creation

The Greek, and Latin that is translated as “creation” in English is translated in Lisu as ꓟꓵ ꓚꓰꓼ ꓟꓲ ꓚꓰꓼ — my tshe mi tshe, verbatim translated as “place — make — earth — make.” This construction follows a traditional four-couplet construct in oral Lisu poetry that is usually in the form ABAC or ABCB. (Source: Arrington 2020, p. 58)

In American Sign Language it is translated with a sign that signifies creating out of nothing. (Source: RuthAnna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Creation” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Rom. 8:22)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including the writer of the letter and the readers).

Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.

complete verse (Romans 8:22)

Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 8:22:

  • Uma: “For we know, relatives, there is indeed much difficulty in the world. We can say that this world is continually suffering/groaning, waiting for the time God will make-new everything. That groaning of the world is like the groaning of a woman waiting for her birth-time.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “We (dual) know that since the time when Apu’ Adam sinned until now it is as if all things created by God suffer/are in difficulties like a woman having pain when she is about to give birth.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And we (incl.) know that as for all creation, it is like a woman with labor pains who’s having a difficult time. For starting with long ago up until now, all creation is having a difficult time because of the strong expectation they have of the time when God will remove their being destroyed and their being decayed.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because since back then until now, it is as if all that was created has been groaning like a woman who is having-a-hard-time when she gives-birth.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Now we know that concerning all the things here in the world, all suffer, groaning as though the time had come for a woman to suffer pain to give birth to a child.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Romans 8:22

For we know renders essentially the same phrase that occurs in 2.2; 3.19; 7.14; 8.28. Generally this expression is used to introduce a fact of common knowledge.

Groans with pain like the pain of childbirth is literally “groans and is in birth pangs.” Each of these verbs has a prefix meaning “with” added to the regular root. Commentators agree that the force of these prefixes is to indicate that the universe is groaning and having pains “in all its parts” (New English Bible), not that it is groaning and having pains “together with us (believers).” The Good News Translation (so also Moffatt, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible) makes this information implicit without translating the prefixes by a separate word. To translate by “together” as the Revised Standard Version (so also King James Version, An American Translation*) conveys very little meaning. The expression all of creation groans with pain may require certain modifications, not only in focus but also in a shift from metaphor to simile—for example, “all of creation, as it were, has pain and is groaning” or “all of creation groans because it has pain, so to speak.”

Like the pain of childbirth may be rendered as “just like a woman who has pain before giving birth to a child.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .