הַֽשְׁכַחְתֶּם֩ אֶת־רָע֨וֹת אֲבוֹתֵיכֶ֜ם וְאֶת־רָע֣וֹת ׀ מַלְכֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֗ה וְאֵת֙ רָע֣וֹת נָשָׁ֔יו וְאֵת֙ רָעֹ֣תֵכֶ֔ם וְאֵ֖ת רָעֹ֣ת נְשֵׁיכֶ֑ם אֲשֶׁ֤ר עָשׂוּ֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ יְהוּדָ֔ה וּבְחֻצ֖וֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃
9Have you forgotten the crimes of your ancestors, of the kings of Judah, of their wives, your own crimes and those of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
The Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “forget” in English is translated in Noongar as dwangka-anbangbat, lit. “ear-lose.” (Source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).
See also remember and forget (Japanese honorifics).
The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
“Judah” and “Judea” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
See also Judah, Judah (son of Jacob) , and Tribe of Judah .
The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
“Jerusalem” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jerusalem .
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 44:9:
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. )
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Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )
See also king (Japanese honorifics).
Some languages will express wickedness as an action: “the evil your ancestors did, the evil things the kings of Judah and their wives did, the evil you and your wives did.” Rather than repeating the word wickedness five times, as in Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation renders “Have you forgotten all the wicked things that have been done … by your ancestors, by the kings of Judah and their wives, and by you and your wives?” But note that in some languages, repeating “wickedness” in this way can have a powerful rhetorical impact, and can be very appropriate. Translators should do what is more natural in their language.
Their wives: As the Revised Standard Version note indicates, Hebrew has “his wives.” The phrase may be used either in a distributive sense (referring individually to the wife of each man) or to the many wives of Solomon.
In the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Many translators will find that the restructuring of Good News Translation is more natural, in which this phrase is moved to come immediately after the verb. See also Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, which renders the entire verse as follows:
• Have you forgotten what all of you have done in Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your ancestors, your wives, your kings and their wives?
Of course the question in this verse is rhetorical, not expecting an answer. In some languages translators will have something such as “I know you have not forgotten….”
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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