circumcise, circumcision

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The Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “circumcise” or “circumcision” in English (originally meaning of English term: “to cut around”) are (back-) translated in various ways:

  • Chimborazo Highland Quichua: “cut the flesh”
  • San Miguel El Grande Mixtec, Navajo: “cut around”
  • Javanese: “clip-away”
  • Uab Meto: “pinch and cut” (usually shortened to “cut”)
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun, Western Highland Purepecha: “put the mark”
  • Tetelcingo Nahuatl: “put the mark in the body showing that they belong to God” (or: “that they have a covenant with God”)
  • Indonesian: disunat — “undergo sunat” (sunat is derived from Arabic “sunnah (سنة)” — “(religious) way (of life)”)
  • Ekari: “cut the end of the member for which one fears shame” (in Gen. 17:10) (but typically: “the cutting custom”) (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Hiri Motu: “cut the skin” (source: Deibler / Taylor 1977, p. 1079)
  • Garifuna: “cut off part of that which covers where one urinates”
  • Bribri: “cut the soft” (source for this and the one above: Ronald Ross)
  • Amele: deweg cagu qoc — “cut the body” (source: John Roberts)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “cut the flesh of the sons like Moses taught” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.)
  • Newari: “put the sign in one’s body” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Central Mazahua: “sign in his flesh”
  • Hopi: “being cut in a circle in his body” (source for this and above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Mandarin Chinese: gēlǐ (割礼 / 割禮) or “rite of cutting” (Protestant); gēsǔn (割损 / 割損) or “cut + loss” (Catholic) (Source: Zetzsche)
  • Tibetan: mdun lpags gcod (མདུན་​ལྤགས་​གཅོད།), lit. “fore + skin + cut” (source: gSungrab website )
  • Kutu: “enter the cloth (=undergarments)” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Titus 1:10)

Following are a number of back-translations of Titus 1:10:

  • Uma: “My intention in saying that to you, because there are many people who oppose our teachings, especially those who follow the custom of circumcision in the Law of Musa. They are unruly, and they deceive their companions with those useless teachings of theirs.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Because many people are disobedient (lit. have hard heads) and do not follow/obey instruction, especially some of your (pl.) companions who trust in Isa who used to follow the Yahudi religion. Those people, there is no use in their words/speech and they only deceive people.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The reason I say this is that there are many people who do not want to listen to proper teaching. Many of these are the Jewish believers who teach that it is necessary that we (incl.) believers obey the commands left behind by Moses. It is false, and there is no value in their teaching, however many have believed them.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “For there are many people who won’t-take-advice who are deceiving their companions by-means-of what they teach which has no value, especially Jews who have believed.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “For the truth is, many are the disobedient there who tell-stories/relate-things which achieve nothing. They only deceive the people. Really like this is what the Jews are doing who say, it’s necessary to circumcize all the believers, even though they aren’t Jews.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “And now, there are many disobedient people, it is not worth anything in what they teach and they deceive the people. But the worst of those who do this are the Jews.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Titus 1:10

Many refers to certain Christians in Crete; it is quite clear from the context that what is being referred to are not people outside the church but people within the church. For insubordinate see Titus 1.6 of this chapter and “disobedient” in 1 Tim 1.9. The word can also mean “disobedient,” but in the present context the focus is on the unwillingness to be under the control of anyone or anything; hence “rebellious” (Good News Translation), “undisciplined” (Revised English Bible), “will not recognize authority” (Phillips), “out of all control” (New English Bible).

Empty talkers appears only here in the whole New Testament; it is derived from a verb that means “to engage in idle talk.” This may be a reference to their telling about legends, genealogies, and other false teachings similar to those mentioned in 1 Tim 1.3-7. One may also express this as “people who talk nonsense,” and in some languages there will be figurative expressions for such people; for example, “people who talk wind.” Deceivers also appears nowhere else in the New Testament; it is derived from a verb that means “to lead astray,” “to mislead,” “to deceive.” It is possible to take empty talkers and deceivers as a hendiadys with the sense “empty talkers who deceive others” (so Good News Translation “deceive others with their nonsense,” Jerusalem Bible “who talk nonsense and try to make others believe it,” Contemporary English Version “fool others by talking nonsense”).

A very significant part (especially) of this rebellious group comes from the circumcision party, which is a term used of the Jews in general but in this case refers to Jews who have become Christians. Good News Translation makes this information explicit, although the use of the word “converts” for Jewish Christians may be questionable, due to the fact that Christians do not form a new community but understand themselves to belong to the same covenant community to which Jews belong. Jews who become Christians do not leave the covenant community to enter another group; instead, they simply recognize the place of Jesus the Messiah within the covenant community. For this reason it is better to describe Jews who have become Christians as Jewish Christians. One probable reason why Paul refers to this group as the circumcision party is that some of them were teaching that Gentiles or non-Jews must be circumcised before they can become Christians. In other parts of the New Testament, there are references to Jewish Christians who insist on adherence to Jewish rules (including circumcision) as a requirement for non-Jews to become Christians. This may have been the same case in Crete as well. In cultures where talking explicitly about circumcision will simply confuse readers or may even be offensive, translators may say “especially the Jewish Christians.” However, if the rite of circumcision is well understood, one may translate “especially those Jewish Christians who teach that Gentiles must be circumcised before becoming Christians (or, before receiving baptism).”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• For there are many people who do not respect authority, and who talk nonsense and try to make others believe it. This is especially true of some Jews who have become Christians.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to Titus. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .