empty-handed

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “empty-handed” or similar in English is translated in Elhomwe idiomatically with “with hands only.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

See also send away empty-handed.

complete verse (Exodus 3:21)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 3:21:

  • Kupsabiny: “I will make those people of Egypt to give you things so that when you are migrating you will be having something.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “I will make the Egyptians respect you. Then when you go away from there, you will not go empty-handed.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “And I will-make-it-possible that the Egiptohanon be-good towards you (plur.), so-that when you (plur.) now go they will- even -send-things with you (plur.).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “‘And I will cause the Isip people to feel kindly toward you (pl.) and so you certainly won’t go empty-handed and leave Isip.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “And Egyptians, I will show them love which I loved you, in order that they might fear you. Therefore, when you will leave from Egypt, you not hand empty will go.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “When that happens, I will cause the people of Egypt to respect you. The result will be that when you leave Egypt, you will not go empty-handed/they will give you many valuable things to take with you.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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

Moses

The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English means “taken out of the water,” “saved out of the water,” “a son.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 ). See also Translation commentary on Exodus 2:10.

It is translated in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language with a sign in accordance with the depiction of Moses in the famous statue by Michelangelo (see here ). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Moses” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here ).

In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:


“Moses” in French Sign Language (source )

The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).

In Swiss-German Sign Language (and Hungarian Sign Language) it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).


“Moses” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)


“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL

In Korean Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the arms held up by Moses to assure the Israelites victory over the Amalekites (see Exodus 17:11).


“Moses” in Korean Sign Language, source: Korean Sign Language Bible House

In Estonian Sign Language Moses is depicted with a big beard. (Source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff. )


“Moses” in Estonian Sign Language, source: Glossary of the EKNK Toompea kogudus

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Moses .

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 3:21

I will give this people favor refers to something God will give to the Israelites as a group, including Moses. But it is something that will be recognized in the sight of the Egyptians. So favor may be understood as “prestige” (Jerusalem Bible), or some quality that would command the “respect” of the Egyptians. It may be easier to think of the Egyptians as the object of God’s action, as in Good News Translation: “I will make the Egyptians respect you.” In some languages the idea of “face” will be helpful here; for example, “I will lift up your face before the Egyptians,” or “I will cause you to have face before….”

The second clause, and when you go …, states the purpose of God’s favor, so it is better introduced as “so that when you leave” (see Good News Translation). Some translations such as New Jerusalem Bible relate the two clauses even more closely: “I shall ensure that the Egyptians are so much impressed with this people that when you go, you shall not go empty-handed.” You shall not go empty, of course, refers to the jewelry and clothing of the Egyptians which the Israelites will take with them. (See verse 22.) If the idea of empty-handed is difficult to translate, another way to express this final sentence is “they will take many valuable things with them.” The following verse describes these things.

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 .