gentiles / nations

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).

Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).

In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also nations.

complete verse (Ezekiel 39:21)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 39:21:

  • Kupsabiny: “I will show the countries my power and they will see how I punish them.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘When I will- now -punish the nations, they will-see how powerful I am.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I will show people of many nations that I am glorious, and all those nations will see how I punish them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

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 39:21

Since a new unit begins here, Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version begin this verse with the quote frame “The LORD said,” which other languages may find helpful.

And I will set my glory among the nations: This clause is very similar in meaning to “I show my glory” in verse 13 (see the comments there). It refers to everyone seeing God’s greatness when he defeats Gog. International Children’s Bible says “And I will show my greatness among the nations.” However, this clause may be taken in a different way. It may refer to God’s glorious presence returning to the earth, where the people of the world can see and experience it. If so, it is looking forward to the vision of the next few chapters, which say a new Temple will be built in Jerusalem and God himself will return to live there (see 43.1-9). In many languages it will be impossible to render the concept of “God’s glorious presence” literally. If so, translators may render this clause as “I will come and live on the earth with great power and people will look at me with awe.”

And the nations shall see my judgment which I have executed, and my hand which I have laid on them means everyone will see God’s justice, his punishment of Gog. My hand which I have laid on them refers to the power that God will use to defeat Gog. For hand meaning “power” (Good News Translation, New Century Version), see the comments on 1.3. Translators need to be careful to distinguish between the nations and the pronoun them, which refers to Gog and his army. Some translations seem to imply that this verse talks about God punishing the nations; for example, Contemporary English Version says “When I punish the nations of the earth, they will see the brightness of my glory” (similarly New International Reader’s Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version). In fact, the nations are the people who will see how God punishes Gog and his army.

Models for this verse are:

• “I will show the nations how great/powerful I am. All people will see the way I judge Gog and the power with which I punish him and his army.

• “I will show the nations how great I am. They will see how powerful I am when I punish Gog and his army.

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 .