tithe

The Hebrew 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 14:22)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 14:22:

  • Kupsabiny: “You must give one out of ten when you harvest your food each year.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Every year put aside one-tenth of the crops that grow in your fields.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘You (plur.) must set-aside the tenth-portion of all the produce of your (plur.) field/farm each year.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘Once each year you must set apart a tithe/10 percent of all the crops that are produced/harvested in your fields.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 14:22

With the beginning of a new section, it is recommended that translators reintroduce Moses as the speaker. It may also be helpful to reintroduce the audience, the people of Israel (see alternative translation).

You shall tithe: in Hebrew this is an emphatic command, the compound verb form “tithing you shall tithe.” To tithe means to give to God one tenth of a person’s gross income — in this instance, agricultural produce (see verse 23 and also 12.6). In dealing with this, the most natural way of expressing the command is to say “Put aside one tenth,” “set aside ten percent” (Contemporary English Version), or “save up…” or “store away….”

All the yield of your seed: this concept is more naturally expressed by “everything you grow in your fields,” or “all your crops.”

Which comes forth from the field year by year: a more natural way of saying this is “[all] that your fields produce [or, grow] each year” (Today’s English Version, New International Version).

Although duplication and redundancy are common and effective in Hebrew, translators must constantly determine whether they are natural and effective in their language, and then act accordingly.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• People of Israel, every year you must set aside one part out of every ten parts of all that your fields produce.

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 .