truth

Nida (1947, p. 230) says this about the translation of the concept of “truth”: “The words for ‘truth’ and ‘true’ are not always the most readily discovered in aboriginal languages. In some instances the only expression which corresponds to ‘true’ is something like ‘it happened.’ A falsehood is something that ‘did not happen.’ In a good many languages the meaning of ‘truth’ is expressed by the words signifying ‘straight’ and ‘direct.’ Untruth is accordingly ‘crookedness.’ An abstract noun such as English “truth” is quite difficult to find in some instances. Only an expression such as ‘true statement’ or ‘true word’ will be found to correspond to English ‘truth.’”

The Greek, Latin, Ge’ez, and Hebrew that is usually translated in English as “truth” is translated in Luchazi with vusunga: “the quality of being straight” (source: E. Pearson in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 160ff. ), in Obolo as atikọ or “good/correct talk” (source: Enene Enene), and in Ekari as maakodo bokouto or “enormous truth” (esp. in John 14:6 and 17; bokouto — “enormous” — is being used as an attribute for abstract nouns to denote that they are of God [see also here]; source: Marion Doble in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 37ff. ).

Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) tells of the translation into Kui which usually is “true-thing.” In some instances however, such as in the second part of John 17:17 (“your word is truth” in English), the use of “true-thing” indicated that there might be other occasions when it’s not true, so here the translation was a a form of “pure, holy.”

The translation committee of the Malay “Good News Bible” (Alkitab Berita Baik, see here ) wrestled with the translation of “truth” in the Gospel of John:

“Our Malay Committee also concluded that ‘truth’ as used in the Gospel of John was used either of God himself, or of God’s revelation of himself, or in an extended sense as a reference to those who had responded to God’s self-disclosure. In John 8:32 the New Malay translation reads ‘You will know the truth about God, and the truth about God will make you free.’ In John 8:44 this meaning is brought out by translating, ‘He has never been on the side of God, because there is no truth in him.’ Accordingly Jesus ‘tells the truth about God’ in 8:45, 46 (see also 16:7 and 8:37a). Then, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’ (John 14:6) becomes ‘I am the one who leads men to God, the one who reveals who and what God is, and the one who gives men life.” At 3:21 the translation reads ” … whoever obeys the truth, that is God himself, comes to the light …’; 16:13a appears as ‘he will lead you into the full truth about God’; and in 18:37 Jesus affirms ‘I came into the world to reveal the truth about God, and whoever obeys God listens to me.’ On this basis also 1:14 was translated ‘we saw his glory, the glory which he had as the Father’s only Son. Through him God has completely revealed himself (truth) and his love for us (grace)’; and 1:17 appears as ‘God gave the law through Moses; but through Jesus Christ he has completely revealed himself (truth) and his love for us (grace).'” (Source: Barclay Newman in The Bible Translator 1974, p. 432ff. )

The German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) has followed a somewhat similar path to the Malay committee 50 years earlier in the gospel of John. In John 1 it translates “truth as “God’s nature,” in John 3 as “God’s will,” in John 8 as “God’s reality,” in John 14 as “encountering God,” and in John 16 as “God’s truth.”

Jerusalem

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 .

complete verse (Jeremiah 5:1)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 5:1:

  • Kupsabiny: “God said,
    ‘Take a walk (plur.) there in Jerusalem
    and look around so that you (plur.) can know for yourselves!
    Look around where things are sold.
    Is there even one person
    who is righteous in his life
    and does the truth so that
    I can forgive the city of Jerusalem?” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The LORD said, ‘Residents of Jerusalem, [you (plur.)] go to your (plur.) roads! Look-at the plasas! If you (plur.) can-see even just one man who is righteous and trustworthy, I will-forgive your (plur.) city.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

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”.

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 5:1

Run to and fro, together with all the other commands of this verse, is understood by many translators to be spoken by the LORD (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “The Lord says…”) to the people of Jerusalem (Good News Translation “People of Jerusalem…”). However, other commentators see the audience as a company of heavenly beings to which the prophet has been admitted. It is also possible that the LORD’s words are simply a rhetorical device, in that they are being addressed to whoever is there to listen, or to no one in particular. If either of these interpretations is followed, then translators should use a simple imperative, as in “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem” (Revised English Bible, New International Version) without saying who is being told to do this. Of course, if the language requires a subject, “you” would have to be used.

The prophet (or whoever is addressed) is commanded to go to the streets and squares of the city because that is where he is likely to find the most people. The noun translated squares, although of uncertain meaning, probably refers to the open squares of the city where groups of people could gather. Good News Translation translates it as “marketplaces.” In languages where streets are not common, translators can have “villages” or “towns.”

Look and take note reverses the order of the verbs rendered “Know and see” in 2.19. In Hebrew the use of two verbs with essentially the same meaning serves to strengthen the command. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates the first three lines as “Go through the streets of Jerusalem and open your eyes; search through all its squares!”

A man does not refer in this context only to an adult male, and can be translated as “anyone” or “someone.”

The LORD’s mercy is shown by his willingness to forgive the people of Jerusalem if there is only one person who does justice and seeks truth (compare Gen 18.22-33). Justice (see “judgments” in 1.16) translates a Hebrew word that covers a wide area of meaning; the context suggests the meaning of social justice (see verses 26-28), not legal justice. Who does justice is translated “who deals honestly” by New International Version, “who does what is right” by Good News Translation, and “who acts justly” by Revised English Bible.

Truth (see also 5.3; 7.28; 9.3) may mean either “faithfulness” (of a person’s relation towards God) or “reliability” (of a person’s relation toward others) or “integrity” (of a person’s relation toward him or herself). Thus seeks truth is translated “tries to be faithful to God” by Good News Translation, “a person who can be relied on” by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and “true integrity” by Moffatt. Most other translations are fairly literal, though New American Bible has “seeks to be faithful,” apparently referring to human relationships. Notice from these examples that seeks does not mean looking for truth or faithfulness in others; here it means trying to be a certain kind of person yourself.

That I may pardon her: That introduces a result; that is, if any person can be found who acts justly and tries to be faithful, then the LORD says he will pardon Jerusalem. Good News Translation expresses this “If you can, the LORD will forgive Jerusalem.” New International Version is also good: “If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city.”

Pardon is here used in the sense of “forgive” (Good News Translation), and her refers to “Jerusalem” (Good News Translation) or “the people of Jerusalem.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “then I will forgive the guilt of the entire city.”

It is assumed by some scholars that the expression “says the LORD” (found in the Septuagint at the end of this verse) was unintentionally omitted by some scribe. Of the major translations, only New Jerusalem Bible includes this expression in its text, and it is accompanied by a footnote, indicating the origin. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch introduces the verse with “The Lord says…,” but this is included on translational grounds.

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 .