adulterer

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “adulterer” in English would imply “I only take unmarried girls” in Telugu, so it was necessary to be more generic and say “I go after other women” (source: David Clark).

In Central Subanen an “adulterer” is “one who can’t be trusted” (source: Bratcher / Nida) and in Yagaria as “woman-theft man” (source: Renck 1990, p. 139)

See also adulteress and adultery.

prostitute oneself / play the prostitute

The Hebrew that is translated as “prostitute oneself” or “play the prostitute” in English is translated in Vidunda as “(practice) sexual immorality.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

prostitute

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The Greek, Latin, and Hebrew that is typically translated as “prostitute” in English (in some, mostly earlier translation also as “harlot” or “whore”) is translated in the 2024 revision of the inter-confessional Latvian Jauna Pārstrādāta latviešu Bībele as netikle or “hussy.” This replaced the previous translation mauka or “whore.” Nikita Andrejevs, editor of the Bible explains the previous and current translations: “The translators at the time felt that this strong word best described the thought contained in the main text. Many had objections, as it seemed that this word would not be the most appropriate for public reading in church.” (Source: Updated Bible published in Latvia ).

Other translations include:

  • Bariai: “a woman of the road” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “a woman who sells her body” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Uma: “a woman whose behavior is not appropriate” or “a loose woman” (source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “a bad woman” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “a woman who make money through their reputation” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “a woman who makes money with her body” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “a woman whose womanhood is repeatedly-bought” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

See also Translation commentary on Genesis 34:31, Rahab, and prostitute oneself / play the prostitute.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Prostitution in the Bible .

complete verse (Isaiah 57:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 57:3:

  • Kupsabiny: “God is saying,
    ‘Come here you (plur.) who used to do sorcery,
    you who hail from adulterers and prostitutes.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “O you who follow the ways of sorcery
    and those who act like adulterers and prostitutes, come!” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But you (plur.) the descendants of sorcerers, the ones-who-commit-adultery-with-women, and of the women who sell their body, you (plur.) come-near so-that you (plur.) will-be-sentenced.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 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).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Isaiah 57:3

In this verse the prophet makes it very clear who he is addressing and what he thinks of them. He condemns the Israelite people who follow Canaanite religious practices. These people contrast with the righteous people in verses 1-2, so this verse begins with But you. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “But as for you.” Good News Translation and some other versions omit the conjunction But. They assume the context and the beginning of a new paragraph are sufficient to mark the contrast with the preceding verses.

Draw near hither: The Hebrew verb rendered draw near in this context implies coming to face judgment (compare 41.1). Good News Translation makes this explicit by rendering this whole command as “Come here to be judged…!” New Revised Standard Version and New International Version say simply “come here.”

Sons of the sorceress describes the addressees. A sorceress is a woman who deals in witchcraft, who claims to read certain signs that have a hidden meaning (see the comments on 2.6, where the Hebrew word for sorceress is rendered “soothsayers”). Sons of the sorceress does not refer literally to children whose mother was a sorceress, but it refers figuratively to all those who practiced sorcery. However, in this context sorcery itself is also an image for the idolatry of the people of Judah. They are like sorcerers.

Offspring of the adulterer and the harlot is parallel to the previous line, describing the idolatrous people further. Similar to that line, this one does not refer to children who were born as a result of unlawful sexual relations, but it uses the adulterer and the harlot as metaphors for the Israelites who worshiped gods other than Yahweh. However, their Canaanite idol worship did involve some sexual activity with cult prostitutes (see 1 Kgs 15.12; Hos 4.14). These prostitutes had intercourse to inspire the fertility god to make the earth fertile. The use of sexual imagery is found throughout the Old Testament to speak about religious practices that Yahweh condemned (see, for example, Jer 9.2; 23.10; Mal 3.5). If readers misunderstand these metaphors, translators may use similes in place of them (see the examples below).

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• Now then, come here,
you who practice witchcraft,
you who are like adulterers and harlots!

• But you who are like sorcerers,
like adulterers and harlots,
come here to me!

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 .