21And when many terrible troubles come upon them, this song will confront them as a witness because it will not be lost from the mouths of their descendants. For I know what they are inclined to do even now, before I have brought them into the land that I promised them on oath.”
Cherokee: “putting one’s hand up to someone” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16)
In Bauzi “swear” can be translated in various ways. In Hebrews 6:13, for instance, it is translated with “bones break apart and decisively speak.” (“No bones are literally broken but by saying ‘break bones’ it is like people swear by someone else in this case it is in relation to a rotting corpse’ bones falling apart. If you ‘break bones’ so to speak when you make an utterance, it is a true utterance.”) In other passages, such as in Matthew 26:72, it’s translated with an expression that implies taking ashes (“if a person wants everyone to know that he is telling the truth about a matter, he reaches down into the fireplace, scoops up some ashes and throws them while saying ‘I was not the one who did that.'”). So in Matthew 26:72 the Bauzi text is: “. . . Peter took ashes and defended himself saying, ‘I don’t know that Nazareth person.'” (Source: David Briley)
“know something is true because of seeing it” in Teutila Cuicatec (source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
“ones who will confirm that these-things that you have seen are true” in Kankanaey (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
“ones who are to testify about these things, because it all happened before your eyes” in Tagbanwa (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 31:21:
Kupsabiny: “And when many troubles have come to them, this song shall remind them of my words. It is like that, because their grandchildren shall not forget this song. I have known how these people are from before I am bringing them to go to that land which I vowed to myself that I would give (them).’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Then, after many dreadful disasters have come upon them, this song will be like a witness against them. For their descendants will never forget it. I have understood their thoughts even before I brought them into the land I promised with an oath to give them."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “When many disasters and hardships will- now -come upon them, this song will-become a witness against them, for this will- not -be-forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are-planning to do even if I have- not -brought them yet to the land I swore to give them.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “And they will experience many terrible disasters. After that happens, their descendants will never forget this song, and it will be like a witness that says, ‘Now you know why Yahweh punished your ancestors.’ I will soon take them into the land that I vowed that I would give to them; but now, before I do that, I know what they are thinking that they will do when they are living there.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
Many evils and troubles have come upon them: see verse 17.
This song shall confront them as a witness: this is a court setting; the Israelites are being judged and the song is a hostile witness (see verse 18). In many languages it will be possible to retain the vivid imagery of a song standing “as evidence” (Good News Translation). But in some languages it will be difficult to talk about a song confronting someone as a witness. In such cases translators may follow Contemporary English Version: “I will remind them that they know the words of this song”; but even better may be “they will remember the words of this song and will realize that I am punishing them.”
(For it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their descendants): this means that the song will have been taught to the descendants of the generation that will occupy the land, and they will know why God is punishing his people.
I know the purposes which they are already forming: the noun translated purposes is often used of an instinct, mostly evil, which leads people to do evil things (see Gen 6.5; 8.21). This is expressed in New International Version as “I know what they are disposed to do”; New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “I know what plans they are devising even now,” and Revised English Bible “I know which way their thoughts incline.” Something like “I know what their [evil] impulses are” will be satisfactory in some languages.
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 .
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