complete verse (Jeremiah 33:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 33:3:

  • Kupsabiny: “Ask me something so that I can tell you heavy things that have not been exposed and things that you do not know.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Call to me for I will-help you, and I will-reveal to you the amazing and secret things which you have- not -known yet.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Call out to me, and then I will tell you great and wonderful things that you have not known before.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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 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”.

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 33:3

As elsewhere in this book, Call to me does not mean simply to call out or shout the LORD’s name; rather, the meaning is to call upon him for help (see 29.12). If this is not clear, translators can express it directly; for example, “Call my name asking for help” or “Call to me to help you.”

Most English versions sound as if will answer and will tell are separate actions. However, it is quite possible that will tell defines the content of the LORD’s answer: “I will answer you by telling you….”

Hidden things which you have not known: Hidden is literally “inaccessible” (of a city or fortress). Isa 48.6, which is almost identical with this clause, has another Hebrew word (meaning “hidden” or “guarded”) which differs only in the first consonant. In 15.20 Revised Standard Version translates the adjective used here as “fortified.” In this verse most translators have either “hidden things” or “things you had no way of knowing.”

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 .