Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("say")

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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 16:9

LORD of hosts: See the comment at 2.19. For God of Israel, translators can say “the God that Israel worships” (see 7.3).

For Behold refer to 1.6.

Good News Translation renders I will make to cease as “I will silence.” Translators can also say “I will bring an end to.”

Both Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch restructure the verse so that before your eyes and in your days comes as the final statement in the paragraph: “The people here will live to see this happen” (Good News Translation); “You yourself will experience it and see it with your own eyes!” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Other translations, for example Revised English Bible and New International Version, put these words at the beginning of the pronouncement from the LORD, but it does have more impact in English by being at the end. Translators should restructure in whatever way seems most readable in their language.

The voice of mirth and the voice of gladness (see 7.34) may be combined into one expression such as “sounds of joy” or “sounds of gladness.” Most translations prefer to retain two nouns.

The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride (see 7.34) is translated “the joyful shout of the bridegroom and the bride” by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch. Good News Translation restructures to a more general expression: “the happy sounds of wedding feasts.”

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 .