chariot

The Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated into English as “chariot” is translated into Anuak as “canoe pulled by horse.” “Canoe” is the general term for “vehicle” (source: Loren Bliese). Similarly it is translated in Lokạạ as ukwaa wạ nyanyang ntuuli or “canoe that is driven by horses.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Other translations include:

  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “cart pulled by horses” (source: Larson 1998, p. 98)
  • Chichicapan Zapotec: “ox cart” (in Acts 8) (ox carts are common vehicles for travel) (source: Loren Bliese)
  • Chichimeca-Jonaz, it is translated as “little house with two feet pulled by two horses” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Hausa Common Language Bible as keken-doki or “cart of donkey” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Mairasi: “going-thing [vehicle]” (source: Enggavoter 2004)

It is illustrated for use in Bible translations in East Africa by Pioneer Bible Translators like this:

Image owned by PBT and Jonathan McDaniel and licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

See also cart.

complete verse (Joshua 24:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 24:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then, the people of Egypt pursued them with chariots/carts which horses pulled up to the Red Sea.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, as soon as they arrived at the sea, the Egyptians caught up them with their chariots and horsemen pursuing your ancestors up to the Red Sea.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But when your (plur.) ancestors/[lit. old-ones] now arrived at the Red Sea, they were-pursued by the Egiptohanon who had horses and chariots.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, they came to the Red Sea. The Egyptian army pursued them, some riding in chariots and others on horses, and they also arrived at the Red Sea.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

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”.

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

In Malagasy culture, the sea is perceived as sacred because it was a path taken by the ancestors. That is why the Malagasy word for the “sea” is ranomasina, which literally means “the sacred water.” The word masina actually has two different meanings: “salted” and “sacred/holy.” Salt is used for the conservation of some foods, such as meat or fish, that are to be set aside for later use. In this sense, the Malagasy phrase for “Holy Spirit” has the literal meaning of “Salted Spirit.” (Source: Brigitte Rabarijaona in The Bible Translator 2022, p. 103ff.)

Translation commentary on Joshua 24:6

The Hebrew text speaks twice of the body of water to which the Israelites came (see Revised Standard Version “the sea” and “the Red Sea”); Good News Translation has eliminated the repetition, as a matter of style. For Red Sea see 2.10.

But I led you out (verse 5) and I brought your ancestors out (verse 6) say basically the same thing, since in the narration of events the writer freely shifts from “you” to “your ancestors.” Verses 5-6 may then be translated as a unit:

• Later I sent Moses and Aaron to help your ancestors, and I brought great trouble on the people of Egypt. I led your ancestors out of Egypt and to the Red Sea. When the Egyptian army pursued them with war chariots and men on horses….

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 24:6

24:6a

When I brought your fathers out of Egypt: The information in this part of the verse is the same as the information in 24:5. The phrase your fathers refers to the ancestors of the Israelites to whom Joshua was speaking. It may be more natural to include the information out of Egypt in verse 5c and leave that information implicit here.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

When I brought your forefathers out of Egypt
-or-
When I led your ancestors out

24:6b

and you reached the Red Sea: In verses 6 and 7 Joshua sometimes used the term “your fathers” and sometimes used the pronoun you, speaking to the Israelites. In some languages it may not be natural to alternate in this way. In that case, you may choose to refer only to the Israelite ancestors, using the pronoun “they.” For example:

I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and cavalry. But when your ancestors got to the Red Sea they cried out to me for help, and I put darkness between them and the Egyptians. I made the sea come rolling over the Egyptians and drown them. You know what I did to Egypt. (Good News Translation)

the Red Sea: In the Hebrew this was more literally “the sea.” It may be more natural in your language to identify it here as the Red Sea as the Berean Standard Bible did.

Here is another way to translate this part of the verse:

you arrived at the Red Sea
-or-
you came to the sea. (Revised Standard Version)

24:6c

the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea: The term chariots refers to small horse-drawn carts with two wheels. Soldiers of ancient times rode in these carts to go to war. The term horsemen refers to soldiers who were riding on horses.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

The Egyptians pursued your ancestors to the Red Sea with ⌊men driving⌋ in chariots and men riding on horses
-or-
The Egyptian army chased after your ancestors with their war carts and horse riders up to the Red Sea.

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