widow

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “widow” in English is translated in West Kewa as ona wasa or “woman shadow” (source: Karl J. Franklin in Notes on Translation 70/1978, pp. 13ff.) and in Newari as “husband already died ones” or “ones who have no husband” (source: Newari Back Translation).

The etymological meaning of the Hebrew almanah (אַלְמָנָה) is likely “pain, ache,” the Greek chéra (χήρα) is likely “to leave behind,” “abandon,” and the English widow (as well as related terms in languages such as Dutch, German, Sanskrit, Welsh, or Persian) is “to separate,” “divide” (source: Wiktionary).

See also widows.

complete verse (Isaiah 1:23)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 1:23:

  • Kupsabiny: “You leaders disobeyed,
    and they joined with thieves.
    All love bribes,
    and useless things.
    (They) do not even rescue poor children,
    and have no mercy for widows.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Your leaders have became rebels and friends of thieves.
    They always want to get [Lit.: eat] gifts and bribes.
    They would not defend orphans in court. [Lit. When verdicts are rendered, they do not take sides with those who have no mother or father.]
    They would not represent widows in court. [Court cases of those who have no husbands do not come to them.]” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Your (sing.) leaders/[lit. heads] are rebels and companions of thieves. They always want a bribe, and they ask-for gifts. They do- not -defend the rights of the parentless/orphans and they do- not -listen to the complaints of the widows.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

2nd person pronoun with low register (Japanese)

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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.

In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

Translation commentary on Isaiah 1:23

In verse 23 there are three pairs of parallel lines. All six lines speak about the leaders of Judah. These leaders oppose God and associate with thieves. Each one of them accepts bribes; each one of them looks for gifts. They do not defend the legal rights of orphans; they do not take the complaints of widows seriously.

Your princes are rebels: Your princes refers to the leaders of the community, its chiefs and governors. The word “prince” in the Bible does not always refer to the son of a king. “Leaders” is a good general term to use for princes here. These leaders are rebels. The Hebrew word rendered rebels comes from the same root as the verb for “rebel” used to describe the nation in verse 5. It pictures people who will not do what they are supposed to do. In this context the leaders are accused of not fulfilling their duty of upholding the law. This line may be rendered “Your leaders resist/oppose God.”

And companions of thieves. The leaders are associates of those who break the law and steal; they work together with thieves and give them help. This makes them also guilty of theft. The description here, like the reference to “murderers” in verse 21, could be a metaphor rather than an actual fact. If so, this line would mean that the leaders have created an atmosphere in which corruption can thrive. Good News Translation has “and friends of thieves,” and Bible en français courant says “accomplices of rogues/swindlers.”

Every one loves a bribe is another general charge against these leaders. From the parallel line that follows this one, we know that it describes people in positions of power who receive bribes, rather than those who give bribes to get things done. Corruption is universal, and the verb love shows that the leaders happily use their position to take bribes. Deut 16.19 warns against taking bribes because it prevents justice from being done. In languages where a word for bribe does not exist, this line may be rendered “each of them can be bought/paid [to keep quiet],” “… paid to say nothing to lawbreakers,” or “… paid not to punish lawbreakers.”

And runs after gifts: This second line of the pair is more forceful than the first one. The leaders are so greedy that they actively ask for rewards for not persecuting evildoers. The gifts are also bribes to ensure action in favor of a person, regardless of whether it is just or deserved. Run after indicates their obvious urge to act in this way. Translators may need to look for an idiomatic way of expressing this.

They do not defend the fatherless: See verse 17 for this basic demand that God makes. The leaders ignore it because they are more concerned about their own personal gain. They were supposed to make sure justice was done for all the people, especially the poor and disadvantaged. The poor orphans and widows (see the next line) could not afford to pay bribes and so they could not expect any justice.

The widow’s cause does not come to them: Here the singular word widow refers to all widows. Their cause is actually their complaint, as described in verse 17. The pronoun them refers to the leaders. There are two possible interpretations for this line: 1) the widows’ complaints do not even reach the courts for a hearing (Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh); or 2) the leaders refuse to deal with their complaints when they hear them in court (Good News Translation). Both interpretations are valid and translators may follow either one.

Translators can consider the following examples for this verse:

• Your leaders are rogues, associates of thieves.
Each one of them loves to receive bribes
and looks for gifts.
But they fail to defend the rights of orphans
and refuse to deal with the complaints of widows.

• Your chiefs are rebels in league with thieves.
Every one of them takes bribes and gifts,
and refuses to consider the rights of orphans
and the complaints of widows.

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 .