The Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “bronze” in English is translated in Newari as “bell-metal,” since bells are made of bronze in Nepal (source: Newari Back Translation).
See also bronze vessel.
God's anger, wrath of God
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated into English as “the wrath of God” or “God’s anger” has to be referred to in Bengali as judgment, punishment or whatever fits the context. In Bengali culture, anger is by definition bad and can never be predicated of God. (Source: David Clark)
Translations in other languages:
- Quetzaltepec Mixe: “translated with a term that not only expresses anger, but also punishment” (source: Robert Bascom)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “the coming punishment of God on mankind” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “God’s fearful/terrible future punishing of people” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “the coming anger/hatred of God” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- Tenango Otomi: “the punishment which will come” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
- Bariai: “God’s action of anger comes forth in the open” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
- Mairasi: “His anger keeps increasing (until it will definitely arrive)” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御) is used as in mi-ikari (御怒り) or “wrath (of God)” in the referenced verses. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also anger and the coming wrath.
anger
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated as “anger” or similar in English in this verse is translated with a variety of solutions (Bratcher / Nida says: “Since anger has so many manifestations and seems to affect so many aspects of personality, it is not strange that expressions used to describe this emotional response are so varied”).
- Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “be warm inside”
- Mende: “have a cut heart”
- Mískito: “have a split heart”
- Tzotzil: “have a hot heart”
- Mossi: “a swollen heart”
- Western Kanjobal: “fire of the viscera”
- San Blas Kuna: “pain in the heart”
- Chimborazo Highland Quichua: “not with good eye”
- Chichewa: “have a burning heart” (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation) (see also anger burned in him)
- Citak: two different terms, one meaning “angry” and one meaning “offended,” both are actually descriptions of facial expressions. The former can be represented by an angry stretching of the eyes or by an angry frown. The latter is similarly expressed by an offended type of frown with one’s head lowered. (Source: Graham Ogden)
In Akan, a number of metaphors are used, most importantly abufuo, lit. “weedy chest” (the chest is seen as a container that contains the heart but can also metaphorically be filled with other fluids etc.), but also abufuhyeε lit. “hot/burning weedy chest” and anibereε, lit. “reddened eyes.” (Source: Gladys Nyarko Ansah in Kövecses / Benczes / Szelid 2024, p. 21ff.)
See also God’s anger and angry.
complete verse (Ezekiel 22:20)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 22:20:
- Kupsabiny: “like when people collect silver, bronze, iron and other metals in the big fire in order to cleanse (them).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
- Hiligaynon: “like a man who gathers silver, bronze, iron, lead or can in-order to-being-melted in the blazing furnace. Yes, I will-gather you in Jerusalem in my extreme anger, and there I will-punish you seem-like metals that being-melted.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- English: “People putore containing silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin in a very hot furnace and melt them in a blazing fireto burn up the impurities. Similarly , I will gather you togetherinside Jerusalem, and because I am very angry with you, what I will do will be as though I am melting you.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
1st person pronoun referring to God (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 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 Ezekiel 22:19 - 22:20
In verses 19-22 God applies the metaphor of purifying silver to the people of Jerusalem. He will refine them like silver. The Hebrew pronouns for you in these verse are plural, so they clearly refer to the people.
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: God begins the application with this traditional prophetic formula (see Ezek 22.3).
Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem: Because the people are like dross, that is, leftover metal (see verse 18), God will put them back into the furnace to be heated and melted again. In this picture Jerusalem is the furnace. For behold see Ezek 22.6.
As men gather silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace: See verse 18.
To blow the fire upon it in order to melt it refers to the way metalworkers use bellows to blow air onto a fire to make it burn more hotly in order to melt the metal into a liquid form.
So I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you: The heating and melting here is a picture of the suffering and punishment that the people of Jerusalem will undergo. God will gather them in the same way as metalworkers collect leftover metal and put it into a furnace. The reason that God will bring the people together is because he is angry with them on account of their sins. For the Hebrew words rendered anger and wrath, see the comments on 5.13, where they are translated “anger” and “fury.” I will put you in and melt you means God will put his people in the furnace (Jerusalem) and melt them in order to punish them.
A model for translating these two verses is included at the end of the discussion on verse 22.
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 .
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