complete verse (Ezekiel 4:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 4:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “I shall tie you so that you cannot turn around to see to this side or that side until you have finished the days of the siege.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “I will-tie you -up with rope so-that you can- not -turn-from-one-side-to-the-other until your showing/demonstrating the besieging city has finished.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “You will not be able to move; it will be as though I have tied you with ropes in order that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finishedsymbolizing how many years the city will be besieged/surrounded by enemy soldiers.” (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 4:8

And, behold: As elsewhere the Hebrew word hinneh rendered behold is often translated “Look” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “See” (New Revised Standard Version). Some translations omit it (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), but others try to capture the emphasis it conveys by saying “For my part” (Bible en français courant).

I will put cords upon you: See the comments on 3.25. Here God is the one who ties Ezekiel up, not the people. As in 3.25, it is best to take this description of Ezekiel being tied up with ropes metaphorically, that is, translators may say “I am going to restrain you as if I would tie you up with ropes.” Of course, it is also possible to translate this clause literally.

So that you cannot turn from one side to the other: The reason Ezekiel is tied up is also different from that in 3.25. Here he is tied up so that he cannot turn over. Although he was able to move during this period, he had to stay lying on one side (see verses 4-6).

Till you have completed the days of your siege, that is, until Ezekiel had finished “attacking” Jerusalem, which God told him to do for a total of 430 days. Translators may say “until your attack is over” or “for all the time that you are threatening Jerusalem.”

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 .