inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Mal. 1:4)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai translation and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation use the exclusive form (excluding the Lord).

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Mal. 1:9)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai translation and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation use the inclusive form (including the priests and Israel).

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Mal. 2:10)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai translation and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation use the inclusive form (“The prophet links himself with his people, and reminds them that as a nation they all owe their status to the activity of God, that is to say in choosing them”).

Translation commentary on Haggai 1:11

The Hebrew says literally I have called for a drought upon the land and the hills (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version [New Revised Standard Version]). Good News Translation expresses more clearly the fact that what the LORD called for had actually happened, by saying, “I have brought drought….” Translators may also express this as “I have caused your [plural] fields and hills to dry up,” or even combine the two terms; for example, “I have caused the land everywhere to dry up.” There is a play on words in Hebrew between the word for drought and the word translated “in ruins” in verses 4 and 9. This drought affected the whole land, including the hills, where the rainfall was normally greatest. The concept of drought may be translated “I have forbidden the sky [or, clouds] to drop rain.”

The Hebrew goes on to speak of the drought affecting the crops themselves, the grain, the new wine, the oil. Grain, wine and olive oil were (and still are) three of the main crops in Israel. Grain was used to make the staple food, bread. Wine was the principal drink in a country where water supplies were neither very plentiful nor very pure. See the comments on verse 6 for the translation of wine. Oil made by squeezing the juice from olives was used for cooking and for lamp fuel, as well as for rubbing on the body.

Since the opening part of the verse spoke of places (the land and the hills), Good News Translation translates the references to crops in terms of the places there they grow, “grainfields” (British edition “cornfields”; Australian edition “wheatfields”), “vineyards, and olive orchards.” In certain cultures it may be necessary to borrow the terms “grape” (or, “vine”) and “olive” and translate “vineyards” and “olive orchards” as “trees that produce fruit called grapes and trees that produce fruit called olives” or “vine tree farms and olive tree farms.” Translators are at liberty to speak of the crops themselves (as Revised Standard Version and most modern translations do), the places where they grow (see Good News Translation), or the trees that produce the fruit, whichever sounds more natural in their language. If they speak of the crops, and have terms for different kinds of wine, they should note that the term used here means new wine (Revised Standard Version; similarly New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, New International Version), that is, wine which had not fermented for a long period.

Haggai sums up the effect of the drought upon agriculture with a general expression, upon what the ground brings forth, or, as Good News Translation says, “on every crop the ground produces.” He then moves on to say, upon men and cattle, and upon all their labors. Cattle refers not just to cows, but to domestic animals of all kinds, especially including sheep and goats. Domestic animals such as oxen were used in agricultural work like plowing and threshing. Good News Translation expresses this more clearly by saying, “on people and animals, on everything you try to grow.” Contemporary English Version has “your animals and you yourselves. All your hard work will be for nothing.” Some languages, like Hebrew, may have a term for domestic (as opposed to wild) animals, and if so this is an appropriate place to use it.

Though the meanings of the parts of this verse are fairly simple, the whole verse can become rather complicated if translated in a single sentence as in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. Translators may prefer to break the verse up into more than one sentence.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:

• I have brought a drought on your [plural] fields and on the hills. It has affected your crops of grain, wine, olive oil and everything else that the ground produces. It has affected both people and animals, and spoiled all your [plural] attempts to grow food.

• I have caused your [plural] fields and hills to dry up. The lack of moisture in the morning [or, dew] has affected your crops of grain, wine, olive oil, and everything else that grows. It has also caused trouble for both you and your animals, and made it impossible for you to grow food.

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Haggai. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Zechariah 1:10

So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered: These words have the effect of changing speakers from the second angel back to the first one. Because Good News Translation has confused the two angels, it sees no need to repeat these words, which refer back to the similar words in verse 8, and accordingly omits them. Translators are strongly advised not to do this, but to include the words, in some such way as this: “Then the first angel, the one who was among the myrtle trees, said….” For the use of “angel” rather than man here, see the comments on verse 8. For standing among the myrtle trees, see verse 1.8 also.

These are they whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth: These are they refers grammatically to the horses, but since they speak in the following verse, it seems likely that they have riders who are taken for granted but not mentioned directly (see the comments on verse 8). In many languages it would be helpful to mention them here, and say “These horsemen” (as in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) rather than “These horses,” or one may render the whole sentence “These are the people the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.”

Patrol translates a Hebrew word that means literally “to walk about” (compare New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh “to roam”). Several English translations use the word patrol (Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Moffatt, New Living Translation). This is good, as it has the overtones of a military expedition that fit the context well. If translators have a word with similar overtones in their own language, this would probably be a good place to use it. Other ways to express this are “… watch carefully what is happening in the earth” (similarly Contemporary English Version) and “… carefully monitor what is happening in the world.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• So the angel who was among the myrtle trees answered, “These are the horsemen that the LORD has sent out to watch carefully what is happening in the world.”

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Zechariah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Zechariah 3:8

This verse begins with an imperative and a vocative, that is, an address to a person by name; these indicate that it opens a new subunit within the words of the LORD that begin in verse 7 and continue to the end of verse 10. Hear now is a rather solemn opening that would lead the reader to expect an important announcement (compare Deut 6.4; Micah 1.2; Micah 3.1, 9; Micah 6.1). The verb Hear in Hebrew is singular, but the command is addressed both to Joshua the high priest and your friends who sit before you. In some languages it will be more natural to use a plural verb because there is more than one subject. In many languages it will also be necessary to put the vocatives at the beginning of the sentence, and the command Hear after them. An alternative approach is to repeat the verb with each subject, as Good News Translation does (“Listen then, Joshua…; and listen, you fellow priests of his”). Another way of expressing this is: “Listen carefully to what I say, Joshua…; and you fellow priests of his must listen too.”

Your friends who sit before you indicates priests of lower rank. It was customary for pupils to sit before their masters when receiving advice or instruction from a senior person. Compare 2 Kgs 4.38; Ezek 8.1; Ezek 14.1; Ezek 20.1; Ezek 33.31; Acts 22.3. In cultures where students or apprentices sit in front of their teachers on a mat or on the floor, translators should maintain the Hebrew expression. A number of modern English versions (New English Bible/ Revised English Bible, New Revised Standard Version) use the term “colleagues” and this may be a helpful model. In cultures where seniority is normally indicated, these would of course be “junior colleagues.”

For they are men of good omen: The use of the pronoun they appears to exclude Joshua himself from the men of good omen, though there seems to be no reason why this should be so. Probably it is no more than a slight grammatical awkwardness in the Hebrew. The ancient Syriac version has “you” instead of they, and so includes Joshua. Some modern translations (Moffatt, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New English Bible, Good News Translation, Beck, New Living Translation, Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) follow the Syriac in this. Others rephrase in such a way that their intention is not completely clear (New International Version). There does not seem to be any significant difference of meaning involved, and translators will probably have to make their decision on the basis of good style in their own language.

The Hebrew word translated good omen is used elsewhere in the Old Testament. In Isa 8.18 (Revised Standard Version “portents”), Isaiah and his children are by their very names tokens of God’s impending judgment. In Ezek 12.6; Ezek 24.24, 27, Ezekiel by his actions is a sign to his people of God’s plans. Here the priests are not named, and do not do anything. The meaning seems to be that simply by being priests and carrying out priestly duties (compare verse 7), these men are a good omen that God will again bless his people. The fact that the omen is in this case good arises from the context rather than the basic meaning of the Hebrew word. The restoration of regular Temple worship was an important step forward in the national life of the returned exiles, and was seen as an indication that the coming of the Messiah was not far off. An alternative way to express this clause is “You that are a sign that something good is going to happen” or “You are the guarantee…” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

Behold, I will bring my servant the Branch: This is the good omen of which Joshua and his fellow priests are the symbol. For behold see the comments on 1.8. Since the word bring is rather vague in English, Good News Translation translates it as “reveal” and Jerusalem Bible as “raise.” Other ways to express this clause are “I will cause my … to appear” (compare Bible en français courant, Biblen: Det Gamle og Det Nye Testamente) and “I will send…” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Translators should use a term for bring that fits the context in their own languages. The expression my servant would remind the readers of similar expressions in Isaiah (Isa 42.1; Isa 49.3, 6; Isa 52.13; Isa 53.11).

The Branch is used as a title for the Messiah in such places as Jer 23.5; Jer 33.15, and similar language occurs in Isa 11.1. This figure was associated with the family of King David. Several scholars (Driver, Mitchell, Cashdan, Thomas, Stuhlmueller [1968], Meyers & Meyers) insist that Branch is not an accurate translation of the meaning of the Hebrew word, and that “Shoot” would be better. However, most modern English versions (New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) retain the word Branch. This may be because it has become part of the vocabulary of theologians and hymn writers; or it may be because the word “Shoot” also has other meanings in English. Translators should choose a term that will not carry a wrong meaning in their languages. They may also need to make it clearer that the Branch is a human being. They may need to say something like “I will bring my servant, a man who is called the Branch.” The context here does not identify who Zechariah meant by the Branch and translators should not try to do so. They should however understand that the term indicated a person who would be both king and Messiah, and may include such information in a footnote.

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Zechariah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Zechariah 6:9

And the word of the LORD came to me: Compare 4.8, which is identical in Hebrew, and 7.4 and 8.18, which add “of hosts.” As in 4.8, Good News Translation makes this a separate sentence, and this may also be better style in other languages.

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Zechariah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Zechariah 8:12

For there shall be a sowing of peace: For introduces the second reason for the command to “be strong” in verse 9. It may be helpful to repeat this command here in order to make this link clear. There is no equivalent in the Hebrew to the words there shall be, and from ancient times translators have had to decide what they think the phrase a sowing of peace means. Revised Standard Version in supplying there shall be is following an example at least as old as the Latin Vulgate. This makes a clause that is grammatically complete, but does nothing to explain the meaning. The Septuagint translated with a verb in the first person instead of the noun a sowing, which suggests that its translators may have been using a Hebrew text with one more consonant than the text which we now have. This possibility is accepted by several modern translations. Jerusalem Bible, for example, renders “I mean to spread peace everywhere” (compare Moffatt, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1. Edition, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Some scholars prefer to accept the consonants of the traditional Hebrew text, but to divide the words differently, and supply different vowels. This view can claim some ancient support from the Syriac and the Targum, and the text would then be translated literally as “her sowing [shall be] peace,” with “her” referring to the remnant. New English Bible accepts this option but translates it freely as “they shall sow in safety” (similarly Revised English Bible). It is not clear whether Good News Translation with “They will plant [British edition ‘sow’] their crops in peace” also accepts this, or follows the traditional text. In any case, the difference in meaning is small, and it is certain that it is the returned exiles who do the sowing. Since this verse is to be regarded as parallel with verse 10 rather than as closely linked with the pronoun “I” in verse 11, we recommend that translators should not use a first person verb as Moffatt, Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1. Edition have done, but rather follow the example of New English Bible/ Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, or Good News Translation. In many languages peace will be better translated as “safety” (New English Bible/ Revised English Bible); for example, “Instead, they will plant crops in safety.”

The vine shall yield its fruit refers to grapes for making wine. Together with grain and olive oil, wine was one of the principal agricultural crops of Israel. Compare the comments on Hag 1.11. Translators could say, for example, “the vines will bear many grapes.”

The ground shall give its increase, and the heavens shall give their dew: These two statements go together and complement each other. This may be a reference back to Hag 1.10, where the prophet speaks of the opposite situation. Since the growth of the crops on the earth is dependent on the supply of sufficient moisture from the heavens (that is, from the sky), it may be helpful in some languages to put the two statements in the reverse order, since this is more logical (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1. Edition). Good News Translation translates dew as “rain.” On this question, see the comments on Hag 1.10, where we recommended that translators use the word dew if this seems to be natural style. An alternative translation model for these two clauses may then be “dew will fall from the sky and the earth will produce many crops.” However, in languages where dew is expressed by something like “water that clings,” it will be better to talk about “rain” falling.

I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things: The remnant of this people means the returned exiles, as in verse 11. The word translated possess has a sense of permanent possession. Moffatt tries to bring this out by saying, “blessings that I will make lasting for those left of my people.” Another way to say this is “I will cause you that have survived to enjoy all these things regularly.” Translators should not follow the example of Contemporary English Version and omit this sentence.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• Be strong, because now people will plant crops in safety. The vines will bear many grapes, dew [or, rain] will fall from the sky, and the earth will produce good crops. I will cause those who have survived to enjoy all these things regularly.

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Zechariah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .