complete verse (Deuteronomy 1:33)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 1:33:

  • Kupsabiny: “who was going ahead of you on the road and sought out for you where to set up your tents. God led you through/with a fire during the night and during the day he led you with a cloud to that it could show you the way.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He went ahead of you on the journey, seeking places for you to take shelter and showing you the way by fire at night and by a cloud during the day.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “who went-ahead of you (plur.) on your (plur.) journey, by fire at night and by cloud at/[if] day. He searched-out places for you (plur.) to-camp and showed/[lit. pointed] where you (plur.) are-to-pass-by.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I reminded them that he always went ahead of them while they traveled in the desert. He directed them by a pillar of fire during the night and a pillar of cloud during the day. He showed them places to set up their tents. But in spite of what I said, your ancestors would not trust Yahweh our God.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

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 Deuteronomy 1:33

The order of the phrases and clauses in Revised Standard Version reflects the structure of the Hebrew text. The phrases in fire by night and in the cloud by day should be clearly connected to the verbal phrase “to show you the way you should go,” as done in Good News Translation.

Went before you in the way: that is, “went ahead of you on your journey,” or “went ahead of you [or, us] as you [or, we] walked through the wilderness.”

To seek out a place to pitch your tents can be translated “to find a place where you could camp”; but in some languages “to find a place where you could erect [or, put up] your tents” will be more natural. The reader must be able to understand what was involved in this kind of travel, where tents were set up and taken down as the Israelites traveled through the wilderness. Moses would have included himself as one of the Israelites, so it may be necessary to change the second person pronouns to first person inclusive throughout.

To show you by what way you should go: Yahweh went ahead of the people in a cloud by day and in a column of fire by night (Exo 13.21-22), to show them the direction they should take, and this may be shown in translation: “leading us in the right direction and showing us where to camp” (Contemporary English Version). In fire by night (Good News Translation “pillar of fire”) may be also expressed as “in a flaming fire at night,” or even “in a fire in the form of a column [or, pillar].” In the cloud by day may be rendered in a similar way. However, in cultures where “pillars” and “columns” are unknown, a general model like “in a thick cloud” or “in a flaming fire” is possible.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• even though he always went ahead of us in the wilderness. During the daytime the LORD was in a column of cloud, leading us in the right direction and showing us where to set up our tents. And at night he was present in a column of fire.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .