Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 49:11:
Kupsabiny: “I shall arrange/prepare a path that crosses over the top of a mountain and I shall prepare for my people a road there in the mountain.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “I will make mountains into flat road, and I will make all my highways raise up.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I will-make my mountains their roads/paths. The high places will-become a wide/broad roads/paths.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “And I will cause the mountains to become as though they were level roads, and I will prepare good highways for my people to travel on, to return to Jerusalem.” (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.
This verse uses figurative language to picture the smooth trip for the exiles returning home. It clearly echoes 40.3-4, which describes the smooth road that was made for the LORD to use. Both passages use the terms way, highways, and mountains. The Hebrew verb rendered raised up differs from the one translated “lifted up” in 40.4, but the idea is the same. See the translation comments on 40.3-4 for these expressions.
And I will make all my mountains a way means that God will make a passage across the mountains. They will not block the return of the exiles. The phrase my mountains may be used to recall the theme that God is their Creator. It probably does not indicate that he owns them, but rather that he has made them. On the other hand, since my mountains is parallel to my highways in the next line, the pronoun my may simply serve to underline God’s involvement in the safe return of the exiles. Good News Translation and Bible en français courant do not keep this pronoun. For the whole line Bible en français courant has “I will change the heights into passable roads.”
And my highways shall be raised up means the way back to Jerusalem will be as smooth as possible. For highways translators should not choose a word that refers to a modern highway (see the comments on 7.3). “Roads” is an adequate rendering. If required, the passive verb raised up may be expressed as an active one by rendering this line as “and I will raise up [my] roads.” But if this does not convey an appropriate meaning in the receptor language, it is possible to choose a more general verb; for example, Good News Translation has “and prepare a road for my people to travel,” and Bible en français courant says “I will repair the roads.”
For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:
• I will make a way across all my mountains,
and my roads will be raised up.
• Across all the mountains there will be a path,
and I will raise up [or, prepare/repair] the roads.
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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