the light

The Greek that is translated in English as “the light” is translated in John 1:8 in Alekano as “the father of light,” in Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac as “the true light,” and in Tenango Otomi as “that one who opens the hearts of the people.”

Matt Taylor (in The PNG Experience) describes the process of finding the correct term for the presently prepared Nukna translation of John:

“We’ve been working on the Nukna translation of the book of John, and recently came to Jesus’ famous statement in John 8:12, ‘I am the light of the world.’ As we discussed how to best translate this metaphor, we realized that there was a problem. There is a Nukna word for light — yam — but it’s not possible to say just yam by itself. Light always has a source, and grammatically that source must be included, either by mentioning the actual source or by using a possessive pronoun — ‘its light,’ ‘their light,’ etc. It would be ungrammatical to just say ‘light.’ ( This grammatical feature is known as ‘inalienable possession.’) To literally translate ‘I am the light of the world’ into Nukna would lead to an unacceptable Nukna sentence.

“One idea we’ve had is to use a common source of light that the Nukna people are familiar with: the bamboo torch. The Nukna people live in a remote area without electricity. To see at night, they often light up a species of bamboo named kup. Kup burns with a blazing brightness, and a long piece can be held as a torch, enabling a person to walk at night around the otherwise pitch black village. So in Nukna, Jesus’ words would read, ‘I am like a bamboo torch [kup] that shines its light to the world.’

“Our translation team needs to do further testing to see if this figure of speech is communicating accurately and powerfully. Please pray for us, that God would guide us as we seek to communicate this concept, as well as many others, into the Nukna language in a dynamic and life-changing way. ‘It’s like the light of a bamboo torch shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’ (John 1:5).”

Likewise, Mungaka also uses “torch” (source: Nama 1990).

complete verse (Matthew 5:14)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 5:14:

  • Uma: “‘You who follow me are like light that lights/shines on all people. A village that is built on the top of a hill is not hidden.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘You who are following me are like light for all mankind. If a town is on top of a hill, it is seen by the people.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “You are like a lamp which shines on all mankind. A town which is built on top of a hill cannot hide.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘You can also be compared to a light that illuminates the thoughts/minds of people on this earth. Remember indeed that if there is a town on the top (lit. head) of a mountain, it will be thoroughly visible.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Another illustration of you is a lamp here in the world (lit. under the heavens), because you will enlighten the minds of the people. Well, remember that a city on top of a hill can’t be hidden because the glow can be seen.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Concerning the way you live, it is seen by the people who live here on earth. You are like a light which shines in the darkness, seen by all the people. You are like a city which is on top of a hill, seen by all the people.” (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 5:14

You are the light of the world is made into a simile by Good News Translation: “You are like light.” And Good News Translation understands of the world to mean “for the whole world.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “You are the light for the world.” INCL renders “You are like light that is needed by everyone in this world.”

As with “salt” in the previous verse, many translations have used a simile to translate You are the light of the world. Good News Translation and INCL are examples cited above. Those translations which have tried to show the basis of the comparison, in what way the disciples are like light, have said “You show people the way (to God) as a light does,” “You help people to see God as if you were a light,” or “People can see their way to God because of you who are like a light for them.”

Again, world means “all the people of the world” or “people everywhere.”

The saying about A city set on a hill may originally have been a secular proverb which could have been used in a variety of contexts. Here the meaning is clear: light is certain to be noticed.

The city on a hill cannot be hid, that is, “cannot remain unseen,” “people can easily see it.”

Some translations tie the two statements in this verse closely together with sentences such as “You are the light of the world that people cannot fail to see, just as they cannot fail to see a city built on a hill” or “People cannot fail to see the way to God (or, way of life) because you are a light for them which they can see as easily as they see a city on a hill.”

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 .