bear child / give birth

The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “bear (a child)” or “give birth to” is translated in Mairasi as “go to the forest,” reflecting the traditional place of childbirth for Mairasi women. (Source: Enggavoter 2004)

In Spanish it is translated as dar a luz, literally “to give to light.” Likewise, in Portuguese (dar à luz) and Italian (dare alla luce). (Source: Mark Terwilliger)

See also in childbirth / travail and birth.

forgive, forgiveness

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The concept of “forgiveness” is expressed in varied ways through translations. Following is a list of (back-) translations from some languages:

  • Tswa, North Alaskan Inupiatun, Panao Huánuco Quechua: “forget about”
  • Navajo (Dinė): “give back” (based on the idea that sin produces an indebtedness, which only the one who has been sinned against can restore)
  • Huichol, Shipibo-Conibo, Eastern Highland Otomi, Uduk, Tepo Krumen: “erase,” “wipe out,” “blot out”
  • Highland Totonac, Huautla Mazatec: “lose,” “make lacking”
  • Tzeltal: “lose another’s sin out of one’s heart”
  • Lahu, Burmese: “be released,” “be freed”
  • Ayacucho Quechua: “level off”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “cast away”
  • Chol: “pass by”
  • Wayuu: “make pass”
  • Kpelle: “turn one’s back on”
  • Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “cover over” (a figure of speech which is also employed in Hebrew, but which in many languages is not acceptable, because it implies “hiding” or “concealment”)
  • Tabasco Chontal, Huichol: “take away sins”
  • Toraja-Sa’dan, Javanese: “do away with sins”
  • San Blas Kuna: “erase the evil heart” (this and all above: Bratcher / Nida, except Tepo Krumen: Peter Thalmann in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 25f.)
  • Eggon: “withdraw the hand”
  • Mískito: “take a man’s fault out of your heart” (source of this and the one above: Kilgour, p. 80)
  • Gamale Kham: “unstring someone” (“hold a grudge” — “have someone strung up in your heart”) (source: Watters, p. 171)
  • Hawai’i Creole English: “let someone go” (source: Jost Zetzsche)
  • Cebuano: “go beyond” (based on saylo)
  • Iloko: “none” or “no more” (based on awan) (source for this and above: G. Henry Waterman in The Bible Translator 1960, p. 24ff. )
  • Tzotzil: ch’aybilxa: “it has been lost” (source: Aeilts, p. 118)
  • Suki: biaek eisaemauwa: “make heart soft” (Source L. and E. Twyman in The Bible Translator 1953, p. 91ff. )
  • Warao: “not being concerned with him clean your obonja.” Obonja is a term that “includes the concepts of consciousness, will, attitude, attention and a few other miscellaneous notions” (source: Henry Osborn in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 74ff. See other occurrences of Obojona in the Warao New Testament.)
  • Martu Wangka: “throw out badness” (source: Carl Gross)
  • Mairasi: “dismantle wrongs” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Nyulnyul: “have good heart” (source )
  • Kyaka: “burn the jaw bones” — This goes back to the pre-Christian custom of hanging the jaw bones of murdered relatives on ones door frame until the time of revenge. Christians symbolically burned those bones to show forgiveness which in turn became the word for “forgiveness” (source: Eugene Nida, according to this blog )
  • Koonzime: “remove the bad deed-counters” (“The Koonzime lay out the deeds symbolically — usually strips of banana leaf — and rehearse their grievances with the person addressed.”) (Source: Keith and Mary Beavon in Notes on Translation 3/1996, p. 16)
  • Arapaho: “setting is aside” (source )
  • Ngbaka: ele: “forgive and forget” (Margaret Hill [in Holzhausen & Ridere 2010, p. 8f.] recalls that originally there were two different words used in Ngbaka, one for God (ɛlɛ) and one for people (mbɔkɔ — excuse something) since it was felt that people might well forgive but, unlike God, can’t forget. See also this lectionary in The Christian Century .
  • Amahuaca: “erase” / “smooth over” (“It was an expression the people used for smoothing over dirt when marks or drawings had been made in it. It meant wiping off dust in which marks had been made, or wiping off writing on the blackboard. To wipe off the slate, to erase, to take completely away — it has a very wide meaning and applies very well to God’s wiping away sins, removing them from the record, taking them away.”) (Source: Robert Russel, quoted in Walls / Bennett 1959, p. 193)
  • Gonja / Dangme: “lend / loan” (in the words of one Dangme scholar: “When you sin and you are forgiven, you forget that you have been forgiven, and continue to sin. But when you see the forgiveness as a debt/loan which you will pay for, you do not continue to sin, else you have more debts to pay” — quoted in Jonathan E.T. Kuwornu-Adjaottor in Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies 17/2 2010, p. 67ff. )
  • Kwere: kulekelela, meaning literally “to allow for.” Derived from the root leka which means “to leave.” In other words, forgiveness is leaving behind the offense in relationship to the person. It is also used in contexts of setting someone free. (Source: Megan Barton)
  • Merina Malagasy: mamela or “leave / let go (of sin / mistakes)” (source: Brigitte Rabarijaona)
  • Mauwake: “take away one’s heaviness” (compare sin as “heavy”) (source: Kwan Poh San in this article )

See also this devotion on YouVersion .

complete verse (Hosea 1:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Hosea 1:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “After that, Gomer again became pregnant and bore a second child who was a girl. God said to Hosea, ‘Give her the name Lo-ruhamah, because I will no longer have mercy with these people of Israel and forgive them.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Gomer became pregnant again, and she gave birth to a daughter, and the LORD said to Hosea, "Name her Lo-Ruhamah, for never again will I pardon the nation of Israel, showing them mercy.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Gomer conceived again and gave-birth to a female/(daughter). The LORD said to Hoseas, ‘Name the child Lo-Ruhama, for I will- no-longer -show-mercy or forgive the people of Israel.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Gomer got-pregnant again and a female is what she gave-birth-to. God said to Hosea, ‘Lo-Ruhama is what you (sing.) will-name-(her), because already I will not show-mercy to those-from-Israel. Absolutely I will not again forgive them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Later Gomer became pregnant again, and she gave birth to a daughter. Yahweh said to me ‘Give her the name Lo-ruhamah, which means ‘not loved,’ because I will no longer show that I love the people of Israel, and I will not forgive them for the sins that they have committed.” (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”.

Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("say")

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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Hosea 1:6

She conceived again and bore a daughter: See 1.3. Good News Translation restructures this sentence to reflect English style: “Gomer had a second child—this time it was a daughter.” However, the element of repetition is obvious in the Hebrew text and reinforces the symbolic meaning of events. Translators should try to maintain this repetition. This verse begins with the Hebrew waw conjunction (literally “And”), which Contemporary English Version renders “Later.” In many languages the pronoun She has to be made explicit at the start of this new episode (so Good News Translation with “Gomer”). 1.3 says “bore him a son,” but here the text says simply bore a daughter. Hosea is not mentioned explicitly as the father, so some commentators believe that another man may have been the father. The normal way to understand this clause is that Hosea was the father, since Hebrew style does not waste words by repeating what would be understood. However, in this context it is quite possible that the second and third children had someone else as father, not Hosea. This is to be expected if the mother acted as a harlot. However, the translation should in no way make this explicit. The ambiguity of the text should be maintained in translation.

And the LORD said to him is literally “and he said to him.” In many cases the pronouns have to be made explicit here by saying “The LORD said to Hosea,” especially if the receptor language does not distinguish between masculine and feminine third person singular pronouns.

Call her name Not pitied, for …: The construction of this sentence is identical to the one in 1.4. In Hebrew an imperative, masculine, singular verb (rendered Call) is followed by the name and the conjunction translated for. We recommend that the translation of the structure is identical, so that the reader can easily recognize the pattern in the text.

It is better to translate the name Not pitied, as most modern versions do, rather than retain the Hebrew form of the name, which is Lo-ruchamah, since the meaning is needed immediately to clarify the name as a sign from Yahweh. However, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible gives both the Hebrew name and its meaning, saying “Lo-Rouhama—that is, Not-Loved.” Some translators may wish to follow this model. Another possible translation is “No mercy” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Translators will have to decide how to write translated names that include more than one word. Revised Standard Version simply uses a capital letter for the first word in the name. It is also possible to use capitals for all the words of a name, to separate the words by hyphens (so Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), or to use quotation marks, depending on the style of the receptor language. In any case, the solution to this issue should be applied consistently.

But what does the name Not pitied mean? The Hebrew word for pitied refers to tender, motherly feelings a woman has for her child. In fact, the word as a noun can refer to the womb itself. “Tender mercy” has been used in some translations. Many languages may have a word far better than “pity” to express the motherly love and compassion expressed here—even though such compassion is to be kept from Israel. In any case, the name and the situation to which it applies should match in translation.

The word for emphatically expresses the causal relationship between the meaning of the name and its implications for Israel.

I will no more have pity on the house of Israel: The Hebrew verb for have pity comes from the same root as the noun for pitied. The house of Israel refers to everyone in the northern kingdom of Israel, both king and people alike (see comments on 1.4). So “the nation of Israel” ( NET Bible) is an appropriate translation.

To forgive them at all renders a difficult Hebrew emphatic expression, which is literally “for [or better, surely] to take I will [not] take to [or, for] them.” The verb translated forgive is literally “take” and can also mean “lift” or “carry,” and the word “not” is implied from the previous statement. Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation follow the most common and the most likely interpretation, along with New International Version, New English Bible, Jerusalem Bible, the American Translation (An American Translation), the New Jewish Publication Society Version (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), Louis Segond (Segond), Bible de Jérusalem, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and the Spanish common language version (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). King James Version has “but I will utterly take them away,” which is similar to the Luther translation. This rendering would predict taking the Israelites away into Assyrian captivity, but it does not reflect the Hebrew well since the pronoun for “them” cannot be an indirect object after the preposition for “to/for.” So it seems better to understand “sins” as the implied direct object not to be taken from Israel—that is, they are emphatically not to be forgiven. Bible en français courant has “I will take all my love away from them” (similarly Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Einheitsübersetzung), but the Hebrew does not express “my love,” and such a reference to the action of “showing love” would be unusual. The New American Bible (New American Bible) says “rather, I abhor them utterly,” which is based on an emendation. This emendation follows the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, but it is not reliable.

Translation models for this verse are:

• Later she became pregnant again and bore a daughter. The LORD said to Hosea, “You should name her No-Mercy, because I will have no mercy on the nation of Israel. I will certainly not forgive them.

• She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. The LORD told Hosea, “Call her No Pity, for I will not show pity to the people of Israel and not forgive them anything at all.

Quoted with permission from Dorn, Louis & van Steenbergen, Gerrit. A Handbook on Hosea. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Hosea 1:6

Paragraph 1:6–7

This paragraph tells about the birth of Gomer’s second child. The meaning of the child’s name, “not loved/pitied,” reinforced the LORD’s promise that he would destroy the northern kingdom of Israel. He promised to show them no mercy. In contrast, the LORD promised to deliver the people of Judah from destruction.

1:6a

Gomer again conceived and gave birth to a daughter: Although the verse does not explicitly say that Hosea was the father, it is implied here. See how you translated the similar sentence in 1:3b.

In Hebrew, there is no explicit transition between the birth of Hosea and Gomer’s first child in 1:3 and the birth of their second child here in 1:6. In some languages, it may be necessary to make explicit that some time passed between the two births. For example:

Soon Gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Later, Gomer had a daughter (Contemporary English Version)

daughter: In languages that do not use a gender-specific word such as daughter, you may need to use a phrase such as “female child.”

Notice that the Contemporary English Version leaves implicit the information that Gomer “conceived again.” Describe this event in a way that is natural in your language.

1:6b

Name her Lo-ruhamah: The literal meaning of the Hebrew name Lo-ruhamah is “Not having obtained mercy/love.” This name covers more than one aspect of meaning. For example:

Not pitied (Revised Standard Version)

Not Loved (New International Version footnote)

No Mercy (Contemporary English Version footnote)

Choose an expression in your language that includes one or more of these aspects of meaning. It is important that your translation communicates the meaning of the name to your readers. Otherwise your readers will not know why the LORD told Hosea to give her that name.

Here are some other ways to translate this name:

• Omit the Hebrew name and write the meaning of the name in the translation. This is a good option, especially if it is a custom in your culture to give children names with meanings that the people understand. For example:

Call her name Not pitied (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Name her ‘Unloved’ (Good News Translation)

• Write the Hebrew name in the translation and give the meaning in a footnote. Many English versions do this. For example:

Name her Lo-Ruhamah (New Century Version)

Here is the New Century Version footnote:

[Lo-Ruhamah] This name in Hebrew means “not pitied.” (New Century Version)

• Write both the Hebrew name and the meaning in the translation. If you do this, avoid giving the impression that the LORD explained the meaning of the name to Hosea. The God’s Word uses brackets to accomplish this. For example:

Name her Lo Ruhamah [Unloved].

If your readers are not familiar with this use of brackets, the first two options may be preferable to this one.

The names of Gomer’s next two children are discussed in 1:9a and 2:23b–c. Consider the context carefully to see whether you can use the same method to translate all three names. See especially the notes on 2:23b–c.

1:6c

for: In Hebrew, this word introduces a two-part reason for the LORD’s command that Hosea should name his child Lo-ruhamah. Most English versions translate this word as for or “because.” For example:

because I will not pity Israel anymore (New Century Version)

Some versions leave the connection implied. Introduce this two-part reason in a natural way in your language.

I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel: This is the first reason that the LORD told Hosea to name his daughter Lo-ruhamah. The name will indicate to them that the LORD will no longer show them love or mercy.

have compassion: This is the verb in Hebrew from which Lo-ruhamah’s name is derived. You should translate this phrase with the same word or phrase that you used to describe the meaning of Lo-ruhamah’s name. For example, if you said that her name means “Not pitied,” you should also translate the verb here as “show pity.”

the house of Israel: This phrase is a figure of speech that refers here to the nation of Israel, specifically the people of that nation.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

Israel (Revised English Bible)
-or-
the nation of Israel (NET Bible)
-or-
the people of Israel (Good News Translation)

Try to translate the phrase house of Israel consistently, if the context is the same. In some verses, such as 1:4c, this phrase occurs in a different context, so your translation there may be different.

1:6d

that I should ever forgive them: In Hebrew, this clause is closely related to the previous statement, “I will no longer show love to the house of Israel.” It gives the second part of the reason for Lo-ruhamah’s name. Her name indicates that the LORD will no longer forgive them. Both clauses have a similar, negative meaning.

Here are some other ways to express the relationship between these clauses:

• Use a conjunction such as “and” or “or.” For example:

I will no longer show love to the people of Israel or forgive them (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
I will no longer have mercy and forgive Israel (Contemporary English Version)

• Start a new sentence or clause at this point. Leave the connection implied. For example:

I will no longer love the nation of Israel. I will no longer forgive them. (God’s Word)
-or-
I shall never again show love to Israel, never again forgive them. (Revised English Bible)

ever forgive them: In Hebrew, an emphatic form of the verb forgive is used here. It corresponds to the emphasis expressed in the phrase “no longer” in 1:6c. Some versions, such as the God’s Word and Revised English Bible quoted above, use an emphatic word or phrase in both 1:6c and 1:6d. The NET Bible is similar:

I will no longer have pity on the nation of Israel. For I will certainly not forgive their guilt. (NET Bible)

Other English versions use one expression of emphasis to cover both phrases. For example:

I will no longer have mercy and forgive Israel. (Contemporary English Version)

Emphasize this phrase in a way that is natural in your language.

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