The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “idol(s)” in English is translated in Central Subanen as ledawan or “images.” (Source: Robert Brichoux in OPTAT 1988/2, p. 80ff. )
In German, typically the term Götze is used. Originally this was used as a term of endearment for Gott (“God” — see here ), later for “icon” and “image, likeness.” Luther started to use it in the 16th century in the meaning of “false god, idol.”
Other terms that are used in German include Götzenbild(er) (“image[s] of idols”) or Bildnis (“image” — Protestant) / Kultbild (“cultish image” — Catholic) (used for instance in Exodus 20:4 and Deuteronomy 5:8). The latest revision of the Catholic Einheitsübersetzung (publ. 2016) also uses the neologism Nichtse (“nothings”) in 1 Chron. 16:26 and Psalm 96:5. (Source: Zetzsche)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 36:18:
Kupsabiny: “Therefore, I emptied my anger on those people because they had shed blood and made the land become unclean over the worship of idols.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Therefore I had- them -experience my anger because of their killing in the land of Israel, and because of their worshipping the little-gods/false-gods which have-defiled this land.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “So I severely punished them, because they had murdered many people and because they had defiled the land by worshiping idols there.” (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.
So I poured out my wrath upon them means God punished the people of Israel. For this imagery of God pouring out his anger as if it were a hot liquid, see the comments on 7.8.
For the blood which they had shed in the land: One reason God punished the Israelites was “because of the murders they had committed in the land” (Good News Translation). For the blood which they shed, which refers to murder, see the comments on 16.38 and 18.10. Poured out and shed render the same Hebrew verb, showing that the punishment fits the crime. The land is the land of Israel.
For the idols with which they had defiled it was another reason for God’s punishment. The idols were the statues of false gods that the people worshiped (see 6.4). This idol worship defiled the land, that is, made it ritually unclean in God’s eyes. New International Reader’s Version provides a helpful model for this clause, saying “They polluted the land by worshiping other gods” (similarly New Living Translation).
A model for this verse:
• So I poured out my anger on them because of the murders they had committed in the land, and because they made the land unfit for me by worshiping idols.
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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