The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “soul” in English is translated in Chol with a term that refers to the invisible aspects of human beings (source: Robert Bascom), in Yagaria with oune or “shadow, reflection” (source: Renck, p. 81), and in Elhomwe as “heart” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
The Mandarin Chineselínghún (靈魂 / 灵魂), literally “spirit-soul,” is often used for “soul” (along with xīn [心] or “heart”). This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32, see also Clara Ho-yan Chan in this article )
In Chichewa, moyo means both “soul” and “life.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 1:14:
Kupsabiny: “I hate your feasts, those of the new moon, or/and those of the big days. Those feasts have annoyed me, until I am not able to bear them.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “From my heart I intensely despise your new moon days and [your] prescribed festivals. They have all become an unbearable burden for me.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I detest/hate your (plur.) Feasts of the Beginning of the Moon and your (plur.) other feasts. This became a burden to me; I can- not -bear/endure this.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “I hate all your celebrations of each new moon and the other festivals that you celebrate each year. They are like a heavy burden that I am tired of carrying.” (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).
Your new moons and your appointed feasts: For new moons, see the previous verse. Appointed feasts renders a Hebrew word that comes from a root meaning “appoint.” The form of the word here literally means “appointed time/place” or “regular meeting.” The expression refers to festivals that were held regularly at fixed points in time. Good News Translation has simply “holy days.” In many languages it will be enough to render feasts without any qualifier, especially if appointed or “holy” would cause problems of naturalness or interpretation.
My soul hates is a very harsh expression—a direct statement in which the LORD expresses his hatred for the religious practices of his people. Revised English Bible has “I loathe,” and New Jerusalem Bible says “I utterly detest.” When Yahweh speaks of my soul he is not speaking of a part of himself but of his whole self. In English “my very being” is a good alternative. In this context translators could simply use the pronoun “I,” as Good News Translation has done. But translators should not follow Good News Translation automatically. Each language may have its particular way of expressing this type of emphatic disgust; for example, “my inside hates.”
They have become a burden to me: They refers to the various religious festivals mentioned earlier. Yahweh describes them as a burden. He is not referring to a physical load he is carrying, but he compares his feelings to a heavy load that weighs him down; the festivals depress him. There is a strong negative tone implied in this very human way of speaking. Translators should try to maintain the figure of a burden, which is a load that is almost too heavy to bear. If this is not possible, they may express the reality it represents by saying “they are unacceptable/intolerable to me.”
I am weary of bearing them is another very human expression, used figuratively. God is tired of enduring the festivals. Translators will need to translate this part of the verse in light of how they rendered the line before it, with or without the figure of a burden. Good News Translation has combined the last two lines into a single sentence. This is an option for translators, especially if it provides a natural expression that combines the idea of a (heavy) burden with the action of having to carry it. New Jerusalem Bible also combines these lines, translating “to me they are a burden I am tired of bearing.”
Translation examples for this verse are:
• Your worship at the New Moon Feast and other special feast times I detest;
they are like a heavy burden upon me,
I am tired of them.
• I loathe your worship rites at each New Moon and special feast;
they are like a heavy burden I no longer want to carry.
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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