Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 27:10:
Kupsabiny: “They make you believe a word that will cause you to be taken to a faraway land. I shall chase you to go and get completely lost.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “What they say to you (plur.) is a lie. And if you (plur.) believe-it, I will-drive- you (plur.) -away from your (plur.) land. I will-drive- you (plur.) -away and destroy-(you).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Those people are all liars. If you believe what they say, it will result in your being exiled from your land. I will cause you to be taken from your land, and you will die far away.” (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.
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 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).
For it is a lie which they are prophesying to you: In Hebrew lie is placed in the emphatic position. This emphasis is well brought out in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “But they lie!”
With the result that you will be is rendered “and will cause you to be” by Good News Translation. You will be removed may need to be expressed with an active verb and an agent, as in “enemies will take you away.”
And I will drive you out: See 8.3. The use of the conjunction and may be misleading. This clause and the one that follows (and you will perish) are explanations of how the people will be removed from their land. It will be the result of lies, but the LORD will be the one who drives them out of their land.
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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