complete verse (Ezekiel 22:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 22:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “The countries that are near you and those that are far will insult you, you city who is known for bad things and is confused/in chaos.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Famous city in wickedness and very-much in-trouble, you will- surely -be-mocked by the nations who are far and are near.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “People in countries that are near you and people who live far from you will make fun of you, because your city is full of lawless people and full of confusion.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

2nd person pronoun with low register (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 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 22:5

Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you repeats the same ideas of the previous verse for emphasis. Those who are near and those who are far from you are “all the countries” of verse 4. The Hebrew verb rendered mock comes from the same root as the word for “mocking” in verse 4. Translators may render this sentence as “People near and far will make fun of you.”

Infamous one is literally “unclean of the name,” which refers to the bad reputation that Jerusalem had developed due to her sin. This expression may be translated “you are very wicked” or “they all know you as a city that is wicked.”

Full of tumult means Jerusalem was very “turbulent” (Jerusalem Bible), “disorderly” (so Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Moffatt), and “lawless” (so Good News Translation). It lacked political stability, social justice, and true worship of God. This expression may be rendered “there is no peace and order in your lives” or “you are very disorderly.”

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 .