consecrate, consecration

The Greek and Hebrew that are translated as “consecration” or “consecrate” in English is translated in Poqomchi’ as “set apart” (when applying to a ritual not to a moral status). (Source: Robert Bascom)

In Kwere it is translated as “put to holy work” when it refers to making someone or something suitable for priestly duties, when it refers to individual consecration outside of the priestly duty, “offer (yourselves) for my sake” is also used. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

See also holy / sacred / taboo.

prophet

Eugene Nida wrote the following about the translation of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek terms that are typically translated with “prophet” in English:

“The tendency in many translations is to use ‘to foretell the future’ for ‘prophesy,’ and ‘one who foretells the future’ for ‘prophet.’ This is not always a recommended usage, particularly if such expressions denote certain special native practices of spirit contact and control. It is true, of course, that prophets of the Bible did foretell the future, but this was not always their principal function. One essential significance of the Greek word prophētēs is ‘one who speaks forth,’ principally, of course, as a forth-teller of the Divine will. A translation such as ‘spokesman for God’ may often be employed profitably.” (1947, p. 234f.)

Following is a list of (back-) translations from other languages (click or tap for details):

  • San Blas Kuna: “one who speaks the voice of God”
  • Central Pame and Vai: “interpreter for God”
  • Kaqchikel, Navajo, Yaka: “one who speaks for God”
  • Northern Grebo: “God’s town crier” (see more about this below)
  • Sapo: “God’s sent-word person”
  • Shipibo-Conibo, Ngäbere: “one who speaks God’s word”
  • Copainalá Zoque: “one who speaks-opens” (a compound meaning “one who discloses or reveals”)
  • Sierra Totonac: “one who causes them to know” (in the sense of “revealer”)
  • Batak Toba: “foreteller” (this and all the above acc. to Nida 1961, p. 7)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “one who is inspired of God” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Alekano: “the true man who descended from heaven” (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation June 1986, p. 36ff.)
  • Aguaruna: “teller of God’s word” (source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125)
  • Ekari: “person who speaks under divine impulse”
  • Mandarin Chinese: 先知 xiānzhī — “one who foreknows” (or the 1946/1970 translation by Lü Zhenzhong: 神言人 shényánrén — “divine-word-man”)
  • Uab Meto: “holy spokesman” (source for this and two above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Kouya: Lagɔɔ gbʋgbanyɔ — “the one who seeks God’s affairs” (source: Saunders, p. 269)
  • Kafa: “decide for God only” (source: Loren Bliese)
  • Martu Wangka: “sit true to God’s talk” (source: Carl Gross)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “word passer” (source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation November 1964, p. 1-22)
  • Obolo: ebi nriran: “one with power of divine revelation” (source: Enene Enene)
  • Mairasi: nonondoai nyan: “message proclaimer” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Highland Totonac: “speaker on God’s behalf”
  • Central Tarahumara: “God’s preacher” (source for this and above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Coatlán Mixe: “God’s word-thrower”
  • Ayutla Mixtec: “one who talks as God’s representative”
  • Isthmus Mixe: “speaker for God” (source for this and two above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Mezquital Otomi / Paasaal: “God’s messenger” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff. and Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
  • Noongar: Warda Marridjiny or “News Traveling” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Kutu: mtula ndagu or “one who gives the prediction of the past and the future” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • French 1985 translation by Chouraqui: inspiré or “inspired one” (“someone in whom God has breathed [Latin: in + spiro]) (source: Watson 2023, p. 45)

In Ixcatlán Mazatec a term is used that specifically includes women. (Source: Robert Bascom)

About the translation into Northern Grebo:

“In some instances these spiritual terms result from adaptations reflecting the native life and culture. Among the Northern Grebo people of Liberia, a missionary wanted some adequate term for ‘prophet,’ and she was fully aware that the native word for ‘soothsayer’ or ‘diviner’ was no equivalent for the Biblical prophet who spoke forth for God. Of course, much of what the prophets said referred to the future, and though this was an essential part of much of their ministry, it was by no means all. The right word for the Gbeapo people would have to include something which would not only mean the foretelling of important events but the proclamation of truth as God’s representative among the people. At last the right word came; it was ‘God’s town-crier.’ Every morning and evening the official representative of the chief goes through the village crying out the news, delivering the orders of the chief, and announcing important coming events. ‘God’s town-crier’ would be the official representative of God, announcing to the people God’s doings, His commands, and His pronouncements for their salvation and well-being. For the Northern Grebo people the prophet is no weird person from forgotten times; he is as real as the human, moving message of the plowman Amos, who became God’s town-crier to a calloused people.” (source: Nida 1952, p. 20)

In American Sign Language it is a person who sees into the future:


“Prophet” in American Sign Language (source )

In British Sign Language it is is translated with a sign that depicts a message coming from God to a person (the upright finger) and then being passed on to others. (Source: Anna Smith)


“Prophet” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

See also prophesy and prophesy / prophetic frenzy.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: How to Recognize a Biblical Prophet .

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 1:5

Before I formed you in the womb is similar to the words of the “servant of the LORD” (Isa 49.1, 5) and of Paul (Gal 1.15). The idea is expressed in Good News Translation by “before I gave you life” and in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch by “Before I called you into life.” In thought the statement is parallel to before you were born. Both expressions affirm Jeremiah’s conviction that God had destined him to be a prophet, even before his conception and birth. In some languages it is quite natural and not too high a level of language to retain womb, often in a phrase such as “your mother’s womb.” It must be clear, of course, that this is not a case of God causing the prophet’s mother to conceive, as with Mary, the mother of Jesus. Rather, God’s hand is seen as active in all things.

Scholars agree that the Hebrew word translated knew covers a much larger area of meaning than that of intellectual knowledge. When used of human beings it refers to the closest relationship possible; and when God is subject it describes his complete understanding of the total person as a thinking, willing, and feeling being. In the present context it has the more restricted meaning of “choose,” as it does in Gen 18.19; Hos 13.5; Amos 3.2. New English Bible translates I knew you as “I knew you for my own,” while Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “I had a plan for you.” Notice that Good News Translation has reversed the order of the first part of the verse: “I chose you before I gave you life.” This may be more natural in other languages as well, although the order in the text is not unusual in English poetry.

Consecrated comes from a verb that is often translated “make holy.” However, in the biblical context the word is not used in an ethical sense (“make sinless”) but in a religious sense (“set apart to the service of God”). In the present context consecrated is parallel to knew, and so Good News Translation translates the two verbs as “I chose … I selected.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch uses an idiomatic expression of the same meaning for consecrated: “I had already laid my hand on you.” However, here is an example of parallel lines where the second part adds to the first. The meaning, stated fully, is: “Before I gave you life I knew you; in fact, before you were born I had selected you for my service.” In translation “in fact” might not be necessary, of course.

I appointed you a prophet to the nations: This line expands on the verb consecrated. The service for which Jeremiah was selected was to be a prophet. Again, there is the temptation to collapse the last two lines of this verse into “Before you were born I had selected you to serve me as my prophet.” But there is a progression of ideas in the lines of this verse which would be lost in this restructuring: I knew you, I set you aside, I gave you an appointment. Translators should try to retain this. More than “elect” or “choose,” appointed means to name someone to a post or position. Thus only someone in authority can appoint. If there is no one word for this, translators can use “made” or “gave you the task” or “assigned you to be.”

Great care must be taken in the translation of the word prophet. The primary role of the Old Testament prophet was to speak God’s message to the people of his own day. Too often translators have wanted to render this as “future teller” or “seer”; but even when the prophets did speak of the future (only a small part of the time), it was in the context of delivering the word that God had given them. “God’s spokesman” is therefore a better rendering. Most translators working on Jeremiah will have already struggled with prophet in the New Testament, and they should use the same term here (assuming they rendered it correctly in the New Testament!). It should be distinguished from “angel,” usually translated “messenger [from God],” and “apostle,” a term referring to someone sent with a particular commission.

To the nations: As one scholar notes, the meaning to be understood here is not merely that Jeremiah is to proclaim God’s word to the non-Jewish peoples (something he actually did in his own time), but also that his prophetic message will have a continuing value for the nations even after the fall of Judah. Moreover, in the context in which Jeremiah lived, it was impossible to deliver a message to his own nation that in some manner or another did not also have relevance for the international scene. The nations, therefore, can be rendered by “all nations.” If nations itself is a problem, then translators can use “all peoples,” “all countries,” or possibly “all kingdoms.” But since Judah is included, it would certainly be wrong to use the term for “gentiles.”

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 .

first person pronoun referring to God

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 show 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”.