Sabbath

The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “Sabbath” in English is rendered as “day we rest” in Tzotzil, in Mairasi as “Jew’s Rest Day,” in Quiotepec Chinantec as “day when people of Israel rested,” in Shilluk as “day of God,” in Obolo as Usen Mbuban or “Holy Day,” and in Mandarin Chinese as ānxírì (安息日) or “rest day” (literally: “peace – rest – day”). (Sources: Tzotzil: Marion Cowan in Notes on Translation with Drill, p. 169ff; Mairasi: Enggavoter 2004; Quiotepec Chinantec: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.; Shilluk: Nida 1964, p. 237; Obolo: Enene Enene; Chinese: Jost Zetzsche)

In Matumbi it is translated as Sabato ya Ayahudi or “Sabbath of the Jews,” to distinguish it from the Islamic Sabbath (which is Friday) or the Christian Sabbath (which is Sunday). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

In the old Khmer version as well as in the first new translation this term was rendered as “day of rest” (Thngai Chhup Somrak / ​ថ្ងៃ​ឈប់​សំរាក). Considered inadequate to convey its religious meaning (not only about cessation of work, but also in honor of Yahweh as the Creator), the committee for the Today’s Khmer Version (publ. 2005) decided to keep the Hebrew word and use its transliterated form Thgnai Sabath (​ថ្ងៃ​សប្ប័ទ). “The Buddhist word Thngai Seil ‘day of merits’ used by some Catholics was once under consideration but was rejected because it did not receive unanimous support.” (Source: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 233ff. )

In Spanish, the translation is either día de reposo (“day of rest”) or sábado (usually: “Saturday,” derived from the Greek and Hebrew original). Nida (1947, p. 239f.) explains that problem for Spanish and other languages in its sphere of influence: “In translation ‘Sabbath’ into various aboriginal languages of Latin America, a considerable number of translators have used the Spanish sábado, ‘Saturday,’ because it is derived from the Hebrew sabbath and seems to correspond to English usage as well. The difficulty is that sábado means only ‘Saturday’ for most people. There is no religious significance about this word as the is with ‘Sabbath’ in English. Accordingly the [readers] cannot understand the significance of the persecution of Jesus because he worked on ‘Saturday.’ It has been found quite advantageous to use the translation ‘day of rest,’ for this accurately translated the Hebrew meaning of the term and resolves the problem in connection with the prohibitions placed upon some types of activities.”

In the Nueva traducción viviente translation (2010) it día de descanso al mantenerlo santo (“day of rest to keep it holy”). (Source: Lénart de Regt in The Bible Translator 2017, p. 131ff. )

In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts closing of the blinds of a store:


“Sabbath” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Sabbath .

complete verse (Ezekiel 44:24)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 44:24:

  • Kupsabiny: “If people quarrel scrambling for something, the priests are to reconcile (them) using my laws. They are to keep the days for celebrating the feasts of prayer/religion like it is ruled in my laws and my will, and keep the day of Sabbath to be one of righteousness.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “If there are arguments, the priests will-be- the ones -to-judge and will-decide according to my laws. The priest must follow my commands and statutes concerning the feasts which I cause-to-be-followed, and they will-make-holy the Day For-Resting.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “When there are disputes between people, the priests are the ones who must be the judges and decide according to my laws what must be done. They must obey all my laws and decrees concerning the sacred festivals, and they must keep my Sabbath days holy/set apart.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

law

The Greek, Hebrew, and Ge’ez that is translated in English as “Law” or “law” is translated in Mairasi as oro nasinggiei or “prohibited things” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Noongar with a capitalized form of the term for “words” (Warrinya) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

In Yucateco the phrase that is used for “law” is “ordered-word” (for “commandment,” it is “spoken-word”) (source: Nida 1947, p. 198) and in Central Tarahumara it is “writing-command.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

In a 1922 translation into Chagatai, a precursor language of both Uzbek and Uighur, it is translated with the Arabic loan word shari’at (شريعت), originally meaning “(Islamic) law (Shari’a).” (Source: F. Erbay and F.N. Küçükballı in Acta Theologica 2025 45/2, p. 133ff. )

See also teaching / law (of God) (Japanese honorifics).

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 44:24

In a controversy they shall act as judges: In this context the Hebrew word for controversy refers to a “legal dispute” (Good News Translation), “legal case” (Contemporary English Version), “lawsuit” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). In each lawsuit the priests will be the judges, who hear the evidence and decide the case.

And they shall judge it according to my judgments: The decisions of the priests in the lawsuits will be consistent with God’s own “rulings” (Complete Jewish Bible), “laws” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Reader’s Version, Revised English Bible), “rules” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “regulations” (New Living Translation). In this way the people will be able to get justice in court. For the Hebrew word rendered judgments, see the comments on 5.6, where it is translated “ordinances.” This clause may be expressed as “and they will make their decisions according to my laws.”

They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts: The verb keep may be rendered “obey” (New Living Translation). The Hebrew word for laws actually means “instructions” (New Living Translation) or “teachings” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh; see the comments on 7.26), but “rules” (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible) is acceptable here. The Hebrew word for statutes refers to fixed and definite laws, officially enacted by a government or king (see 5.6). For God’s appointed feasts, that is, “religious festivals” (Good News Translation), see the comments on 36.38. This clause may mean that at all the religious festivals the priests must obey the rules for those festivals (so New Living Translation, New Century Version, Revised English Bible, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, Christian Community Bible, Complete Jewish Bible, Moffatt), or it may mean that the priests must follow the rules that apply to all the festivals (so New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Both of these interpretations focus on the priests rightly following the rules as they celebrate the festivals, but another element of the verb keep is that the priests have a responsibility to make sure that the festivals are conducted correctly. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch captures this sense well by rendering the whole clause as “They have to see to it that my festivals are celebrated at the right time and in the right way.” This is the best way of understanding this clause.

And they shall keep my sabbaths holy: This clause continues the double sense of the previous one—the priests must obey the rules of the Sabbath day, but they must also make sure that the people correctly observe the Sabbath day. For keep my sabbaths holy, which is literally “sanctify my Sabbath days,” see the comments on 20.12, 20. This clause may be rendered “and they must be sure to honor me by following my laws about the day of rest.”

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 .