complete verse (Ezekiel 23:27)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 23:27:

  • Kupsabiny: “Therefore, I shall stop that your promiscuity and your greed/lust/desire that you brought from Egypt. You shall never again look at those idols and never shall you think of/remember Egypt.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Then your wicked deeds which is the selling of your body will- now -be-stopped, which you started in Egipto. You no-longer remember those, and you will- now -forget Egipto.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “In that way, I will stop all the immoral behavior that began when you became a prostitute in Egypt. You will no longer desire to do those things, or think aboutwhat you did in Egypt.’” (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 23:27

Thus I will put an end to your lewdness and your harlotry brought from the land of Egypt: This verse describes what God intends to achieve with the punishment of Oholibah. First, he will make her stop doing the wicked things she was doing. The Hebrew words for lewdness (see verse 21) and harlotry mean almost the same thing, namely, “sexual immorality,” so they may be combined by saying “bad sexual behavior.” New Century Version has “sinful life.” Brought from the land of Egypt refers again to the fact that Oholibah began her life of prostitution before the Exodus when the Israelites were still in Egypt (see Ezek 23.3). If readers understand the verb brought to mean in the direction to where they are, then translators may render this clause as “that you took with you when you left Egypt.”

So that you shall not lift up your eyes to the Egyptians or remember them any more means Oholibah will never look at the Egyptians again with sexual desire or think about them as lovers. This is the second thing God intends to achieve through punishing her. Remember means to recall, call to mind, think about. Historically, this sentence means Judah will never turn to Egypt for political help again. It may be rendered “I will do that so you will not lust after the Egyptians or think about them anymore.”

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 .