messenger

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “messenger” in English is translated in Noongar as moort yana-waangki or “person walk-talk” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

complete verse (Ezekiel 23:40)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 23:40:

  • Kupsabiny: “(He/they) sent also people to go and call men to come from countries far away. And when they arrived, those two girls bathed and blackened their eyelids and put on necklaces.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They even sent for men from far places. And when these men arrived, they took-a-bath and caused-[themselves-] to-become-beautiful, and wear jewelries.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “They sent messages to men in countries far away. And when those men arrived, the women of those two cities bathed themselves for them, painted their eyebrows, and put on jewelry.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 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 23:40

They even sent for men to come from far, to whom a messenger was sent: Similar to the beginning of verse 38, the word even points to another sin of the sisters. Compare New Jerusalem Bible “Worse still.” Good News Translation says “Again and again,” which is not correct. They … sent for men to come from far means they asked men to come from far away to have sex with them (compare 16.30-34). To whom a messenger was sent makes explicit how they made contact with those men who were far away (compare verse 16). Good News Translation says “they sent messengers.”

And lo, they came: The Hebrew particle hinneh rendered lo appears again (see verse 39). Here it may be rendered “And yes!” to add vividness and excitement to the fact that the men from far away came. It will be good if translators can find a way to include this vividness. The first sentence of this verse may be translated “Worse still, they sent messengers to men who were far away asking them to come and commit adultery [or, have sex] with them. And indeed they came!”

In the rest of this verse and in verse 41, the pronominal references to the two sisters changes from third person plural to second person singular in the Hebrew text. Some translations try for consistency by using third person plural pronouns for the sisters throughout this subsection (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, Bible en français courant). However, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982) uses second person plural pronouns for them in verses 40-45 (so also New Living Translation). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, on the other hand, retains second person singular in verses 40b-41, but includes the name Oholibah to make it clear whom these pronouns refer to. The model provided by Good News Translation is probably the best to follow, but translators who follow the other models would not be wrong.

For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and decked yourself with ornaments: This sentence describes how Oholah and Oholibah prepared themselves to meet their lovers who came from far away. The pronoun them refers to their lovers. You bathed yourself means the sisters washed their bodies. Painted your eyes means they put makeup around their eyes to make themselves look beautiful. Many cultures are familiar with eye makeup of different kinds, so they can render painted your eyes with a well-known expression, as Good News Translation does in English with “put on eye shadow.” But a generic expression such as “put on eye makeup” is also good. In cultures where people do not use eye makeup at all, translators may say “put colors around their eyes to be beautiful.” Decked yourself with ornaments means they put on jewelry and other ornaments, such as earrings, nose rings, brooches, and necklaces (compare 16.11-12). The aim of these actions was to make themselves beautiful and attractive to their lovers.

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 .