wild animal

The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated in English as “wild animal” or similar is translated in Newari as “animal that lives in the jungle.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)

complete verse (Exodus 23:29)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 23:29:

  • Kupsabiny: “You (plur.) will not chase all within one year because that country will be (too) big/wide for you and animals will be too many for you.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become fearful and the wild animals would become too many in their numbers.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But I will- not -drive them out in only one year so-that this-particular land will- not become lonely/desolate and so-that the wild animals will- not -become too many there.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “But I won’t drive them away so that they’re finished in one year. Lest that land remain empty and so the wild animals become numerous and then be destroying you.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “But, I not them out will chase away with year one, because when they will disappear together, place their will be wild, and wild animals will multiply, will be many there.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “I will not expel all of them in less than one year. If I did that, your land would become deserted, and there would be very many wild animals that would attack you/you would not be able to control.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (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 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 23:29

I will not drive them out is literally “I will not drive him out,” but English demands the plural them. From before you is almost identical with verse 28 and need not be repeated. In one year means “in a single year” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible), “within one year’s time” (Good News Translation), or “in the first year” (Contemporary English Version). Lest the land become desolate means “or the land would become desolate” (New Revised Standard Version). Good News Translation renders it as “If I did, the land would become deserted.” One may also say “in order that the land will not become a wasteland.”

And the wild beasts multiply against you is literally “and the animal of the field will become numerous over you [singular].” The same expression for wild beasts is used in verse 11. One may also say “animal of the field” or “jungle [or, forest] animals.” This clause is still influenced by the word lest, so one may say “and in order that the wild animals will not become too many for you.” New American Bible relates the two clauses as cause and effect: “else the land will become so desolate that the wild beasts will multiply against you.” Multiply against you is usually understood as “be too many for you” or “wild animals would be everywhere.”

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 .