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Category Archives: Hawai’i Pidgin Translation

John 6:51-58 (Hawai’i Pidgin Translation)

18 Aug

51 I da real bread. I da one dat can make peopo come alive fo real kine. I wen come down from da sky. Anybody take dis bread, dey goin live to da max foeva. Dis da bread I goin give wen I mahke, my body. An dis goin make you live to da max foeva.”

52 Den da Jewish guys wen start fo argue mo hard wit each odda. Dey say, “Eh, wat dis guy talking bout? How he can give us his body fo eat?”

53 Jesus tell dem, “Eh, you guys get um! An I like tell you guys dis too: I da Guy Dass Fo Real. If you guys no take wat I telling you guys bout why I goin mahke, no way you guys goin come alive fo real kine. If you guys take um, dass jalike you guys eat my body an drink my blood. 54 Jalike I wen say: Whoeva eat my body an drink my blood, dey goin live to da max foeva, an I goin bring um back alive wen da world goin pau. 55 Cuz my body, dass food fo real kine. An my blood, dass drink fo real kine. 56 Whoeva eat my body an drink my blood lidat, dey stay tight wit me, an I stay tight wit dem. 57 Da Fadda stay live fo real kine, an he wen send me hea. I stay live too, cuz he make me live fo real kine. Whoeva take me, same ting, dey goin live, cuz I goin make dem live fo real kine. 58 Dis not jalike da manna kine bread dat yoa ancesta guys wen eat, an bumbye dey wen mahke. Dis da kine bread dat wen come from God in da sky. Whoeva eat dis kine bread goin live fo real kine.”

John 6:51-58 (HWP)

Dear God, this translation is so good for me as I try to look at scripture that I’ve read over and over again in a fresh way. This is definitely a fresh way.

So where my traditional English translations say, “…live forever,” this translation says, “…live fo real kine.” Interesting.

I attend Catholic church with my wife, but I am not Catholic. It’s the doctrine of transubstantiation that is the hurdle I cannot clear. I won’t go into why I can’t get to where I believe it here. Perhaps I don’t have enough faith that you would do something like that multiple times a day all over the world. Maybe it’s a flaw in me, and I have built my arguments around that. Or perhaps my arguments are legitimate and I am right and 2,000 years of Catholic theology is wrong. I don’t know. Frankly, it really doesn’t matter at this point. Am I taking your bread and wine/grape juice and remembering you and your sacrifice representationally, or am I literally ingesting your body and blood transubstantially (I might have just made that word up)? The real question is, am I living “fo real kine?”

Looking back at every time the HWP uses “real kine” and how it compares to the words the traditional English translation (NLT) use is interesting.

  • Verse 51: forever = fo real kine
  • Verse 53: Guy Das Fo Real = Son of Man; fo real kine = eternal life
  • Verse 55: body, das food fo real kine = flesh is true food; blood, das drink fo real kine = blood is true drink
  • Verse 57: Da Fadda stay live fo real kine = Living Father who sent me; he make me live fo real kine = I live because; I goin make dem live fo real kine = will live because of me
  • Verse 58: Whoeva eat dis kine bread goin live fo real kine = Anyone who eats this bread…will live forever

So it seems the translators use the same words to communicate what traditional English would call both truth/true and forever/eternal life.

As for what I’m thinking right now, you, Jesus, are for real. You are the real kine. You are the Guy Das Fo Real. Your flesh and blood are part of the truth of who you are. It transcends transubstantiation. I guess that’s the biggest problem I have with transubstantiation. It’s too limiting on what you are. It wasn’t your body and blood that made you special. It was your indwelling Spirit and Deity in that body and blood that made it special. And when I take representational communion as opposed to transubstantiated eucharist it keeps me in a place of worshipping the fullness of your Deity beyond who you were while you were here. And then, you know what. Maybe I’m wrong. I might be. But I think you know my heart on this. You know I love you. You know I take it seriously when I experience communion as bread and either wine or grape juice. In fact, being someone who doesn’t like wine, I actually prefer when it is wine because I don’t want to like the flavor of what I’m taking. I want it to be a bit bitter than you had to be broken for me.

Father, I don’t know that I accomplished much this morning except to really appreciate the translators of the HWP translation, and maybe continue to think about the depths, the unfathomable depths, of who you are. I love you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 18, 2024 in Hawai'i Pidgin Translation, John

 

Romans 14:1-4

15 Aug

14 Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. 2 For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. 3 Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval.

Romans 14:1-4

Dear God, wow! How have I never paid attention to these verses before. I know I’ve read them. I know I’ve journaled on them and prayed to you about them. But now, today, this is quite something.

I’ve mentioned the book The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs. One of the things I’ve learned from it is that we have all, without exception, as Christians or even Jewish people, chosen what we want to follow from the Bible and what we refuse to. What we think applies to our lives today and what is out of date and applies only to the cultures from 2,000 to 6,000 years ago. I do it. Even the most “Authority-of-Scripture” Fundamentalist does it. Certainly the most liberal of Christians do it. So what is Paul giving us here as guidance?

Verse 4 seems to say it. If we are worshipping you then it is up to you to convict us of behavior. We are your servants, and no one else’s. And you have certainly convicted me of bad behavior, thoughts, actions, and attitudes before. The act of praying to you each day. The act of letting you channel my thoughts through these prayers, through listening to Christians I trust and let them convict me. In fact, I was listening to a sermon yesterday via podcast and was convicted of something I did 36 years ago to someone else. The pastor was talking about us making amends with the person we wronged. If I were to see that person or talk to that person, I don’t think I would have trouble apologizing to them for it. I am certainly sorry before you for it. But if I sought them out today, would I do more harm than good. Step 9 of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is “making amends,” but with the caveat that you shouldn’t do it if it would do harm. I don’t know if it would do harm or not. Guide me in that.

I think, for at least a little while, I want to check out what the Hawai’i Pidgin translation has to say for the passage I’m focusing on each day. In this case, here is its translation:

No Judge Yoa Brudda-Sista Guys

14 Wen get one guy dat trus God but he not strong inside yet, dass okay. But no go make argue bout wat he tinking. Jus let um hang out wit you guys. 2 Get some peopo, dey trus God, an dey shua dat dey can eat any kine, meat o watevas. Get odda peopo dat no stay strong fo trus God, an dey no eat meat, ony vegable kine stuff. 3 Eh! da guy dat eat any kine stuffs jalike meat an watevas, he betta not ack like he mo betta den da guy dat no eat meat. Same ting, dat guy dat no eat meat, he betta not go tell da guy dat eat meat, “Eh, az wrong fo you do dat, you know.” Cuz God wen let um come be his guy awready!

I love it. I think this just might be my new thing. What a breath of fresh air for seeing your Word through another, beautiful lens. I included the section heading as well because it was just too good.

Father, convict me where I need to be convicted. Direct me in repentance where I need to repent. Love others through me. I worship you. I praise you. I know I’ve drawn the lines of what I will and won’t do in the wrong places. Help me to, day by day, get closer to drawing the line that is the best for me to become the man you need me to be. For my sake and for your glory, oh, Lord.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 15, 2024 in Hawai'i Pidgin Translation, Romans

 

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Galatians 5:22-23 (Hawai’i Pidgin Version)

14 Aug

22 But if we stay tight wit Godʼs Spirit, he give us plenny love an aloha fo everybody. He make us guys stay good inside. He make our hearts rest inside. He help us wait fo da odda guy an stay cool. He help us tink good bout da odda peopo, an like do good kine stuff fo dem. He help us do wat we promise. 23 He help us make nice to peopo an do um wit good kine heart. He help us stay in charge a ourself. No mo rules dat say you no can do all dat kine stuff. 

Galatians 5:22-23

Dear God, I had never heard of this Bible translation before last night. How interesting. First, I never knew there was this English-based creole language spoken in Hawaii. Then, obviously, I never knew there was a Bible done for those who speak it. How marvelous! I would have thought that they would just read a traditional American English (as opposed to British, Australian, South African, etc.) version, but this is a little more like reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. I can read it, but it takes me a little longer to roll through the pronunciations and then interpret them as intended.

So one of the first things I did when I heard about it was go to some of my favorite Bible passages. Namely, Acts 20:24 and Galatians 5:22-23. The way it stated Galatians really touched me. I found that it’s incredibly inefficient when compared with the other translations. The traditional English translations use approximately 30 words to describe the fruits of the Spirit while the Hawaiian Pidgin uses 100. But the descriptiveness of “love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control” are lovely.

  • Love – Plenny love an aloha to everybody.
  • Joy – Stay good inside
  • Peace – Hearts rest inside
  • Patience – Wait fo da odda guy an stay cool
  • Kindness – Tink good bout da odda person
  • Goodness – Like do good kine stuff fo dem
  • Faithfulness – Do what we promise
  • Gentleness – Make nice to peopo an do um wit good kine heart
  • Self-Control – Stay in charge of ourself

I love it.

Father, there are so many ways to unlock the depths of what you want me to know. Thank you for the young man who introduced me to this translation last night. Thank you for the faith you have put in him and what you are doing for his father and family through him. He is remarkable. Be with him. Strengthen him. Protect him. I know he will struggle. I know he will suffer. We all do. Hold him close and show him your path for him. And show me your path for me as well.

I offer this to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 14, 2024 in Galatians, Hawai'i Pidgin Translation

 

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