Translation commentary on Exod 25:30

And you shall set is literally “And you [singular] shall place.” The bread of the Presence has traditionally been translated as “shewbread” (King James Version) or “showbread” (American Standard Version, New American Bible). This interpretation may have originated with Jerome’s Latin (Vulgate) panes propositionis (“bread of the exhibition”) and Luther‘s German Schaubrot (“display bread”). The Hebrew word translated as Presence, however, literally means “face” and is frequently used to represent the actual person of Yahweh himself (see 33.14 and the comment there). Some interpreters have therefore suggested that this expression means “the bread of God,” or “the bread dedicated to God.” Others have “bread of display” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “Holy Bread” (Translator’s Old Testament), or “sacred loaves of bread” (Contemporary English Version). The common word for bread is used, and it was probably made without yeast, but this does not need to be specified in translation. (See the comment on unleavened bread at 12.15.) Lev 24.5-9 explains more about this “sacred bread” (Good News Translation).

On the table before me refers to the same table described in the preceding verses. Before me, literally “to my face,” means “in my presence” (New Jerusalem Bible, Translator’s Old Testament), or “where I am present.” Yahweh, of course, is the speaker, and his presence is identified with the area above the ark of the covenant (see verse 22). So Good News Translation interprets before me to mean “in front of the Covenant Box.” However, the verse is concerned with the placement of the bread rather than the placement of the table, which is not indicated until 26.35. Contemporary English Version has a more general rendering, “in the holy place,” but this also refers to the table rather than to the bread. Always modifies the verb you shall set in the sense of continually replacing the bread. Contemporary English Version has “must always be put on it.” New International Version has “at all times,” and Durham has “continuously.”

In order to avoid using the word Presence twice, one may speak of either “the bread of the Presence before me,” “the sacred bread in my presence,” or even “the bread [or, loaves] offered to me.” The latter is preferable.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• You must always place the loaves dedicated [or, offered] to me on this table in my presence.

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 .

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”.