complete verse (Deuteronomy 11:26)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 11:26:

  • Kupsabiny: “Please listen my people, I am today giving you a word of life or of death.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Look, today I am putting a blessing and a curse before you.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Listen! I am having- you (plur.) -choose now. You (plur.) want to be-blessed or be-cursed?” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘Listen carefully: Today I am telling you that Yahweh will either bless you or he will curse you.” (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 11:26

Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje begins a new section here that goes to the end of the chapter, with the heading “A Blessing and a Curse.” Translators in other languages may want to do this also. If so, other possible models for a heading are “God will either bless or curse” or “God will either do good things for you or punish you.” As with other new sections, it will be helpful to reintroduce Moses as the speaker.

The exhortation (chapter 11) closes with the choice that is given to the people: blessing or curse, good fortune or misfortune, success or failure. All of this comes from God, who will act in accordance with the people’s willingness to obey him. It is not difficult to find a good translation for blessing (see 1.11), but one for curse, in which God is the actor, may prove somewhat difficult, since in many languages the term “curse” is associated with the profanity and vulgarity that accompany a loss of temper. In this context a curse is God’s solemn resolve to punish the people as they deserve for disobeying him. It may be necessary to use the verb “to punish” or the noun “punishment.”

But this curse is also binding. Once Yahweh has uttered blessings or cursings they cannot be taken back. Translators should study the way blessings and cursings function in their cultures. How do these curses by Yahweh compare to those of, for example, the Shaman or the “medicine man”? Will the vocabulary used in similar situations apply to Yahweh’s curses?

I set before you this day: God is giving the people a choice; Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje translates “And now I will let you choose whether you want a blessing or a curse.” Again this day is emphasized.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• Today you must choose between two things: Do you want the LORD to do good things for you or to punish you?

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 .