Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 30:18:
Kupsabiny: “Darkness shall cover Tahpanhes when I destroy the power and strength of Egypt that they were boasting about. Then a cloud shall close in over Egypt and the people of its villages shall become prisoners.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “When I will- now -destroy the power of Egipto, that day will-be-dark for Tapanhes. The power which Egipto boasts will- now -vanish. She will-be-covered with dark-cloud, and the residents of her towns will-be-taken-captive.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “It will be a dark day of destruction at Tahpenes city in northeast Egypt when I cause the power of Egypt to end; that country will no longer be proud of being strong. It will be as though a dark cloud will cover Egypt, because the people of its villages will be captured and forced to go to Babylon.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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.
At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark: Tehaphnehes, usually spelled “Tahpanhes” (Good News Translation), was a city in the eastern Nile Delta, not far from Pelusium. An army garrison was stationed there to defend Egypt against enemies who might invade from Asia. The day shall be dark may be rendered “Daylight will fail” (Revised English Bible) or “day will turn to darkness” (Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible). In English the picture of darkness coming over a place at a time of disaster has developed a figurative sense, as in “it will be a dark day” (New Living Translation). God has in mind a literal darkening during the day here, so such a figurative expression is not appropriate here. Translators also need to be careful to avoid giving the impression that the darkness is the normal coming of night (so Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version with “Darkness will fall”). Translators may say “the day will turn as dark as night.”
When I break there the dominion of Egypt means when God destroys the “power” (Good News Translation) of Egypt. There refers to Tahpanhes, which presumably will be the place of the decisive battle in which their enemies will totally defeat the Egyptians, or the place where some act of God will end Egypt’s power. Dominion is literally “yokes,” which refers to the wooden bars placed over the heads of animals so that they can pull carts. Here it is an image for the power that Egypt exercised over other nations in the past (compare New International Reader’s Version, which renders the dominion of Egypt as “Egypt’s power over other lands”). This whole clause may be translated “There I will put an end to Egypt’s power over other lands.”
And her proud might shall come to an end: For her proud might, see Ezek 30.6. Some languages may need to say that God will stop or “put an end to” (Good News Translation), the power that Egypt boasted of. The Hebrew clause here has a word meaning “in her” (King James Version / New King James Version, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version; compare Revised English Bible “there”), which refers to Tahpanhes. It is used to stress that Tahpanhes will be the focal point of the coming disaster on Egypt. In some languages this sort of repetition is unnatural, so “in her” is often omitted (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation). Translators will need to decide what is appropriate for their own languages.
She shall be covered by a cloud: The pronoun she refers to Egypt. The Hebrew word for cloud refers to thick cumulus storm clouds that blot out the sun and often cause the day to become quite dark. New Living Translation says “dark cloud.” In many languages it will be more natural to render this clause as “Egypt will be covered with clouds” (New International Reader’s Version; similarly Moffatt).
And her daughters shall go into captivity: Her daughters may refer to the women who lived in Tahpanhes, or to the villages that depended on this major city (so New International Reader’s Version with “The people in its villages”; similarly New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New International Version, New Century Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). But it is most likely that the pronoun her refers to Egypt, not to the city of Tahpanhes. So her daughters refers to the people, or perhaps the women, of Egypt. For go into captivity, see the previous verse.
A model for this verse is:
• At Tahpanhes I will put an end to Egypt’s power over other countries. Then the day will turn as dark as night there. Egypt will lose all that power she is proud of, the land will be covered by a dark cloud, and the enemy will take her people [that is, the Egyptians] into captivity.
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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