12Although they fast, I do not hear their cry, and although they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I do not accept them, but by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence I consume them.
The Aramaic, Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “fast” in English is translated in Isthmus Mixe as “going without food to worship God,” in Lacandon as “leaving eating in order to talk to God” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.), in Vidunda as “resting to eat” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext), and in Kankanaey as “endure hunger” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation).
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign referring to abstinence from food and drink. (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)
The Hebrew olah (עֹלָה) originally means “that which goes up (in smoke).” English Bibles often translates it as “burnt-offering” or “whole burnt-offering,” focusing on the aspect of the complete burning of the offering.
The GreekSeptuagint and the LatinVulgate Bibles translate it as holokautōma / holocautōsis (ὁλοκαύτωμα / ὁλοκαύτωσις) and holocaustum, respectively, meaning “wholly burnt.” While a form of this term is widely used in many Romance languages (Spanish: holocaustos, French: holocaustes, Italian: olocausti, Portuguese: holocaustos) and originally also in the Catholic tradition of English Bible translations, it is largely not used in English anymore today (the preface of the revised edition of the Catholic New American Bible of 2011: “There have been changes in vocabulary; for example, the term ‘holocaust’ is now normally reserved for the sacrilegious attempt to destroy the Jewish people by the Third Reich.”)
Since translation into Georgian was traditionally done on the basis of the Greek Septuagint, a transliteration of holokautōma was used as well, which was changed to a translation with the meaning of “burnt offering” when the Old Testament was retranslated in the 1980’s on the basis of the Hebrew text.
In the Koongo (Ki-manianga) translation by the Alliance Biblique de la R.D. Congo (publ. in 2015) olah is translated as “kill and offer sacrifice” (source: Anicet Bassilua) and in Elhomwe as “fire offering.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The English translation of Everett Fox uses offering-up (similarly, the German translation by Buber-Rosenzweig has Darhöhung and the French translation by Chouraqui montée).
the Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated with “sword” in English is translated in Tepeuxila Cuicatec as “machete that is sharp on two sides,” in Lalana Chinantec as “machete” and in San Mateo del Mar Huave as “knife.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
The Hebrew that is translated as “offering” in English is translated in Venda as nduvho. J. A. van Rooy (in The Bible Translator 1974, p. 439ff. ) explains: “It is derived from the verb u luvha (‘to pay homage to; to acknowledge the superiority of; at the same time usually asking for a favour’). It is sometimes used as a synonym for ‘asking something from a chief. The noun nduvho means ‘a gift of allegiance,’ which corresponds closely with minchah (מִנְחָה) as ‘offering of allegiance.’ This term nduvho has in it the elements of subjugation, of reciprocity (asking for a favor), of being taken up into the same community as the chief in allegiance to him. Only the element of expiation is missing.”
In Northern Emberá, it is translated as “given to God freely.” (Source: Loewen 1980, p. 108)
The Hebrew and Greek that is typically translated as “grain offering” is translated in Tatar as “bread gift,” in the ItalianTraduzione interconfessionale in lingua corrente (2014) as offerta di vegetali (“vegetable offering”), in the FrenchParole de Vie (2000) as un produit de la terre (“a product of the earth”) and in German as Speiseopfer (“food offering”). (Source: Lénart de Regt in The Bible Translator 2017, p. 131ff. )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 14:12:
Kupsabiny: “Even if they fast, I will not hear their words, even if they make sacrifices to me that are burned completely and sacrifices of food as gifts, I shall not accept (them). What I shall do to (them) is to destroy them with sword, famine and sickness.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Even if they will-fast, I will- not -listen to their asking-for help from me. Even though they will-offer burnt offering and offering that gives honor to me, I will- not -accept it. Instead, I will-kill them through war, famine, and pestilence.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “When they fast/abstain from food in order to honor me, I will not pay any attention. When they bring to me their offerings of animals to be completely burned on the altar and their offerings of grain, I will not accept them. Instead, I will get rid of them by wars, by famines, and by diseases.’” (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.
Many languages have a word for fast, but in those where the custom is not familiar, translators need to be sure they do not translate with a word that simply means to go without food, since that could happen if there was famine or no food was available for some reason. Rather, fasting is going without food as a religious duty. Translators can say something like “refrain from food” or “refrain from eating in order to worship.”
Throughout this verse the pronoun I (used of the LORD) is emphatic, especially in its third occurrence (I will consume …).
Cry is to be understood in this context as a “cry for help” (Good News Translation). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates Though … cry as “They can fast and pray as much as they will, but I will not hear them.”
For burnt offering, see the comment at 6.20.
Cereal offering is used again in 17.26; 33.18; 41.5. The cereal offering consisted of a handful of wheat flour which was sprinkled with incense and then burned together with the burnt offering. The remainder of the flour was given to the priest. Translators can distinguish the two offerings with a rendering such as “even though they burn offerings on the altar for me, and also offer grain for my worship” or “though they place animals and grain on the altar as offerings to me.”
I will not accept them: As in verse 10, the verb accept is translated “be pleased with” by Good News Translation. This context makes it more likely that them refers to the people rather than their offerings.
Consume, as with other words that refer to eating (for example, “devour”), is often translated “destroy” or “kill” (Good News Translation).
The sword (see 5.12) is once again used of “war” (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Good News Translation renders famine with “starvation,” and pestilence as “disease.” These three terms occur a number of times in Jeremiah (21.7, 9; 24.10; 27.8, 13; 28.8; 29.17-18; 32.24, 36; 34.17; 38.2; 42.17, 22; 44.13).
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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