truly truly - I tell you

The Greek that is often translated in English as “truly, truly, I tell you” or similar is translated in the Russian BTI translation (publ. 2015) as Поверьте Мне (Pover’te Mne) or “trust me.” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

See also Amen.

complete verse (Matthew 25:45)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 25:45:

  • Uma: “‘And I the King, I will answer them: ‘So that you know: because you didn’t help these people here whose lives are small, it means that it was I that you didn’t help.’ ‘” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then I will answer, I say, ‘Truly I tell you if you did not help my disciples of low status, I was whom you did not help.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then I, the king, will answer, ‘I tell you that if you didn’t help even one of these whose rank is very low, I am the one you didn’t help.’ And these people,’ said Jesus, ‘will be taken away from here because they will be punished with a punishment forever. However, the righteous, by contrast, they will be given life forever.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘After that I will say to them, ‘This that I tell you is true that when you refused to help even one of the least-important (lit. lowest) of these who are my brothers, you also refused to help me.’ ‘” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “I will answer them, ‘This which I will say to you is really true. When you witheld your help from the most insignificant one who is like my sibling, I am the one you witheld from.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The ruler will then say: ‘Truly I tell you, that when you haven’t helped the people here who are not respected by people, then also you did not help me,’ he will say.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 25:45

See comments at verse 40. Here the text has simply one of the least of these and does not mention “brothers.” Translators usually say “one of these least important people.” Barclay has “one of these, even for the least of them.”

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 .