pride

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The Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “pride” in English is translated as

  • “continually boasting” (Amganad Ifugao)
  • “lifting oneself up” (Tzeltal)
  • “answering haughtily” (Yucateco) (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • “unbent neck” (like llamas) (Kaqchikel) (source: Nida 1952, p. 151)
  • “praising oneself, saying: I am better” (Shipibo-Conibo) (source: Nida 1964, p. 237).
  • “bigness of head” (existing idiom: girman kai) in the Hausa Common Language Bible it is idiomatically translated as or (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • “trying to make yourself the leader” in Mairasi (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • “make oneself important” (sick upspeeln) in Low German (source: translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006)
  • “a haughty liver” in Yakan (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • “lift head” in Upper Guinea Crioulo (source: Nicoleti 2012, p. 78)

See also proud / arrogant.

complete verse (Job 33:17)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 33:17:

  • Kupsabiny: “so they can remove themselves from where sin is,
    and throw their boasting far away.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “to stop a man from evil work he is doing
    and to keep him far from arrogance,” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He does this so-that man would-stop sinning and boasting,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “God could certainly not govern the world if he hated doing what is fair/just.
    So, will you condemn God, who is righteous and powerful, saying that what he has done is wrong?” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Job 33:17

That he may turn man aside from his deed is connected in Revised Standard Version to verse 16 as the purpose of 16. Good News Translation, on the other hand, translates this verse as an independent sentence. This first line is literally “to remove man’s deed,” which does not suggest a coherent meaning. Consequently the word translated deed is changed to read “evil,” and then the entire phrase is translated “to prevent men from doing evil.” Pope has “to deter men from evil.” Good News Translation takes the position that deed in the context refers automatically to “evil deeds,” and so translates “God speaks to make them stop their sinning,” which expresses the thought well. It is probably best to express verse 17 as the purpose for the events in verse 16, and so we may translate “He does this to make people stop doing evil deeds” or “This is to make them stop sinning.”

And cut off pride from man: cut off translates the Hebrew term “hide,” according to the Revised Standard Version footnote. This line is literally “pride from man he covers.” Cut off is a very slight change from the Hebrew “he covers” and is widely accepted. Cut off pride from man suggests “prevent people from being proud.” Good News Translation seems to accept the change but translates more clearly than Revised Standard Version: “and to save them from becoming proud.” In some languages this line may be rendered, for example, “and to keep them from having swollen hearts” or “and to stop them from acting with big heads.”

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 .