neighbor - relative

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “neighbor” or “relative” in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) and the Buku Lopatulika translation (1922/2018) with just one word: nansi. This word can also be translated as neighbors whom you share a blood relation with because in Chewa context a community is mostly comprised of people of blood relations. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Esau

The name that is transliterated as “Jacob” in English is translated in Finnish Sign Language and American Sign Language with the signs signifying “hairy forearm” (referring to the story starting at Genesis 27:11). (Source: Tarja Sandholm, Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Esau” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

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 Jacob and hairy (like Esau).

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Esau .

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 49:10

I have stripped Esau bare: In Hebrew the pronoun I is emphatic; the emphasis may be expressed by saying, for example, “For my part, I have stripped Esau bare” or “But I, I have stripped Esau bare.” Esau represents “Esau’s descendants” (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), “the people of Edom.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch does away with the imagery of stripped Esau bare and renders “I myself will deliver the descendants of Esau to their enemies.” Other versions have “I have taken everything from the descendants of Esau.”

His children are destroyed may be translated following Good News Translation (“All the people of Edom are destroyed”) or Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (“All Edomites will die”).

He is no more; that is, “not one of the descendants of Esau is left.” Good News Translation combines his brothers and his neighbors with he is no more and renders “Not one of them is left.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch retains the imagery somewhat: “There are no more brothers or neighbors….”

See discussion below for the relation of this verse to verse 11.

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 .

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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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. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.