Pharaoh

The term that is used for monarchs in ancient Egypt and is transliterated as “Pharaoh” in English is translated in Finnish Sign Language with the sign signifying the “fake metal beard (postiche)” that was used by Pharaohs during official functions. (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Pharaoh” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Pharaoh .

complete verse (Ezekiel 30:21)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 30:21:

  • Kupsabiny: “God said to me, ‘Ezekiel, I have broken the arm of Pharao that king of Egypt. No one can bandage it or fix it so that he again can hold a sword to go to war.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Man, I have-broken the arm of Faraon the king of Egipto. And no one ever drug it in-order to-be-healed again to hold a sword.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘You human, I have enabled the army of Nebuchadnezzar to defeat the army of the King of Egypt. It is as though I have broken one of the arms of the King of Egypt, and it has not been bandaged in order that it could be healed, and it has not been put in splints in order that after it heals the arm will be strong enough to hold a sword.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

king

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Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:

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  • Piro: “a great one”
  • Highland Totonac: “the big boss”
  • Huichol: “the one who commanded” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Ekari: “the one who holds the country” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Una: weik sienyi: “big headman” (source: Kroneman 2004, p. 407)
  • Pass Valley Yali: “Big Man” (source: Daud Soesilo)
  • Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
  • Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))

Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:

“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”

(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )

See also king (Japanese honorifics).

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 30:21

For Son of man, see Ezek 30.2.

I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt: In this subsection the arm and “hand” are symbols of strength and power. Although translators need to retain the physical picture of the broken arm, readers need to be made aware of the element of power and strength that the picture involves. Translators may be able to do this by describing the arm as powerful or strong; for example, New Century Version renders this clause as “I have broken the powerful arm of the king of Egypt.” For Pharaoh king of Egypt, see 29.2.

And lo: For the Hebrew particle hinneh rendered lo, see Ezek 30.9. Here it provides dramatic vividness. It may be translated “look!,” but many translators omit it because such particles are not natural in their languages.

It has not been bound up, to heal it means the broken arm has not been bandaged so that it could heal. Good News Translation says “No one has bandaged it … so that it could heal.”

By binding it with a bandage is literally “to put on a bandage to bind it.” This clause repeats what was said in the previous one. Some translations render bandage as “sling” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), “splint” (New International Version, New Living Translation, New King James Version ) or “cast” (New International Reader’s Version). Modern medical practice will normally treat a broken arm with one of these, but the Hebrew word here strongly suggests something wrapped around the arm. So bandage is the best rendering.

So that it may become strong to wield the sword: The bandaging of the broken arm is to help it heal and also to make it strong again, so that the king of Egypt can wield the sword, that is, grab hold of a sword and use it to fight in battle again. Some translations put this clause in the negative; for example, New International Reader’s Version says “So his arm will not be strong enough to use a sword” (similarly New Century Version). This rendering describes what the result of not bandaging his broken arm will be, while other translations say what the purpose of bandaging the arm is. Either approach is acceptable.

Some translators may find the repetition of words for “binding” clumsy style. If so, they may smooth the text to make it sound natural by rendering the last half of this verse as follows:

• Look! No one has bandaged it to help it heal. No one has put a bandage on it to help it get strong enough to hold a sword again.

Another model is:

• No one has wrapped [cloth around] it so it can heal. No one has put a bandage on it so it will be strong enough again to fight with the sword.

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 .