translations with a Hebraic voice (Exodus 20:2-14)

Some translations specifically reproduce the voice of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament / Hebrew Bible.

English:
I am Yhwh your God,
who brought you out
from the land of Egypt,
from a house of serfs.
You are not to have
any other gods
before my presence.
You are not to make yourself a carved-image
or any figure
that is in the heavens above, that is on the earth beneath, that is in the waters beneath the earth;
you are not to bow down to them,
you are not to serve them,
for I, Yhwh your God,
am a zealous God,
calling-to-account the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons, to the third and the fourth (generation)
of those that hate me,
but showing loyalty to the thousandth
of those that love me,
of those that keep my commandments.

You are not to take up
the name of Yhwh your God for emptiness,
for Yhwh will not clear him
that takes up his name for emptiness.

Remember
the Sabbath day, to hallow it.
For six days, you are to serve, and are to make all your work,
but the seventh day
is Sabbath for Yhwh your God:
you are not to make any kind of work,
(not) you, nor your son, nor your daughter,
(not) your servant, nor your maid, nor your beast,
nor your sojourner that is within your gates.
For in six days Yhwh made
the heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that is in it,
and he rested on the seventh day;
therefore Yhwh gave the Sabbath day his blessing, and he hallowed it.

Honor
your father and your mother,
in order that your days may be prolonged
on the soil that Yhwh your God is giving you.

You are not to murder.

You are not to adulter.

You are not to steal.

You are not to testify
against your fellow as a false witness.

You are not to desire
the house of your neighbor,
you are not to desire the wife of your neighbor,
or his servant, or his maid, or his ox, or his donkey,
or anything that is your neighbor’s.

Source: Everett Fox 1995

German:
Ich
bin dein Gott,
der ich dich führte aus dem Land Ägypten, aus dem Haus der Dienstbarkeit.
Nicht sei dir
andere Gottheit
mir ins Angesicht.
Nicht mache dir Schnitzgebild, —
und alle Gestalt,
die im Himmel oben, die auf Erden unten, die im Wasser unter der Erde ist,
neige dich ihnen nicht,
diene ihnen nicht,
denn Ich dein Gott
bin ein eifernder Gottherr,
zuordnend Fehl von Vätern ihnen an Söhnen, am dritten und vierten Glied,
denen die mich hassen,
aber Huld tuend ins tausendste
denen die mich lieben,
denen die meine Gebote wahren.

Trage nicht
Seinen deines Gottes Namen
auf das Wahnhafte,
denn nicht straffrei läßt Er ihn,
der seinen Namen auf das Wahnhafte trägt.

Gedenke
des Tags der Feier, ihn zu heiligen.
Ein Tagsechst diene und mache all deine Arbeit,
aber der siebente Tag
ist Feier Ihm, deinem Gott:
nicht mache allerart Arbeit,
du, dein Sohn, deine Tochter,
dein Dienstknecht, deine Magd, dein Tier,
und dein Gastsasse in deinen Toren.
Denn ein Tagsechst
machte Er
den Himmel und die Erde, das Meer und alles, was in ihnen ist,
am siebenten Tag aber ruhte er,
darum segnete Er den Tag der Feier, er hat ihn geheiligt.

Ehre
deinen Vater und deine Mutter,
damit sich längern deine Tage
auf dem Ackerboden, den Er dein Gott dir gibt.

Morde nicht.

Buhle nicht.

Stiehl nicht.

Aussage nicht
gegen deinen Genossen als Lügenzeuge.

Begehre nicht das Haus deines Genossen,
begehre nicht das Weib deines Genossen,
seinen Knecht, seine Magd, seinen Ochsen, seinen Esel,
noch allirgend was deines Genossen ist.

Source: Buber / Rosenzweig 1976

French:
« Moi-même, IHVH-Adonaï, ton Elohîms qui t’ai fait sortir
de la terre de Misraîm, de la maison des serfs,
il ne sera pas pour toi d’autres Elohîms contre mes faces.
Tu ne feras pour toi ni sculpture ni toute image
de ce qui est dans les ciels en haut, sur la terre en bas,
et dans les eaux sous terre.
Tu ne te prosterneras pas devant elles et ne les serviras pas.
Oui, moi-même, IHVH-Adonaï, ton Elohîms, Él ardent
je sanctionne le tort des pères sur les fils,
jusqu’au troisième et au quatrième cycle pour mes haineux,
Mais je fais chérissement jusqu’au millième à mes amants,
aux gardiens de mes ordres.
Tu ne porteras pas le nom de IHVH-Adonaï, ton Elohîms, en vain:
car, IHVH-Adonaï n’innocente pas qui porte son nom en vain.
Souviens-toi du jour du shabat pour le consacrer.
Tu travailleras six jours: fais tout ton ouvrage.
Le septième jour, shabat pour IHVH-Adonaï, ton Elohîms,
tu ne feras aucun ouvrage, toi, ton fils, ta fille,
ton serviteur, ta servante, ta bête,
ton métèque qui est en tes portes.
Oui, six jours, IHVH-Adonaï a fait les ciels et la terre,
la mer et tout ce qui y est,
puis il s’est reposé le septième jour,
sur quoi IHVH-Adonaï a béni le jour du shabat et il le consacre.
Glorifie ton père et ta mère, pour que se prolongent
tes jours sur la glèbe que IHVH-Adonaï, ton Elohîms, te donne.
Tu n’assassineras pas.
Tu n’adultéreras pas.
Tu ne voleras pas.
Tu ne répondras pas contre ton compagnon en témoin de mensonge.
Tu ne convoiteras pas la maison de ton compagnon,
tu ne convoiteras pas la femme de ton compagnon,
son serviteur, sa servante, son boeuf, son âne,
et tout ce qui est à ton compagnon. »
Et c’est au soir, la caille monte, elle couvre le camp,
et le matin, c’était une couche de rosée autour du camp.
La couche de rosée monte, et voici: sur les faces du désert,
une croûte fine, fine comme givre sur la terre.
Les Benéi Israël voient et disent, chaque homme à son frère:
« Mân hou ? Qu’est-ce ? » Non, ils ne savaient pas ce que c’était.
Moshè leur dit:
« C’est le pain que IHVH-Adonaï vous donne en nourriture. »

Source: Chouraqui 1985

For other verses or sections translated with a Hebraic voice, see here.

The Name of God and Salvation of Humanity

Painting by Soichi Watanabe, used with permission by the Overseas Ministries Study Center (OMSC) at Princeton Theological Seminary. You can purchase this and many other artworks by artists in residence at the OSMC in high resolution and without a watermark via the OSMC website .

“A resident of Koshigaya City, Saitama, Japan, Soichi Watanabe was the 2008-09 OMSC artist in residence. Watanabe graduated in 1982 from the Ochanomizu Art School in Tokyo after having earned, a decade earlier, an economics degree from Tohoku Gakuin University in Sendai. He teaches at a private art school that he started in 1982. Following his 1982 graduation, Soichi founded a private art school where he and his wife work together to help others experience the joy of art.

“Soichi was drawn to God as an undergraduate student during a home Bible study when he encountered Mark 8:35: ‘Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.’ Further study of the New Testament led him to realize that he was both ‘stubborn and self-centered.’ He recalls that ‘the richness of the biblical world overwhelmed me and at the same time tortured me.’

“Shortly thereafter he chose to submit his life to God at an evening worship service. ‘I really heard a voice telling me to accept the salvation of Jesus on the cross and to follow him,’ remembers Soichi. From that point on he has been determined to serve God through his abilities. As a follower of Jesus, Soichi points to his faith as the foundation from which he works as an artist. In his art book Jesus Walking With Us (2004), he writes, ‘I realize that [my works] are my own humble responses to God’s calling in my life… . The images are often given to me through the words of God at worship services on Sundays and during my daily devotion. I have the earnest hope that I will go on painting to praise the Lord.'” (Source )

About this image, Watanabe says: “The name of God, the ‘I AM’ or the ‘I AM WHO I WILL BE,’ can provide the context for our individual, human ‘I am.’ This is something that I learned from a book by Dr. Kenichi Kida. On this canvas I have expressed some of the salvation stories related to the name of God. The white squares symbolize the voice of God and the Ten Commandments. God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, and after the Egyptian army sank into the sea, Miriam led the people in dancing and singing praise to God.” (Source: OMSC 2010, p. 16)

See other images of Soichi Watanabe.

complete verse (Exodus 20:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 20:3:

  • Kupsabiny: “Kneel to/worship (plur.) me alone, and do not worship other/any useless things.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “You shall not worship other gods besides me.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘[You (plur.)] do- not -worship other gods besides me.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “‘No other god is able to exist as your (sing.) god. I alone am your God.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “Not god other have. Have be me alone.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • Mofu-Gudur: “You must not bow-down/worship other gods, (as for) bow-down. For me only (the only one). (Source: Ken Hollingsworth)
  • Buduma: “That you add to-me god another not.”
  • Nigerian Fulfulde: “You all will not follow other gods, except me only.” (Source: Mark Gaddis)
  • Jur Mödö: “Do not make (or “take”) anything as God for yourselves except me.” (Source: Andrew Persson)
  • North Azerbaijani (Azərbaycan Bibliyası 2008): “Except from me other gods must not be.”
  • English: “So you must worship only me; you must not worship any other god.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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.

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

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Exod 20:3

This first commandment has the same form as all the negative commandments that follow. In the Hebrew it is not a negative imperative that is used, but rather an even stronger prohibition that simply describes what is demanded and expected of every individual in Israel. Literally the Hebrew says, “Not shall there be for you other gods before my face.” The negative marker is placed first for emphasis. The you is singular, but as stated above it may be translated as plural. The word for gods is the same word for “your God” in verse 2. ʾelohim is plural in form, so the context must determine whether it refers to gods in general, or to the one true God. (See the comment on gods at 12.12.)

Before me may be understood as “besides me” (New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “in my presence” (Durham). New Jerusalem Bible has “You shall have no other gods to rival me,” and Translator’s Old Testament has “You must not defy me by acknowledging other gods.” Good News Translation is clear and accurate, “Worship no god but me,” and Contemporary English Version has “Do not worship any god except me.” Whatever form a translator chooses for this negative command, that should be used throughout the Ten Commandments when the negative form occurs in the Hebrew.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .