complete verse (Matthew 10:31)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 10:31:

  • Uma: “So, don’t be afraid. God’s care for you surpasses his care for the many sparrows.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Therefore do not be afraid. You are more valuable than the many birds.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Therefore don’t be afraid, because you are much dearer to him than many birds.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Therefore don’t be afraid, because each one of you is far-away more-important than however-many (lit. “manyness of”) rice-birds (see here )!'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore don’t be afraid, for you are much greater that a whole flock of rice-birds (see here).” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Therefore do not be afraid of the people. Because you are more valuable than the birds even though there are crowds of them.” (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 Matthew 10:31

Fear not (Good News Translation “So do not be afraid”) is without an object in Greek. New American Bible supplies an object (“So do not be afraid of anything”); it may even be better to translate “So do not be afraid of people” or “So do not be afraid of what people may do to you.” The text stresses that one need fear only God, for in the final analysis it is he alone who determines the destiny of all people.

You are of more value than many sparrows is translated by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch as “You are worth more to God than an entire flock of sparrows.” Similar renderings are “God considers you much more valuable than many sparrows” and “As far as God is concerned, you are worth much more than even many sparrows.”

Since the expression with many sparrows could be misunderstood to mean you are more important than many but not all sparrows, a rendering such as “an entire flock” is often better.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .