Leprosy of the Heart: Translating the Bible

This is the English-translated outline of the sermon preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi to the congregations of Ashiya Christian Church and Unfinished Community on Sunday, October 12, 2025, drawing from Luke 17:11-19.

Maybe the sermon isn't the best place to go into great detail about this, but the Bible wasn't originally written in Japanese, or English for that matter. The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew (and partly Aramaic), while the New Testament was written in Greek. Later, during the ancient and medieval Catholic Church era, only the Latin translation of the Bible was permitted to be read. However, after the Reformation, reading the Bible in one's mother tongue was actively promoted, which is what allows us to read it in Japanese today. However, translation can be challenging, and isn't always as accurate as we might like. Take the well-known hymn “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.” You may be familiar with the Japanese translation “主我を愛す”, but where did the original “this I know” go? Should “Jesus” be translated as “主” (Shu, Lord)? Yes, Lord Jesus Christ. And “me” is ‘我’ (ware), but is that Japanese even used today? In Kansai dialect, “ware” carries a slightly different meaning too, doesn't it?

Today, in the Gospel of Luke, we hear about “a severe skin disease.” What exactly was this illness? In the original Greek text, it's “lepra,” meaning leprosy (also known as Hansen's disease). Since the time of the Old Testament, this disease was considered incurable. Patients were shunned by society and forbidden to live among ordinary people. This situation persisted in Japan well into the 20th century. Isolation facilities (sanatoriums) were established in several locations within Japan, and those diagnosed with leprosy were forcibly separated from their families and relocated. Consequently, the word “leprosy” carries with it a sense of discrimination and isolation, and even in modern translations of the Bible it has been avoided as an offensive term.

That this translation concealed the original name of the disease - at least in the Japanese - suggests the translator perhaps failed to grasp the story's message. The point isn't that Jesus healed the leprosy necessarily, but that people burdened by the discrimination, suffering, and sorrow which accompanies this disease - whether they realize it or not - are truly loved and fully protected by God. Therefore, the Bible clearly portrays this man's social position, and perhaps should have actually emphasized the dynamic reality of Jesus engaging with him in defiance of the social custom, and the fear that surrounded it. It was for exactly this that the one out of ten who thanked Jesus returned, because he recognized the divine love he felt from Jesus Christ.

Let us pray,

Loving God, forgive us for often losing sight of the greatness of Your love. We thank You that no matter what state we ,au be in, You continue to love and embrace us. Keep us alive within such love, we pray in the name of our Lord,

Amen.