medium

The Hebrew that is translated as “medium” in English is translated in Basa as “the people of the grave” (source: Rob Koops) and in Newari as “a person who knowingly becomes possessed” (source: Newari Back-Translation).

spiritualist

The Hebrew that is translated as “spiritualist” (or: spiritist”) or similar in English is translated in Newari as “one who does the work of a Jhākri ” (source: Newari Back-Translation).

idol / idols

The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “idol(s)” in English is translated in Central Subanen as ledawan or “images” (source: Robert Brichoux in OPTAT 1988/2, p. 80ff. ) and in Cherokee “imaginary gods” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16).

In German, typically the term Götze is used. Originally this was used as a term of endearment for Gott (“God” — see here ), later for “icon” and “image, likeness.” Luther started to use it in the 16th century in the meaning of “false god, idol.” Other terms that are used in German include Götzenbild(er) (“image[s] of idols”) or Bildnis (“image” — Protestant) / Kultbild (“cultish image” — Catholic) (used for instance in Exodus 20:4 and Deuteronomy 5:8). The latest revision of the Catholic Einheitsübersetzung (publ. 2016) also uses the neologism Nichtse (“nothings”) in 1 Chron. 16:26 and Psalm 96:5. (Source: Zetzsche)

See also worthless idols.

complete verse (Isaiah 19:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 19:3:

  • Kupsabiny: “The strength of the Egyptians shall be finished.
    and their plans disrupted.
    They shall be asking words from the idols they are bowing to,
    or asking the ancestral spirits and sorcerers.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The hearts of the Egyptians will get discouraged
    and I will destroy the plans that they make.
    To the place of their gods, to the place of chanting and incantation
    and to the place where [they] do evil spirit work, [they] will go to take counsel.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The Egiptohanon will-lose courage, and I will-confuse them of their plans. They will-take-refuge to the little-gods, to the souls of the dead-ones, to the witchcrafts and to the spiritists.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The people of Egypt will become very discouraged,
    and I will cause their plans not to be successful.
    They will plead with idols and sorcerers and those who talk with spirits of dead people
    to tell them what they should do.” (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”.

Translation commentary on Isaiah 19:3

And the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out refers to deep despair, so Good News Translation says “destroy their morale.” The meaning of this idiom is similar to that of “the heart melting” at the end of verse 1, but it is possibly stronger. Bible en français courant and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch use an alternative idiom, saying “The Egyptians will lose their head.” New International Version suggests “The Egyptians will lose heart.” A better model that reflects the depth of the despair is “The Egyptians will completely lose heart.”

And I will confound their plans: The Hebrew noun rendered plans comes from a root meaning “purpose” as well as “counsel/advice.” Here it refers to the content of the advice, that is, the plans. To confound their plans means to cause them not to succeed. Good News Translation says “I am going to frustrate the plans of the Egyptians.” New International Version has “and I will bring their plans to nothing,” while Contemporary English Version puts it concisely, saying “I confuse their plans.”

Good News Translation reverses the order of the first two lines of this verse for naturalness in English. This may be a helpful model for other languages.

And they will consult the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the wizards: This is the result of the failed plans, so the connector and may be rendered “So,” “Then,” or “As a result.” The Egyptians will turn to their religious and spiritual powers for guidance to deal with the effects of Yahweh’s actions. Four powers are listed: idols, sorcerers, mediums, and wizards. For idols see Isa 19.1. The Hebrew noun rendered sorcerers comes from a root meaning “mutter.” It refers to those who consult the spirits of the dead (so New Revised Standard Version, New International Version). For mediums and wizards, see the comments on 8.19. In 2.6 “diviners” and “soothsayers” were mentioned, and the terms used in translation there may be suitable here as well. Some languages may not have the vocabulary to cover each of these religious specialists, so they may have to combine them under one or two more general terms (so Good News Translation); for example, Contemporary English Version has “They will try to get advice from their idols, from the spirits of the dead, and from fortunetellers.”

We offer the following translation models for this verse:

• The Egyptians will completely lose heart
and I will frustrate their plans.
So they will turn for help to their gods
and to their sorcerers, mediums, and wizards.

• The Egyptians will be completely demoralized,
and I will bring an end to all their plans.
As a result, they will then seek help from their worthless gods
and from their various shamans/diviners/sorcerers/soothsayers.

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 .