Most High

Click here to view graphically

The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, or Greek that is translated as “(God) the Most High” or “Most High God” in English is translated in various way:

  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “he the completely glorified God”
  • San Mateo del Mar Huave: “Father God who is high in heaven”
  • Teutila Cuicatec: “God who has such tremendous authority”
  • Chichimeca-Jonaz: “he who is the native of the highest place”
  • Palantla Chinantec: “the Big God Himself”
  • Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “God who has authority over all”
  • Estado de México Otomi: “most exalted God”
  • Isthmus Mixe: “God who is in heaven”
  • Teutila Cuicatec: “God who has a great rule” (source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Sa’a: “God, the Surpassing One” (source: Carl Gross)
  • Elhomwe: Mulluku Muullupalli or “God the Great” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Chichewa: Wammwambamwamba: A name of God. While this word is difficult to translate into English, its sense implies that God is highly above everything in his power and greatness. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 2 Maccabees 3:31

A paragraph break is appropriate here (so Revised Standard Version).

Quickly some of Heliodorus‘friends asked Onias to call upon the Most High and to grant life to one who was lying quite at his last breath: To call upon the Most High may be rendered “to ask [or, pray to] the All-Powerful God.” To grant life to one who was lying quite at his last breath is what Heliodorus’ friends wanted Onias to pray for: that Heliodorus would regain consciousness and survive. Lying quite at his last breath means he was about to die. It is possible to reorder the clauses in this verse as follows:

• Heliodorus was about to die. So some of his friends quickly asked Onias the High Priest to pray to God Most High [or, All-Powerful] and ask him to let Heliodorus live.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.