obedience / obey

The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek that is translated in English typically as “obedience” or “obey” is translated in Tepeuxila Cuicatec as “thing hearing,” because “to hear is to obey.” (Source: Marjorie Davis in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 34ff. )

In Huba it is translated as hya nǝu nyacha: “follow (his) mouth.” (Source: David Frank in this blog post )

In Central Mazahua it is translated as “listen-obey” and in Huehuetla Tepehua as “believe-obey” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), and in Noongar as dwangka-don, lit. “hear do” (source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).

See also disobedience.

Translation commentary on 1 Esdras 4:12

Gentlemen, why is not the king the strongest, since he is to be obeyed in this fashion?: See the comments on 1 Esd 3.24. This is another rhetorical question, which Good News Bible renders as a statement. It will be awkward in many languages to refer to the king as the strongest. Contemporary English Version tries to avoid the problem by rendering this whole question as “Men of Media and Persia, if the king can make sure people do these things, isn’t he the strongest in the world?” See also the model below.

And he stopped speaking: See the comments on 1 Esd 3.24.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• Honorable sirs, since everyone obeys the king like this, he is surely more powerful than any other force in the world.” That is what the second speaker said.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Esdras. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.