wisdom

Click here to view graphically

The Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “wisdom” in English is rendered in various ways:

  • Amganad Ifugao / Tabasco Chontal: “(big) mind”
  • Bulu / Yamba: “heart-thinking”
  • Tae’: “cleverness of heart” (source for this and all above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Palauan: “bright spirit (innermost)” (source: Bratcher / Hatton)
  • Ixcatlán Mazatec: “with your best/biggest thinking” (source: Robert Bascom)
  • Noongar: dwangka-boola, lit. “ear much” (source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018 — see also remember)
  • Kwere “to know how to live well” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Dobel: “their ear holes are long-lasting” (in Acts 6:3) (source: Jock Hughes)
  • Gbaya: iŋa-mgbara-mɔ or “knowing-about-things” (note that in comparison to that, “knowledge” is translated as iŋa-mɔ or “knowing things”) (source: Philip Noss in The Bible Translator 2001, p. 114ff. )
  • Chichewa: nzeru, meaning both “knowledge” and “wisdom” (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Uma: “clearness” (source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Kako: “heart thinking” (source: Reyburn 2002, p. 190)

In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a hand gesture referring to God to indicate a human quality to communicate that wisdom does not originate from man but is linked to and connected with the fear of God (source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group):


“Wisdom” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )

See also wisdom (Proverbs) and knowledge.

The wisdom of their wise shall perish . . .

For the phrase “The wisdom of their wise shall perish, and the discernment of the discerning shall be hidden,” see 1 Corinthians 1:19.

Note that this quote in the New Testament is not taken from the Hebrew Bible but from the Greek Septuagint (LXX) which translates into English as “I will (…) destroy the wisdom
of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will hide” (Translation by NETS — for the Greek version see the title’s tooltip)

complete verse (Isaiah 29:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 29:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “So, I shall again do an amazing thing for these people,
    which has not been seen another day.
    I shall finish the wisdom of the wise
    and set aside the experience/understanding of those who think they have understanding.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “So once again in the midst of this nation
    having done amazing work in their midst
    I will do astonishing work, and
    The knowledge of the learned
    I will destroy,
    and the wisdom of the wise
    will be made useless."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Therefore once again I will-cause- these people -to-be-amazed with successive wondrous things. And I will-vanish the wisdom of the wise people and the understanding of those who have knowledge.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Therefore, again I will do something to amaze these people;
    I will perform many miracles.
    And I will show that the people who tell others that they are wise are not really wise,
    and I will show that the people who tell others that they are intelligent are not really intelligent.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (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 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 29:14

Therefore behold …: In this verse God gives his reaction to the insincere worship of his people. With the word behold he tells them to pay close attention to what he will do. Most versions leave this word implied (so Good News Translation).

I will again do marvelous things with this people, wonderful and marvelous: Do marvelous things, wonderful, and marvelous render the same Hebrew root. This repetition in such a short sentence makes the Hebrew text very emphatic. The Hebrew root here normally refers to extraordinary things God does for the benefit of his people. However, in this context of punishment, God uses it sarcastically. This sentence may be translated “I will continue to do marvels that will amaze and surprise these people.” Bible en français courant says “I will continue to surprise it by the wonders I will do.” Revised English Bible is more explicit with “I shall shock this people yet again, adding shock to shock,” which some languages may find helpful. Revised English Bible also keeps the repetition of the original text with the word “shock.” If such repetition is emphatic in a receptor language, translators should use it here.

And the wisdom of their wise men shall perish is the outcome of the shocking things Yahweh will do. The wise people in Judah will lose their wisdom. Although it is likely that the professional wise people were all male, there was wisdom at all levels of the society, so wise men may be rendered “wise people.” For wisdom see 11.2.

And the discernment of their discerning men shall be hid: The line is parallel and synonymous with the previous one. Those who are discerning will lose their ability to do so. For the Hebrew word rendered discernment, see 11.2, where it is translated “understanding” and occurs in a word pair with wisdom.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• Therefore I will continue to amaze these people with amazing and extraordinary deeds;
wisdom will disappear from their wise people,
understanding will be hidden from those with understanding!”

• For that reason I will do more things that will shock and amaze these people;
their wise people will no longer be so wise,
their clever people will no longer be so clever!”

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 .