The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).
Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).
In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 13:41:
Uma: “‘Be careful, you who disparage. You will be surprised seeing my deeds, in the end you will be punished with death. Because at this time, I do something that is very powerful. Yet you refuse to believe it, even though someone explains it to you.’ ‘” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “‘You who do not believe, and who make fun/mock, look/watch-out. You will be very amazed at what-I-do, and you will perish,’ says God, ‘because while you are yet alive, I will do (something) and you will not believe it, even if you are told.’ ‘” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “‘You who scorn, you’ll be very surprised at what I am going to do. And you will die because there is that which I will do which you will see. However, you will not believe it even though there is someone to explain it to you.’ ‘” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “‘Listen, you who ridicule, because I will do something in your lifetime that will be an amazement to you, but you will nevertheless die, because you do not believe that it will be done, even though there is someone who-tells-it correctly to you.’ ‘ That was the ending of what Pablo said to them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “which says, ‘Listen to this, you who habitually-insult. You really will be amazed at what will come to you which will cause your downfall/being-permanently-lost. Because I will do something in your time which, even if it keeps being told to you what I will do, you won’t acknowledge it as true.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999): “‘I will accomplish something so great in your lifetime that when someone tells you about it, you will stand there with your mouths open and not believe it and think it’s madness. And then you will perish.'”
For the Old Testament quotes, see Habakkuk 1:5 (from the Greek Septuagint).
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Habakkuk 1:5:
Kupsabiny: “Then God answered his people, ‘Please look (plur.) at the other communities. The events/things will make you dumbfounded so that you will not believe/accept what I am doing while you are still alive even if someone told you.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The LORD said to his people, ‘Look around at the nations and be amazed, because I am going to do something in your days, that you would not believe, even if it would be told you.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The LORD answered, ‘[You (plur.)] look-at closely/well what’s-going-on to the nations and you (plur.) will-be- utterly -amazed of what you (plur.) see. For I am-going-to-do (something) in your (plur.) time that you (plur.) would- never -believe even-if (somebody) will-tell it to you (plur.).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “God says, ‘Closely-observe the nations nearby you and you will be extremely surprised at what you are-able-to-see, because there-is that which I will do during the time that you are alive that will-be- your -cause-of-surprise if you hear-it-reported.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
English: “If people trust in their wealth, they will deceive themselves, and proud people are never able to rest. It is as though the greedy people of Babylonia open their mouths as wide as the place where dead people are, and they never have enough, like the place where dead people go never has enough dead people. The armies of Babylonia conquer many nations for themselves, and capture all their people.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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.
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).
In the text of Revised Standard Version there is no indication that a new speech by a new speaker begins here. It is important in many languages to make this kind of information explicit. Good News Translation has done so by adding the words “Then the LORD said to his people,” and many translators will need to do something similar, as have Bible en français courant (“says the Lord”) and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (“The Lord answers”). In Hebrew the second person verbs in verse 5 are all plural, making clear that the message is not for Habakkuk alone. The words of Good News Translation “to his people” indicate that the message is for all those who shared Habakkuk’s attitude toward the events of his day.
Look among the nations, and see: the words Look and see may need to be translated by a single word in some languages. Instead of the Hebrew word translated among the nations, the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, understood the text to have a different Hebrew word, which occurs also in 1.13 and 2.5. This understanding is followed by New English Bible, which translates as “you treacherous people.” Based on this interpretation, the whole paragraph, verses 5-11, is addressed to “the wicked” that Habakkuk complained about in verse 4. However, the Hebrew as it stands makes perfectly good sense, and translators are recommended to follow it rather than the Septuagint at this point (compare Hebrew Old Testament Text Project).
Wonder and be astounded translate two forms of the same verb in Hebrew. Some translators may choose to follow Revised Standard Version at this point and use two synonyms meaning “amazed” or “astounded.” Good News Translation, however, has translated only once, “you will be astonished.” Other versions use only one verb but intensify it (New International Version “utterly amazed”; New Jerusalem Bible “utterly astounded”), and many translators will wish to follow this example. The idea of astounded in many languages will be expressed in an idiomatic way, referring to the heart or some other bodily organ such as the liver; for example, “heart is uncomfortable,” “heart feels strange,” or “liver moves.”
I am doing a work translates a Hebrew participle with no subject expressed (compare New American Bible “a work is being done”). In more natural English one can say “Something is going to happen” or “Events are about to take place” (compare Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). However, in this context, as verse 6 makes clear, the subject can only be the LORD, and so several translations make the subject I explicit in verse 5 (Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, New International Version). The Hebrew words used here have the overtones of referring back to the great deeds that the LORD performed at the time of the exodus from Egypt (compare Psa 44.1; 95.9). The use of the participle in Hebrew gives the impression that the events referred to will take place very soon. Good News Translation tries to express this with “I am going to do something.” One can also say “I am about to do something.”
In your days means “during your lifetime.” The implication is that the events will take place soon, and the hearers will see them for themselves. Good News Translation has omitted any equivalent to this phrase, but most translators will have no difficulty expressing it in their language; for example, the use of the expression “about to” (see comment above) will convey this idea. Or one may say “In the very near future (or, Very soon) I am going to….”
That you would not believe if told indicates that what follows will be a surprise to the hearers. It thus prepares the way for Habakkuk’s second complaint in verses 12-17.
The passive expression if told may be difficult to translate in some languages. An alternative expression is “when someone tells you” or, as in Good News Translation, “when you hear about it.”
In Acts 13.41 this verse is quoted in the Septuagint translation, which is somewhat longer than the Hebrew. Translators should not alter either verse to make them more alike than they really are.
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on the Book of Habakkuk. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1989. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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