complete verse (Ezekiel 35:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 35:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “Many people will be killed where you are and corpses shall lie spread out on the hillside(s) and on the ridges.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The ones who will-die among you (plur.) in battle will-scatter to your mountains, valleys, and in the passageways/channels of water.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I will cause your mountains to be filled with the corpses of those who have been killed. The corpses of those who have been killed by your enemies’ swords will lie on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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”.

2nd person pronoun with low register (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 35:8

And I will fill your mountains with the slain: The slain refers to the dead bodies of those who have been killed in Edom. Filling an area with corpses is a picture Ezekiel uses often to describe how God will judge and punish people and countries (compare 9.7 with “courts”; 11.6 with “streets”; and 30.11 with “land”), but it is not easy to think how mountains can be filled with dead bodies. This clause cannot be taken literally, but rather is a picture of bodies lying about all over the mountains, scattered everywhere.

Revised Standard Version changes the Hebrew text of this clause, which is literally “And I will fill its/his mountains with its/his slain” (similarly King James Version / New King James Version, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The third person pronoun “its/his” refers to Edom. Since God is addressing Edom, Revised Standard Version uses the second person pronoun your for Edom to avoid confusion (so also Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New Living Translation). Other languages may find this helpful. Good News Translation removes all pronouns from this verse, which is another possibility.

On your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those slain with the sword shall fall: More detail is given here to the picture of dead bodies lying everywhere. For hills, valleys and ravines, see the comments on 6.3. Those slain with the sword refers to those killed in war (see 26.6).

A model for this verse is:

• I will cover your mountains with the bodies of those who die in war [or, of those whom your enemies kill in war]. Yes, the bodies of those killed [or, who die] in battle will cover all your hills, valleys, and ravines.

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 .