complete verse (Deuteronomy 23:16)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 23:16:

  • Kupsabiny: “Allow him/her to live in any of your villages that he likes/wants.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Let him live in your midst where he wishes. You are not to oppress him.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Let- him -live in your (plur.) place wherever town he likes. You (plur.) do- not -oppress him.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Allow them to stay/live among you, in whatever town they choose, and do not mistreat them.” (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 23:16

He shall dwell: this verse repeats in a positive way the negative command of the previous verse. But the whole statement is quite wordy, and a translation may choose to abbreviate it somewhat. Good News Translation, however, seems too brief.

You shall not oppress him: the verb means “to treat harshly,” “to mistreat,” “to be cruel to.”

The first part of this verse may be alternatively rendered as “Instead, you must let him choose which one of your towns he wants to live in….”

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 .