9Like the hardest stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not fear them or be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 3:9:
Kupsabiny: “I shall make you harder than a stone. Do not be afraid of those people and also do not tremble even though those people are rebellious.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “as hard as a flint stone. So you (sing.) do- not -be-afraid of them, for you (sing.) already know that they are rebellious people.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “I will cause you to be as firm/unbreakable as the hardest stone, like flint. So, even though they are very rebellious people, do not be afraid of them; do not allow them to cause you to be afraid.’” (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.
Like adamant harder than flint have I made your forehead: This sentence continues the picture of stubbornness and toughness that is based on the Hebrew idiom rendered “hard forehead” in verse 7 and “forehead hard” in verse 8. As in those verses, it is not necessary to retain the image literally. It is better to use a natural equivalent, as Good News Translation has done by saying “I will make you as firm as a rock, as hard as a diamond.”
Both adamant and flint are stones that are known for their hardness. In fact, adamant was the hardest substance known at the time of Ezekiel. In this context they are used to show how strong and tough Ezekiel will have to be to complete his mission of telling the message of God to the Israelites. All cultures have some things that are considered extremely hard or strong that can be used as examples of hardness and strength. Translators may use such local equivalents in place of adamant and flint, as English translators have done, for example, “diamond” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), “rock” (Good News Translation), “stone” (New Century Version), and “hardest stone” (New Revised Standard Version). It is also acceptable to focus just on one very hard thing, especially if it is the hardest substance known in the culture, as Contemporary English Version has done by rendering this sentence as “I will make you hard like a diamond.” When translations use the word “diamond,” the focus is on how hard it is, and translators must not make reference to its value or that it is a sparkling gem. Translators may also say “I will make you as hard as the hardest stone.”
Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks: See the comments on 2.6.
For they are a rebellious house: See 2.5.
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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