complete verse (Deuteronomy 21:21)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 21:21:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then all the men of the city must throw stones on that boy until he dies. Be (plur.) doing like that so that you can get rid of that evil. Then, every person in Israel will see it and fear.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Then all the men of that city must stone him to death. You must remove such kind of evil deeds from among you. And all the Israelites will hear this report and be afraid.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He must be-stoned by all the residents of the town until he dies. You (plur.) must eradicate/eliminate this wickedness from among you (plur.). When all the Israelinhon heard this they will-be-afraid.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then all the elders of that city must execute him by throwing stones at him. By doing that, you will get rid of this evil practice among you. And everyone in Israel will hear about what happened and they will be afraid to do what he did.’” (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 21:21

Stone him to death: this is the action commanded (see 13.10).

Purge the evil from your midst: the effect of taking the action (see verse 9).

All Israel shall hear, and fear: the result (see 13.11).

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 .