he who, whoever

The Greek that is typically translated with a generic expressions such as “he who,” “whoever,” or “if anyone” in English is translated with the plural form (“they”) in Daga. “A literal translation of these conveys the idea that one specific unnamed individual is being dis cussed. Thus, for instance, in John 5:24 ‘he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life’ meant in Daga that there was one fortunate individual to whom it applied.”

See also love your neighbor as yourself.

complete verse (Matthew 24:18)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 24:18:

  • Uma: “The person who is in the field/garden, don’t have him return to the village to get his clothes. Flee immediately!” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And the person who is on his field shall/must not go back to his house to fetch his clothes, but he shall/must flee.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “That person who happens to be in the field, he must not return home to get his blanket.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The one also who is in the rice-field, he should not go-home to go get his outer garment.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And the one in the field, he isn’t to go home to get his cloak.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The person who will be out working must not go to his house to even get his coat, rather he must at once flee.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 24:18

This also reflects the Palestinian situation in which a person normally lived in a town or village from which he would walk the distance to his field. The reader is warned not to take time to go back to town to get his belongings, but rather to run for safety immediately. Barclay expresses this quite well: “Anyone who is at work in the field must not turn back to pick up his coat.”

Mantle is first used in 5.40, where Revised Standard Version translates “cloak.”

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 .