Hail

The Hebrew and Ge’ez that is translated as “hail” in English is translated in Tagakaulo as batu na ayis or “rocks of ice.” (Source: Scott and Becky Burton in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 73)

complete verse (Exodus 9:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 9:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “I am telling you the truth: And/So by a time like this tomorrow, hailstones will pour badly like it has never happened any day from when the land of Egypt was begun until now.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Therefore tomorrow at this time I will send a very great hailstorm. No such hail has ever fallen on Egypt from the time it was founded till now.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “So tomorrow, at this same hour, I will-cause- ice -to-rain extremely strongly, which has- never -happened in Egipto since it was-built/founded.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “Therefore listen. Tomorrow at an hour like this, I will cause big rain which has hard raindrops like stones to fall in the area of Isip. In the past, [when] the Isip area newly came up and until today, no big rain like this [ever] fell.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “Look! On this hour tomorrow, I will make rain (n) it might rain (v) hail. Kind of hail which will fall [your direction] down, there is no one who before has seen it in Egypt, beginning in years which people began living [in] Egypt until now.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “So listen to this: About this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall in Egypt. From the time Egypt first became a country, there has never been a hailstorm as bad as this one will be.” (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 9:18

Behold is omitted in most translations, including New Revised Standard Version, probably because its force is included with the announcement, tomorrow. However, in many languages the equivalent of “All right!” or the more colloquial “Okay” will be natural style here. New American Bible, however, makes this explicit with the phrase “I warn you, then,” and Durham has “Just watch me.” The Hebrew word order, which is unnatural for English, is literally “Behold me, making rain, like time tomorrow, hail heavy very.” About this time is approximate but not precise. I will cause … to fall brings out the causative force of the participle, which is formed from the word for “rain.” In many languages “cause … to fall” will be quite natural style.

Hail consists of frozen rain drops that are harmful and destructive, especially when they are big, or very heavy. In some languages a “hailstorm” (Good News Translation) will be called a “rain of frozen rocks [or stones, pebbles].” A descriptive phrase may also be used for “hailstones”; for example, “I will cause large drops of frozen rain to fall.” The following clause makes it clear that this will be “a heavy hailstorm” (Good News Translation), with the words such as never has been in Egypt.

From the day it was founded follows the Hebrew quite literally, for the passive form is used for the verb meaning “to lay a foundation.” This refers, or course, to Egypt as a nation. And with the addition of until now, it covers “all its history” (Good News Translation). Since the force of the superlative is clearly implied, New Revised Standard Version has “the heaviest hail,” and New International Version has “the worst hailstorm.”

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 .