firstborn

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “firstborn” in English is translated in a number of ways:

  • “he/she that opens the gown” in Batak Toba (because formerly a woman stopped wearing a gown and started using a bodice after the birth of her first child)
  • “he/she that damages the stalk (i.e. the body)” in Uab Meto (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • “the oldest son of all” in Mezquital Otomi
  • “oldest child” in Isthmus Zapotec (source for this and one above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • “firstborn child, who was a boy” in Elhomwe (to make clear, without ambiguity, that Mary did not have daughters before) (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In Bawm Chin, the term can imply the existence of younger siblings, so a translation is needed that brings out the fact that Jesus is superior to all else, not just the first of a series. (Source: David Clark)

See also only begotten son / (one and) only son and firstborn.

tithe

The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “tithe” in English (which etymologically has the meaning of “the tenth”) is translated in Mokole as “(give) the tenth part.” This is the translation that most languages use that don’t use a specialized term like English does. See also complete verse (Hebrews 7:4) et al.

Source for Mokole: Hilary Deneufchâtel.

complete verse (Deuteronomy 12:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 12:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “Go to that place to give to God sacrifices that are burned completely, one in ten, your things that are given (as gifts), things that you are promising God, your things that you give out of love alone, and the firstborns of your cows and sheep/goats.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “There you are to bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, tithes and other offerings, and offerings to fulfill a vow, voluntary offerings, and the first-born of your herds and flocks.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “There you (plur.) will- bring your (plur.) burnt offerings and other offerings, your (plur.) tenth-portion, your (plur.) special gifts, what you (plur.) promised to offer, your (plur.) freewill offerings, and the first-born of your (plur.) animals.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “That is the place where you must bring your sacrifices that will be completely burned on the altar, and your other sacrifices, your tithes/ten percent of all of your crops, other offerings that you decide to give, and the firstborn animals from your cattle and sheep.” (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 12:6

There are seven different offerings listed here.
(1) Burnt offerings: animals completely burned, except for the hide, as an offering to God. Good News Translation calls them “sacrifices to be burned,” and many other translations term them “whole burnt offerings.”
(2) Sacrifices: the most general term possible; it usually means animal sacrifices whose meat is shared by the deity and the worshiper (or the priest).
(3) Tithes: this refers to giving the LORD one tenth of a person’s gross income—in most instances, agricultural products such as grain, wine, and olive oil (see 14.22-23). In some languages the idea of tithes in this context may have to be translated by a phrase; for example, “one tenth of all the produce…” or “one part of … out of any ten.”
(4) The offering that you present: a voluntary offering of whatever nature (Revised English Bible “contributions”; New Revised Standard Version “donations”), which the worshiper presented with his hands (see Exo 25.2-3).
(5) Votive offerings: any offering made as payment of a vow or promise. Good News Translation has “the gifts that you promise to the LORD.”
(6) Freewill offerings: offerings not required by law, which could include sacrifices of any kind. Another way to express this is “things you voluntarily give to him.”
(7) The firstlings of your herd and of your flock: or, as Good News Translation has it, “the first-born of your cattle and sheep.” On “cattle” see 2.35 and 5.14.

If it is impossible to come up with different terms or expressions for these various offerings, a general term will have to be used that will include any and all kinds of sacrifices; for example, “There you must offer all your sacrifices to Yahweh” or “There you must slaughter your animals and offer them and your other gifts to Yahweh.”

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 .