complete verse (Exodus 4:15)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 4:15:

  • Kupsabiny: “You shall be telling him what he will be telling out. Although it is like that, we shall be together when you (plur.) are talking about those things and I will show you (plur.) what you (plur.) will be doing.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “You speak with him and whatever you must say you tell him. I will help both of you with speaking. Then I will teach you what you must do.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “[You (sing.)] talk to him, and [you (sing.)] teach him what he is-to-say. I will-help you (plur.) two to speak, and I will- also -teach you (plur.) what you (plur.) are-to-do.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “You will make all this talk to him and then he will talk with [it]. And I will help the two of you with talk and teach the two of you what thing(s) you [must] do.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “you will tell for him things, you will give him speech. And I will help you speak. That which you will speak, I will show you it both of you.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “You can talk to him and tell him what to say , and I will help both of you to know what to say. And I will tell you both what you should do.” (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”.

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 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. )

Translation commentary on Exod 4:15

And you shall speak to him is not a command but an explanation of the plan to be followed. Thus you shall speak may be rendered as “You can speak” (Good News Translation) or “You are to speak” (New American Bible). And put the words in his mouth is literal, so “tell him what to say” (Good News Translation) or “tell him the words that he is to say” may express the meaning more clearly. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth is also literal, using the same expression as in verse 12. What is meant is “I will help both of you to speak.”

And I will teach you what you shall do uses the second person plural in both cases. This can be made clear in English by saying “I will tell you both what to do” (Good News Translation). The word for teach, however, may suggest more than just telling them what to do; it implies some instruction in advance. In certain languages there will be constructions such as “I will inform you so that you will both know what to do.”

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 .