complete verse (Haggai 1:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Haggai 1:10:

  • Kupsabiny: “That is what makes there be no rain and nothing is growing in the field.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “So it was because of your own doing that the dew did not fall from the sky and the earth did not produce food.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Therefore because of you (plur.) the heaven will- no-longer -give dew and the land will- no-longer produce.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “It is because of what you are doing that rain does not fall from the sky, and as a result there are no crops.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 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 Haggai 1:10

The opening word Therefore marks the beginning of the second half of the paragraph.

The heavens above you have withheld the dew: In ancient times, the formation of dew by condensation was not understood and it was thought that dew came down from the sky like rain. In cultures where such a belief is held today, it would be possible to translate literally, but otherwise there is no need to mention the heavens. Translators could say simply, “There has been no dew.”

Translators should note that the Hebrew here says dew rather than “rain” (Good News Translation). Some versions have followed a different form of the text for the rendering of “rain.” Of modern versions Good News Translation, Bible de Jérusalem, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible and Bible en français courant choose to do this. However, it does not seem necessary to make any such change. Dew was an important source of moisture especially during the rainless summer months, and without it, the crops would wither. This fits with verse 9, where Haggai stated that the people had “hoped for large harvests” (Good News Translation). If the rain had not fallen earlier in the year, there would have been no basis for such hope. However, if it was only the dew that was lacking, there would have been early hope for a large harvest, but final disappointment as the crops withered just before they were ripe. Translators are advised to retain dew (as Hebrew Old Testament Text Project and Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament recommend, and as Revised Standard Version and many other versions do), but if there is difficulty in finding vocabulary for talking about dew, they could use a more general term like “moisture” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Revised English Bible). In some cultures it will be necessary to express this as something like the following: “There is no moisture on the plants in the morning.” It is in the early morning that dew appears, and then when the sun rises it evaporates.

Because of the lack of dew, the earth has withheld its produce or, as Good News Translation expresses it more directly, “nothing can grow,” meaning “no plants can grow” or “the plants wither and die.” Contemporary English Version puts it briefly and clearly as “your harvest fails.”

Earlier prophets had taught that poor crops were a sign of the LORD’s displeasure (compare Amos 4.6-9) and the people of Haggai’s day should have known this without needing to be told again.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• That is why there is no moisture [or, dew] on the plants in the morning, and the plants wither and die.

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Haggai. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Haggai 1:10

1:10a Therefore, on account of you the heavens have withheld their dew

Therefore, because of your (plur.) ⌊behavior⌋ , the sky withheld ⌊its⌋ dew,
-or-
Therefore, because of ⌊what you (plur.) are doing⌋ , the sky held back its dew,

1:10b and the earth has withheld its crops.

and the land ⌊yielded no⌋ vegetation.
-or-
and the ground ⌊held back producing⌋ its crops.

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