complete verse (Deuteronomy 34:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 34:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then he was buried in the land of Moab where one can see towards the city of Beth-peor, but to this day, no one knows where he was buried.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He buried him in a valley before Beth-Peor in the land of Moab. ‘Till today, however, no one knows where his grave is.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He was buried in Moab, in the seems-like-valley that faces Bet Peor, but now no one knows where he was- really -buried.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Yahweh buried Moses’ body in a valley in the Moab region, opposite/near Beth-Peor town, but no one to this day knows where Yahweh buried him.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God ("bury")

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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, hōmu-rare-ru (葬られる) or “bury” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 34:6

He buried him: that is, Yahweh buried Moses.

In the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor: see 3.29. This is where the people of Israel have been all this time; Revised Standard Version indicates this by using the definite article the rather than the indefinite “a” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). Translators are urged to follow the interpretation of Revised Standard Version.

No man knows: meaning “no person,” or “no one” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version).

To this day: that is, to the day this account was written (see 2.22).

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 .