complete verse (1 Corinthians 10:7)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 10:7:

  • Uma: “Don’t worship idols, like some of them did. Like is written in the Holy Book: ‘They sat down to eat and drink, and after that they began to motaro’ [a frenzied dance to summon familiar spirits] to worship an image/idol. ‘” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Let us (incl.) not worship the statues of idols as some of them did in those times. It is written hep about their doing in the holy-book, it says, ‘The people sat down so that they ate and drank to honor their gods. After that they stood up to dance and to do bad.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “We must not worship false objects of worship which is what they did long ago, for there is a written word of God which says, ‘They sat down around it because they were eating and drinking that which they’d sacrificed, and after that they danced.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “and we will also not worship idols like some of them. What they did was written in the word of God which says, ‘The collective-people sat-down to eat and drink and after-that they stood-up to join in excess partying (lit. happinesses).'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “You also, put far from you the worship of pretend gods, which was the sin of some of God’s people in the past. For it is contained in the writings that, in their worship of their pretend gods, ‘The people kept-feasting and drinking, and then went on to engage in disgusting merry-making.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Therefore now, do not worship idols like some of them did in worshipping idols. Because it is written in the Holy Book concerning what those people did. It says: ‘The people sat down and ate and had a drinking party. After finishing eating they got up and worshipped the idol, commencing to dance,’ it says.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 1 Corinthians 10:7

This verse refers to the making of the golden calf in Exo 32.1-6. Verse 7a has a strong link to Exo 32.6a, which says “And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings.”

Good News Bible‘s translation of the quotation from Exo 32.6b is a vivid paraphrase, the meaning of which may be implied in the Greek but is not expressed. Exo 32.19 refers back to this as dancing rather than as “sex.” Paul treats “sex” in the following verse. The Greek verb that Revised Standard Version translates dance means “play” or “amuse oneself.” Bible en français courant “amuse themselves”; Revised English Bible has “revel.” Other common language translations, also Translator’s New Testament and An American Translation, translate “dance.” However, dancing and sex are connected in many cultures. The Greek word used here for “dance” refers in the Septuagint of Genesis 26.8 to Isaac “fondling his wife” (Isaac and Rebecca making love), but in Genesis 21.9 it has the wider meaning of children “playing,” or it may refer to homosexual contacts. Dance is probably the safer rendering. Paul’s main point is that the feast and the dancing took place, in effect, to honor a pagan god.

The phrase Do not be idolaters will need to be slightly expanded in some languages to “Nor should we worship idols.”

For a discussion on it is written, see the comments on 9.9.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• nor should we worship idols as some of those people did. For it is written in the scriptures, “The people sat down to eat and drink (in a feast) and then began to dance.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .