mercy seat

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “mercy seat,” “cover of the ark” or similar in English is translated by the interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) as or “the cover of that box which was the place for forgiving sins upon” (source: Wendland 1998, p. 110) and in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with Sühnedeckel or “atonement cover.”

covenant (tablets)

The Greek and Hebrew that is typically translated as “covenant” or “testimony” in English and refers to the stone tablets that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai are translated in Kupsabiny as “two stones (that are flat-and-thin) on which the law is written,” in Hiligaynon as “the wide stone on which is-written the Law.” (Source: Kupsabiny and Hiligaynon Back-Translations), and in the interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) as miyala iŵiri ija yolembedwapo mau a chipangano or “those two stones on which are written the words of the agreement” (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 110).

In the English Translation for Translators it is translated as stone slabs and in the New English Bible as Tokens (source: Elizabeth Lewis).

See also 10 commandments on stone tablets (image) and ark of the covenant.

complete verse (Exodus 25:21)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 25:21:

  • Kupsabiny: “After that, someone place those two stones of law inside the box and someone close (it) with that lid.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “To put in the ark the tablets of the covenant which I will give you. Then put the atonement cover above the ark.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Place-inside the Box the wide stone on which is-written the Law which I will-give to you (sing.), and then you (sing.) cover the Box.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “And then I will give the two stones of the law to you (sing.), and then you will place them into the box’s interior. And when it’s done then close the box with its top.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “When you will make it will be finished, stone be flat which I write word of my agreement on it which I will give you, you put it within it, you cover it head with place-of-mercy.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “Put inside the chest the stone slabs that I will give you. Then fasten the lid onto the top of the chest.” (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 25:21

And you shall put the mercy seat uses the singular you and tells what to do with the completed kapporeth (see verse 17). On top of the ark is literally “upon the box down from above [it].” It should be clear that the ark has no other lid except this kapporeth.

And in the ark you shall put the testimony presents a possible problem in sequence, for the testimony should be placed inside the ark before the cover is placed on it. Note that Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version interchange the clauses to resolve this problem. The testimony, as explained at verse 16, refers to “the two stone tablets” (Good News Translation).

That I shall give you is identical with the phrase in verse 16 and does not need to be repeated. (See the comment there.)

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 .