For the phrase “But this is why I have let you live: to show you my power, and to make my name resound through all the earth,” see Romans 9:17.
Note that this quote in the New Testament is not taken from the Hebrew Bible but from the Greek Septuagint (LXX) which translates into English as “And for this reason you have been spared in order that I might display in you my power and in order that my name might be proclaimed in all the land.'” (Translation by NETS — for the Greek version see the title’s tooltip)
The Hebrew that is typically translated in English as “power” or “might” or “force” is translated in the English translation by Goldingay (2018) as energy or energetic.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 9:16:
Kupsabiny: “But I left you so that I might show you my authority/power that I might be proclaimed in the whole of the world/earth.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “But in order to show my power and that my name may be honored throughout the earth (emph.) I have let you live.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “But I have-allowed you (sing.) to-live for this reason: so-that I can-show you (sing.) my power and so-that my name will-be famous throughout the entire/whole world.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Bariai: “But I didn’t do like that because I want to show you (pl.) my great strength, and so I want my reputation to fully reach every area on earth. And so for this reason I appointed/placed you (sing.).” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
Opo: “But, that which you be spared for it, it is that I might show you my power, [that] they might call my name with it all on earth.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
English: “But I have let you live. The reason I have let you live is to show you my power, with the result that people all over the earth will know how great I am.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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.
But is a separate word meaning “on the other hand” or “nevertheless” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). For this purpose is one word in Hebrew, meaning “on account of this,” and points to the clause that follows. (In the Hebrew text the same word is repeated for emphasis at the beginning of the following clause, but this is not reflected in most translations.) Have I let you live is literally “I have caused you to stand,” here meaning “I have allowed you to remain alive” (Translator’s Old Testament). So New American Bible and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh have translated “I have spared you.” You here is singular, referring to the king.
To show you my power is literally “to cause you to see my strength.” This is the main reason why Yahweh has allowed the Pharaoh to live. But another reason is also given: so that my name may be declared. This second reason is connected to the first by the coordinate conjunction waw (“and”), indicating that the second reason is not dependent on the first, as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation suggest. That is, the spreading of Yahweh’s name is not necessarily dependent on the Pharaoh’s being shown Yahweh’s power. New Revised Standard Version has corrected this idea by changing so that my name may be declared to “and to make my name resound.” (Similar are New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, and others.) Contemporary English Version has “to bring honor to himself [Yahweh].” In many languages it will be necessary to show that the agents for “bringing honor” are people. Thus one may say “so that people all over the world will praise [or, give honor to] me.”
My name refers not only to the sacred name YHWH but more directly to his reputation or “fame” (Good News Translation). May be declared is literally “will be counted” in the sense of “declared repeatedly.” Various translations have expressed this as “talked of” (New Jerusalem Bible), “published” (Jerusalem Bible), “recounted” (Childs), and “resound” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Throughout all the earth has been interpreted by New English Bible to mean “throughout the land,” meaning Egypt, but it more likely means, as Good News Translation puts it, “over the whole world.” In a number of languages it will be more natural style to place the clause have I let you live at the beginning of the verse and say “But I have kept you [singular] alive [or, spared your life] just to show you my power and to cause people everywhere in the world to praise me.”
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 .
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