calamity for many / destructive fire

In Gbaya, the notion of a calamity affecting a large groups of people at the same time and/or a destructive fire is emphasized in the referenced verses with the ideophone gbɔyɛɛ.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

complete verse (Ezekiel 16:41)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 16:41:

  • Kupsabiny: “They will set fire to your houses and punish you with many women looking on. I shall finish that evil desire of yours so that you will not again give money to those your men.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They will-burn your houses and they will-punish you in front of many women. I will-let- your immoral relationship -stop and your making-payment to your lovers.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “They will burn down your houses and punish you while many women are watching. I will cause your acting like a prostitute and paying your lovers to have sex with you to end.” (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 Ezekiel 16:41

And they shall burn your houses: This clause may refer again to the girl’s places of prostitution and false worship (see verse 39), but more likely it hints at the historical background of houses in Jerusalem being burned. The pronoun they refers to the girl’s former lovers, now enemies.

And execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women: This clause summarizes the girl’s punishments that have just been described. In order to increase her shame, many women watch her being punished, but this phrase also refers to the many nations that watched Jerusalem being destroyed. This clause may be rendered “and will carry out your punishment in front of many women.”

I will make you stop playing the harlot: Through this punishment God aims to make the girl stop sinning. For playing the harlot, see verse 15).

A model for this verse is:

• They will burn the houses you live in, and many women will watch as you are punished. In this way I will make you stop being unfaithful to me and sinning like a prostitute. Then you won’t even be able to pay others to sin with you, as you have done in the past.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .