complete verse (Job 14:20)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 14:20:

  • Kupsabiny: “You cause suffering to a person until you destroy (him)
    and distort his face with/in death.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “You defeat him and he will cease to exist.
    You change the shape of his face and send him far away.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (sing.) always overpower him and he dies, and you (sing.) make-new his face/appearance when he is gone.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “You always defeat us, and then we die.
    You cause our faces to look ugly after we die,
    and you send us away.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God ("chase away")

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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 rare (られ) 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, oiya-rare-ru (追いやられる) or “chase away” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Job 14:20

Thou prevailest for ever against him: prevailest translates a word whose root means “to be powerful,” and which has the sense here of “attack.” This meaning is well conveyed by Good News Translation “You overpower a man.” For ever is connected more naturally with prevailest as in Revised Standard Version, and New International Version “You overpower him once for all.” And he passes translates the Hebrew “and he goes,” which is an indirect manner of speaking about death, as in English “pass away.” The line may also be expressed, for example, “You defeat him and he dies,” “You overcome him and he gives up his life,” or “You subdue him and he is finished.”

Thou changest his countenance is in the Hebrew “changing his face” and refers to the distorted face of the dead person. Revised Standard Version reflects the Hebrew form and does not say what kind of change takes place, but Good News Translation does not leave it in doubt: “His face is twisted in death.” Revised Standard Version and others understand God to be the one who changes the face. Others, like Good News Translation, take it that the face is changed as a result of death. It seems best to take it as in Good News Translation, which is closer to the Hebrew idea. In languages in which a passive construction cannot be used, it may be necessary to say, for example, “You distort his face,” “You cause his face to twist,” or “You give him an ugly face in death.” And sendest him away is parallel to and he passes in line a. Good News Translation does not repeat the expression but uses “and send him away” for both expressions.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .