A Critical Study of the Translation of Matthew 6:12 in the Dangme Bible

• Published in: Neotestamentica Vol. 54; no. 1; pp. 67 - 86
• Main Author: Kuwornu-Adjaottor, Jonathan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Testament Society of Southern Africa 01-01-2020
• Subjects: Bible translation; Dangme; Forgive; Lend; Matthew 6:12; Sin
• ISSN: 0254-8356; 0254-8356
• DOI: 10.1353/neo.2020.0006

The Dangme Bible translation of Matthew 6:12 renders the Greek ἄφες (“forgive”) as ke pa (“lend”). The word “lend” does not match with the word “sin” in the Dangme text. Using the mother-tongue biblical hermeneutics methodology, this article seeks to determine how “forgive” should be translated in Dangme to make sense to Dangme Bible readers. The finding is that Matthew 6:12 should be translated as NgϽϽ wa tϽmi Ͻmε kε ke wϽ kaa bϽ nε waa kε kee nihi nε tϽϽ wa nϽ (“Let go of our sins just as we let go of the sins of those who wrong us”). The ke (“let go of”) in this translation agrees with the rendering in some other Ghanaian translations, such as the Dangme New Testament (1977), the New Ga Bible (2006), the Ewe Bible ([1931] 2010) and the Asante-Twi Bible ([1964] 2012). This finding confirms the interpretation of 88.8 percent of Dangme Bible readers, who interpret God’s forgiveness as God cancelling the sins of the offender. The finding of the study has thus added to the varied translations and interpretations of Matthew 6:12.