רַ֚ק אֶתְכֶ֣ם יָדַ֔עְתִּי מִכֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּח֣וֹת הָאֲדָמָ֑ה עַל־כֵּן֙ אֶפְקֹ֣ד עֲלֵיכֶ֔ם אֵ֖ת כָּל־עֲוֺנֹֽתֵיכֶֽם׃
2You only have I known
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities.
The Hebrew terms that are translated as “family” or “clan” or “house” or similar in English are all translated in Kwere as ng’holo or “clan.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
In the English translation by Goldingay (2018) it is translated as “kin-group.”
See also tribe.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Amos 3:2:
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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also pronoun for “God”.
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. )
If the solution to the problem of verse 1 is to have the LORD begin speaking at verse 2, then an expression like “The LORD says” or “He says” may be needed here to introduce verse 2. It must be clear also that the following words are spoken now, not during the time when the people were being brought out of Egypt.
You only/Of all the nations on earth, you … only. The Good News Translation is a correct translation of the Hebrew here. The meaning is not “more than” the other nations.
Have I known/I have known and cared for. The Hebrew word for “known” has several important parts to its meaning, including personal knowledge, intimate knowledge, care, and choice. In this particular context the meaning of intimate knowledge and care should be translated. I have known and cared for, “cared for” (New English Bible, Moffatt), “I have known intimately” (The Translator’s Old Testament). The Hebrew, furthermore, has considerable overlapping with another Hebrew word for “choose,” “elect,” so that it may very well be translated. “I have chosen.” In fact, this may be the best translation in many languages, as very often a verb to “choose” implies personal intimate knowledge and care. The way in which this is expressed should contribute to the tone of sorrow: “the only ones I have really known and cared for,” “the only ones I have ever really chosen and cared for as my own.”
This knowledge and care of the LORD does not refer only to the past, but also to his revelation which continues in the present: “I have always cared for,” “I am continually caring.” In some languages the continuation could be expressed through two different tenses: “I have cared and care for.”
Therefore/That is why. The meaning is that God punishes because he knows and cares for. Because the LORD knows the people of Israel intimately and cares for them, the people in its turn should know the LORD intimately and want to do his will. Because of his special care, their sins are more terrible.
Iniquities/ sins. The Hebrew word is different from the one used in chapters 1 and 2. There the emphasis was on the evil nature of man, whereas here (and only here in Amos) the emphasis is on the damage caused by doing wrong or the guilt of the person who causes damage through doing wrong. “Guilty behavior” or “doing wrong” would be good translations, although it may be difficult to make this kind of difference in many languages.
Quoted with permission from de Waard, Jan & Smalley, William A. A Handbook on Amos. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1979. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
3:2a “Only you have I known from all the families of the earth;
“Of all the tribes of the earth, I have chosen only you (plur.).
-or-
“I chose you (plur.) alone ⌊when I looked at all⌋ the clans in the world.
3:2b therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
Therefore, ⌊this is why⌋ I will punish you (plur.) all for your sins.”
-or-
⌊Because you abused this honor,⌋ I will punish you for your wrong doing.”
© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.
No comments yet.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.