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)

complete verse (Ezekiel 44:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 44:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “Instead of being in charge of the things of prayer/service in that House of mine, you allowed foreigners to be in charge.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Instead of you(p) being-the-(ones) to manage my holy things in the temple, you caused- other -to-manage.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Instead of doing what I commanded you to do in regard to my holy things, you appointed foreigners to be in charge of my temple.” (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”.

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 44:8

And you have not kept charge of my holy things implies that the Israelites were responsible for some of the sacred activities in the Temple (compare 40.45-46). My holy things is a very general reference to everything inside the Temple compound (see the comments on 22.26).

But you have set foreigners to keep my charge in my sanctuary: Their sin was not just that they allowed unqualified and unclean people onto the Temple compound, but that they also appointed such people to be leaders and have responsibility for what went on in the Temple. Revised Standard Version adds the word foreigners, which is implied in the Hebrew text.

The last Hebrew word of this verse has been changed in Revised Standard Version and moved to the beginning of verse 9, where it is rendered “Therefore.” Instead of “Therefore,” the Hebrew text has “for you” (New King James Version , English Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project), that is, in your place, so that you do not have to do it. Revised English Bible provides a helpful model for this whole verse, saying “Instead of keeping charge of my holy things yourselves, you have put these men in charge of my sanctuary.”

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 .