obedience / obey

The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek that is translated in English typically as “obedience” or “obey” is translated in Tepeuxila Cuicatec as “thing hearing,” because “to hear is to obey.” (Source: Marjorie Davis in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 34ff. )

In Huba it is translated as hya nǝu nyacha: “follow (his) mouth.” (Source: David Frank in this blog post )

In Central Mazahua it is translated as “listen-obey” and in Huehuetla Tepehua as “believe-obey” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), and in Noongar as dwangka-don, lit. “hear do” (source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).

See also disobedience.

complete verse (Jeremiah 7:24)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 7:24:

  • Kupsabiny: “But they refused to obey me, and they did not listen, They followed their own thoughts and bad habits and went backwards instead of going forward.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘But they did- not -obey or pay-attention to what I said. Instead, they followed the dictation of their hard and wicked heart. Instead that they will-come-near to me, they even turned-away.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “But your ancestors would not pay any attention to me.
    They continued to do the evil things that they wanted to do,
    everything that in their stubborn inner beings they desired to do.
    Instead of coming closer to me, they went further away from me.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 7:24

Obey is parallel in meaning to incline their ear. Good News Translation translates the two verbs as “obey or pay any attention.”

The Septuagint omits counsels, but the noun is present in Hebrew, and Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends that it be retained in translation. Walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts (see 3.17) is translated “they did what their evil and stubborn heart prompted them to do” by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch. This is a legitimate restructuring, inasmuch as the stubbornness of their evil hearts is a Hebrew way of saying “their stubborn and evil hearts” (Good News Translation). New International Version has “they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts.”

Went backward and not forward: Good News Translation removes the figure of walking and translates “they became worse instead of better.” However, it may be more effective to render, “They went away from me and turned their backs to me” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). The image is similar to that in 2.27.

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 .