serve (Igede)

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “serve,” “minister,” “walk with,” or “service” is translated in Igede as myị ẹrụ or “agree with message (of the one you’re serving).” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

See also serve.

gospel

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In choosing a word for the Greek that is typically translated as “gospel” in English, a number of languages construct a phrase meaning “good news,” “joyful report” or “happiness-bringing words.” In some instances such a phrase may be slightly expanded in order to convey the proper meaning, e.g. “new good word” (Tzotzil), or it may involve some special local usage:

  • “good story” (Navajo)
  • “joyful telling” (Tausug)
  • “joyful message” (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • cohuen ñoñets or “message of God” (Shilluk) (source: Nida 1964, p. 237)
  • “good news” (Yanesha’) (source: Martha Duff in Holzhausen 1991, p. 11)
  • “voice of good spirit” (San Blas Kuna)(source: Claudio Iglesias [Mr. and Mrs.] in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 85ff. )
  • suviśēṣattinṟe (0സുവിശേഷം) or “good narrative” (Malayalam)
  • susmachar (ସୁସମାଚାର) or “good matter” (Odia)
  • suvārteya (ಸುವಾರ್ತೆಯ) or “good word” (Kannada) (source for this and two above: Y.D. Tiwari in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 132ff. )
  • the German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022) translates as “all-transformative good news” (alles verändernde gute Botschaft), also “good news”
Vitaly Voinov tells this story about the translation into Rutul (click or tap here to see the rest of this insight):

“In Rutul, it was only during the most recent consultant checking session that I realized that the Rutul word for Gospel – Incir (from Arabic إنجيل — Injil) — sounds and looks exactly like the word that means ‘fig’ in Rutul. This is a case of homonymy, in which two completely non-related words from differing historical sources have come to sound exactly alike. Most Rutul speakers know that incir means ‘fig’ because they grow this fruit in their yard or buy it at the market every week. However, because the religious sphere of discourse was heavily disparaged during the Soviet era, most people simply never encountered Incir with the meaning of ‘Gospel.’ This meaning of the word, which Rutuls of the pre-Soviet era knew from the Koran, simply fell into disuse and never had much reason for returning into contemporary Rutul since there is no Christian church established among the people. So if the translator continues to use the term Incir as the rendering for ‘Gospel,’ he runs the risk that most readers will, at best, read the word with a smile because they know that it also means ‘fig,’ and, at worst, will completely misunderstand the word. The seemingly ‘easy’ solution in this case is for the translator to use a Rutul neologism meaning ‘Joyful Message’ or ‘Good News,’ [see above] instead of Incir; but in fact it is not all that easy to make this change if the translator himself insists on using the historical word because at least some Rutuls still understand it as meaning ‘Gospel.’ This is a situation in which the translation team has to gradually grow into the understanding that a fully intelligible translation of Scripture is preferable to one that maintains old words at the cost of alienating much of the readership.”

For “good news,” see also Isaiah 52:7.

complete verse (Philemon 1:13)

Following are a number of back-translations of Philemon 1:13:

  • Uma: “If [I followed] my heart, I [would] keep him here with me, as your replacement, so that he could help me while I am in prison because of my work carrying the Good News.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “I would be happy if he were still here companioning me so that he could help me in your stead as long as I am here in prison because of my preaching/proclaiming the good news.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I had thought that it would be good if he were my companion here so that he might become your assistance to me while I am still in prison because of my spreading the Good News.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “I would still want to restrain-him -from-leaving (often said of persuading a guest to stay) in order that he might help me in your (sing.) absence during this imprisonment-of-mine because of my preaching the good news.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “I would like to cause him to be longer here with me so that, as long as I am still in prison because of my teaching of the Good News, he would be like your gift to me of my helper here in the prison.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “I know that you want to help me in what I need. Therefore I should like to keep him here to help me while I am in prison where I am suffering because I speak the good news.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Philemon 1:13

Paul, with great diffidence, approaches the request he is about to make. I would like to keep him, or perhaps better in English, “I would have liked to keep him,” indicates his personal preference in the matter, which he is forgoing in view of the fact that by right the decision about Onesimus’ future belongs to Philemon, not to Paul. (For similar use of eboulomēn see Acts 25.22.)

I would like to keep him here with me suggests something that Paul would not do, and therefore it may be necessary to make this fact explicit, for example, “I would like to keep him here with me but I will not do so.” To keep him here with me may be rendered as a causative, for example, “I would like to cause him to remain with me.”

There is a rather awkward relationship between clauses in verse 13, for people could understand the purpose clause so that he could help me in your place as being related to while I am in prison for the gospel’s sake. Obviously, however, the clause so that he could help me in your place goes with I would like to keep him here with me. It may, therefore, be preferable to place the temporal clause at the beginning of verse 13, for example, “while I am in prison for the gospel’s sake, I would like to keep him here with me so that he can help me in your place.”

He could help (Good News Translation) or “he might serve” (Revised Standard Version) translates the subjunctive of the verb diakoneō. The general meaning “to help” is preferable, since Paul speaks of Onesimus’ doing this in Philemon’s place; “serve” might be understood to refer to rather menial or degrading work in prison.

In your place: Paul is saying that Onesimus would be doing what Philemon would have been glad to do (see especially Barclay). It is frequently necessary to make the relationships indicated in the phrase in your place somewhat more specific. For example, the last clause of verse 13 may be rendered as “so that he could help me by doing what you would do if you were here.”

In prison for the gospel’s sake: Paul does not specify the occasion of being arrested and jailed because of his activities as an apostle. The words may be translated as “in prison because of having announced the good news,” or “… because I preached the good news,” or “because of my faithfulness to the good news.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to Philemon. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .