As we approach Christmas and look back at this long year, “peace” may not be the first word most of us will associate with the last twelve months. Still, I — and I suspect many who read these words — long for exactly that: peace.
The Many Meanings of Peace
If we take time to ponder this longed-for “peace,” we quickly realize its very broad range of meanings.
There is the absence or cessation of strife or war. There’s the inner peace that, similar to the first meaning, is also the absence or cessation of struggles, but within a single person. Google surprisingly offers the “peace greeting” used in many Christian churches as the third possible meaning of “peace.”
Truly I long for all of these, but I also recognize that only peace from God makes inner peace possible, ultimately enabling us to become the peacemakers the Bible talks about. This peace from God is exactly what we were promised in scripture at the declaration of the birth of God’s son to the lowly shepherds in Luke 2:14:
“Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
This is how the NIV translates the original Greek. The many other different English translations of this verse are remarkably similar. In other languages, however, there’s a colorful plethora of translations for this same verse. Here is a selection of translation into some languages and the back-translated into English from the United Bible Societies’ Translation Insights & Perspectives (TIPs) tool that collects interesting translations from languages around the world. (Back-translation is translating “back” into English from another translation.)
For example, these languages render “heaven” as “Holy Country,” and “earth” as “under the heavens” or simply “down here.” Our essential term “peace” shows up as “protection of inner being,” “smooth interior,” “goodness of life,” or “resting hearts.” And these are a mere foretaste of the many other ways to translate the biblical concept of inner peace, as we can see by scrolling down the page — or in this simplified graphic (click to enlarge):
What difference do these multiple expressions of peace make to you and me?
A state of mind or an emotional state is hard to put into words — and maybe especially one that, according to Luke, is a gift from God. We know when God grants that state of inner peace within us — however fleetingly — but wouldn’t it be helpful to actually be able to put into words the components that make this gift a reality?
Peace on Earth
Languages are an imprint of the wisdom and experience of the people who speak that language. In the English language, the original meaning of a word — its etymology — can give us clues to what our ancestors associated with a concept. (Incidentally, and partly because English has only one word for both “inner peace” and “outer peace,” the original meaning of the word “peace” is similar to that of “pact,” as in making a peace pact.)
From the words in the above graphic or the more detailed listing on the TIPs website, we can see that other people and languages have very different, and maybe more easily applicable approaches to that inner peace that we all desire.
Here are the attributes (in order of frequency) that are associated with inner peace from languages you may never have heard of across Asia, Africa, Central and South America, and Oceania:
- quiet/stillness/resting (often in association with the heart or another organ that is thought of as containing emotions)
- cool (also often in connection with the inner organic self)
- even/smooth/complete/well-arranged
- good
- joyful
- secure
- sweet
- and then maybe the sweetest of all (no pun intended) from Ivory Coast’s Baoulé: “a song in the body”
Ultimately, the peace we are seeking may surpass all understanding — but seeing the way all these different languages and cultures describe it helps us at least understand why.
Claim God’s Peace This Christmas — and All Year ‘Round
Are you ready to claim God’s promise of peace? Are you willing to have the Prince of Peace share with you what you’ll likely need at this — and any — time?
Be still, let your emotions cool down, be ready to experience joy, even out, understand that you’re “well-arranged,” and let a song resonate in your body.
Merry Christmas and Peace on Earth!
Discover the many layers of meaning hidden in the Bible by exploring worldwide translations using Translation Insights & Perspectives and Bible Gateway. Then gain theological insights on every passage with the dozens of resources included in Bible Gateway Plus — free for 14 days!
Jost Zetzsche is a translator and the curator of Translation Insights & Perspectives (tips.translation.bible) for the United Bible Societies. His writing has appeared in Christianity Today, The Christian Century, and MultiLingual.
