greedy for money / dishonest/selfish/unjust gain / bribery

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “greedy for money,” “dishonest/selfish/unjust gain,” “bribery,” or similar in English is translated in these verses in the Protestant Mandarin Chinese Union Version and the Catholic Sigao version with a historical Chinese idiom: bùyìzhī cái (不義之財 / 不义之财) or “ill-gotten gains.” (Source: Toshikazu S. Foley in Hong Kong Journal of Catholic Studies, 2011, p. 45ff.)

The Catholic Sigao version additionally uses the idiom in the referenced verses in Sirach.

complete verse (Ezekiel 22:13)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 22:13:

  • Kupsabiny: “I will stretch my hand out to destroy those who rob people’s things and go around murdering.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Those from-Jerusalem, I will-hit my knuckle into my palm in anger, because of your extortion and killing.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So I will shake my fists at you to show that I am angry with you because of your stealing money from people and murdering people who live among you.” (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”.

2nd person pronoun with low register (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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.

In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 22:13

Behold renders the attention-getting Hebrew particle hinneh (see Ezek 22.6). Here it shows that the next few words are especially important. Therefore translates the Hebrew waw conjunction, which introduces the result of the people’s sins in Jerusalem. God will punish them. Most versions omit this connector (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version).

I strike my hands together at the dishonest gain which you have made, and at the blood which has been in the midst of you: It is not clear exactly what gesture is meant by the Hebrew expression rendered I strike my hands together (compare 21.14), but the actual gesture is not as important as the meaning of the gesture because the same gesture can have different meanings in different cultures. Here the emotion expressed is probably anger or extreme displeasure. Translators must choose a gesture that fits this emotion; for example, Good News Translation says “I will bring my fist down,” and Contemporary English Version has “I will shake my fist in anger” (similarly New Century Version). Another possible model is “I strike my hands together in anger.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch omits the gesture altogether but captures the sense of judgment by saying “I settle accounts with you, full of rage.” God’s anger and judgment are directed against the dishonest gain which you have made, which may be rendered “the money [or, profits] you have made dishonestly” (compare the illegal profits of verse 12). Good News Translation says simply “your robberies.” His anger and judgment is also directed against the blood which has been in the midst of you, that is, the murders that the people have committed in Jerusalem. Good News Translation has simply “[your] murders.” These two crimes are a summary of the list of sins given in the previous verses. In the midst of you again emphasizes that these evil actions took place in the holy city.

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 .