serve

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “serve,” “minister,” “walk with,” or “service” is translated in Igede as myị ẹrụ or “agree with message (of the one you’re serving).” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

In Quetzaltepec Mixe, “serve” is translated as “obey.” (Source: Robert Bascom)

complete verse (Ezekiel 44:16)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 44:16:

  • Kupsabiny: “They alone may enter that House of mine doing the work at the table of sacrifices and keep my will.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They alone can-enter my temple and can-come-near to my altar to serve me. They alone can-do what I ask-to-be-followed in my temple.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “They are the only ones who are permitted to enter my temple. They are the only ones who are permitted to come near my altar to serve me and do what I tell them to do.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

sanctuary

The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “sanctuary” in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) with opatulika or “separated place.” This is understood in a religious setup as a place designated for worship. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

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 44:16

They shall enter my sanctuary means the priests may go inside the Temple itself.

They shall approach my table, to minister to me means they may go and stand near the altar to offer the sacrifices and conduct the sacred rituals. My table refers to the altar for sacrifices in front of the Temple.

And they shall keep my charge means they will complete all the sacred rituals that God requires. Jerusalem Bible and Christian Community Bible say “they may perform my liturgy,” and Good News Translation has “and conduct the Temple worship.”

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 .