complete verse (Deuteronomy 30:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 30:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “I proclaim to you today that you will surely be destroyed. You shall not live for long in that land that you are taking for yourselves when/after you have crossed the river of Jordan.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “then today I will say that you will certainly be destroyed. Then you will not live long in the land on the other side of the Jordan that you are about to enter and possess.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “just right now I am warning you (plur.) already that surely you (plur.) will-be-destroyed. You (plur.) will- not -live long in the land that you (plur.) are-going-to-enter and possess/occupy there across Jordan.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I am warning you today that you will soon die. You will not live for a long time in the land that you are about to cross the Jordan River to enter and possess.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Jordan

The Hebrew, Greek and Ge’ez that is translated as “Jordan” means “descending (rapidly),” “flowing down.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with the sign for the river bordering Jordan and Israel, along with the general sign for river. (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)


“Jordan river” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jordan River .

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 30:18

I declare to you this day: these words introduce a formal, important statement. They may also be rendered as “I am warning you today.”

You shall perish; you shall not live long in the land: this means that they as individuals and as a nation will soon disappear; see 8.19. The phrase you shall perish is emphatic in Hebrew and may also be expressed as “you will be destroyed”; but in languages that do not use the passive, we may say, for example, “your enemies [or, those that hate you] will destroy you.”

Going over the Jordan: from east to west.

Contemporary English Version has an excellent model, combining and restructuring the clauses in verses 16-18 as follows:

• I am commanding you to be loyal to the LORD, to live the way he has told you, and to obey his laws and teachings. You are about to cross the Jordan River and take the land that he is giving you. If you obey him, you will live and become successful and powerful. On the other hand, you might choose to disobey the LORD and reject him. So I’m warning you that if you bow down and worship other gods, you won’t have long to live.

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 .