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 44:15

In verses 15-16 many of the same expressions are used to compare the priests with the Levites of the previous verses. These verses make it clear that the priests are a rank above the Levites.

But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok …: The conjunction But indicates that the behavior of the priests contrasted with that of the Levites. For the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, see the comments on 40.45-46 and 43.19.

Who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me: The priests, as the religious leaders of the Israelites, continued to conduct true worship, even when the Levites and many of the people turned their backs on God. Who kept the charge of my sanctuary means “They faithfully carried out their duties in my Temple” (similarly New International Version). New Century Version says they “took care of my Holy Place” (similarly Complete Jewish Bible), and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “who maintained the service of My Sanctuary.” For my sanctuary, see Ezek 44.7; for when the people of Israel went astray from me, see verse 10.

It will be the priests who shall come near to me to minister to me, that is, will be allowed to approach God and conduct the sacred rituals (see verse 13). This rule, and those following in this verse and the next one, are both commands and statements that the priests are allowed to do what is mentioned.

And they shall attend on me to offer me the fat and the blood means the priests will stand in front of God to make the sacrifices. For the fat and the blood, see Ezek 44.7.

The importance of these rules for the priests is confirmed by the solemn, formal declaration says the Lord GOD (see verse 12).

A model for this verse is:

• “But the priests from the tribe of Levi who are descendants of Zadok continued to carry out worship in my holy place when the rest of the people of Israel strayed away from me. Now I will allow them to come into my presence and perform the services, making the sacrifices of fat and blood. This is what I, the Lord Yahweh, declare.

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 .

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 45:13 - 44:15

This is the offering which you shall make: This clause introduces the offerings that the Israelites and their ruler must bring to the new Temple for the worship of God. New Living Translation renders this clause as “You must give this tax to the prince” (similarly Christian Community Bible), presumably on the basis of verse 16, but it is clear that the contributions here are for the Temple worship, not for secular use by the king. Offering refers to the “special gift” (New International Version, New International Reader’s Version), or “contributions” (Revised English Bible), that the people must bring to give to God. The Hebrew pronoun for you is plural and probably refers to all the people, not just the “Leaders” (Contemporary English Version). This clause may be rendered “This is the gift each of you must offer to God” or “These are the things you must offer to God.”

One sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat, and one sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley: There were ten ephahs in one homer (see verse 11), so one sixth of an ephah from each homer means “one sixtieth” (so Good News Translation) of wheat and barley must be given to God. Wheat and barley no doubt refer to the grain from their harvests (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation). For wheat and barley, see the comments on 4.9. A way to express these two phrases is “After you harvest your crops, you will give one part out of sixty of your wheat and one part out of sixty of your barley” or “After you harvest your crops, you will divide all your wheat into sixty parts and give one part to God. Do the same with your barley.”

And as the fixed portion of oil, one tenth of a bath from each cor: The fixed portion of oil refers to the amount of oil that the people are legally required to give to God. New International Version and New American Standard Bible say “the prescribed portion of oil.” This oil is “olive oil” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Reader’s Version, New Living Translation; see the comments on 16.9). Translators may say “oil from the olive [fruit]” or “oil for cooking.” For the bath, which was the standard measure for measuring liquids, see the comments on verses 10-12. According to the parenthetical comment that follows this phrase, there were ten baths in one cor, so one tenth of a bath from each cor means one-hundredth (so Good News Translation) of the olive oil harvested must be given to God. For cor, which was a liquid measure. This whole phrase may be rendered “You will also give one part out of one hundred of every measure of olive oil you get from your harvest.”

(The cor, like the homer, contains ten baths): These words in parentheses simply indicate that the cor and the homer were the same size.

And one sheep from every flock of two hundred, from the families of Israel: The Hebrew word for sheep may refer to either sheep or goats (see the comments on 34.17). Instead of from the families of Israel, which follows the Septuagint, the Hebrew text has “from the well-watered pastures of Israel” (New International Version; similarly New International Reader’s Version, New King James Version ). According to the Hebrew text, the sheep (or goats) are to come from the fertile country in Israel. The Septuagint suggests that each Israelite family or clan must contribute an animal (so Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Jerusalem Bible, Christian Community Bible, Moffatt), similar to the rules for the Passover (see Exo 12.3), but this reading does not fit well in the context. It is better to follow the Hebrew text here (so Hebrew Old Testament Text Project). A model that does this is “You must give one sheep or goat out of every two hundred from the rich pasturelands of Israel.”

This is the offering for cereal offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings: The demonstrative pronoun This refers to the wheat, barley, oil, and sheep. They are to be used for the three types of offerings listed here. For cereal offerings (“grain offerings” in Good News Translation), see 42.13; for burnt offerings (“animals to be burned whole” in Good News Translation), see 40.38; and for peace offerings (“animals for fellowship offerings” in Good News Translation), see 43.27.

The goal of these sacrifices is to make atonement for them, that is, so that God will forgive the sins of the Israelites. For the idea of atonement, see the comments on 43.20.

Says the Lord GOD: The list of required offerings ends with the same prophetic formula as verse 9 (see the comments there).

As in verses 10-12, many readers will find the references to ephah, homer, bath, and cor confusing and very difficult to follow. Unless they have appropriate equivalents in their language, it is acceptable for translators to get the message across without weighing the readers down with all of the details here. This will be especially desirable for those languages in which fractions such as one-sixtieth or one-hundredth are substantially meaningless. Here is a model for the most basic rendering of verses 13-15 that would be acceptable:

• 13-14 “These are the things you [plural] must bring as offerings to me [God]: one cup out of each bag of wheat and barley, and one small cup out of every drum of olive oil. You must do this and you must use the standard measures that everyone knows. 15 Also, if you have 200 sheep or goats in your good fields, you must give one [to me]. These are the things you must give for the offerings of grain, for the sacrifices where the whole animal is burned on the altar, and for the sacrifices that are burned to ask me to bless you. These are the sacrifices that will allow me to forgive your sins and take away your guilt. This is what I, the Lord Yahweh, say.

Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version provide other models for those languages in which the fractions are meaningful. They omit the ancient units of measurement, except at the end of verse 14, where Contemporary English Version has “These things will be measured according to the bath, and ten baths is the same as one homer or one cor.” Since the other references to these units of measurement have been omitted, this sentence adds little to the modern reader’s understanding of the passage. We recommend that the point of the sentence be made clear by saying “You must use the standard measures that everyone knows.”

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 .