be two entirely different terms, depending upon whether (1) the gift is one in which an equivalent gift is expected in return (known as exchange gifts, and constituting a highly formalized type of indigenous barter) or (2) the object is one given without any regard for compensation. It is this latter meaning which should be indicated here. On the other hand, languages also distinguish between gifts which are prompted by evident need and those which are wholly without reference to such circumstances. Something of this point of view is suggested in the Copainalá Zoque rendering, ‘whoever lets you ask for a cup of water,’ implying that the man responds to the need.
Bear the name of Christ may be translated as ‘are called by the name of Christ’ (literally, ‘have the name of being Christian’ Amganad Ifugao). On the other hand, Greek onomati ‘name’ would seem to be used more in the sense of ‘because of’ or ‘on the basis that,’ and hence one may translate as ‘because you belong to Christ’ (Tzeltal).
Lose his reward is often badly mistranslated, implying that after the man has received his reward he will not forthwith lose it by misplacing it. The more idiomatic way of saying this in some languages is ‘he will certainly get what is to be given to him’ (Guerrero Amuzgo) or ‘he will certainly receive the pay for his hand’ (Tzeltal). In this latter expression ‘pay for his hand’ is the compensation which is gained for anything which a man has done with his hands. If it were an errand he had run, then he would receive ‘the pay for his feet.’
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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