sanctuary

The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “sanctuary” in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) with opatulika or “separated place.” This is understood in a religious setup as a place designated for worship. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

complete verse (Leviticus 10:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 10:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “And because its blood was not brought into the Tent of God, you should have eaten that meat there as I told you.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Since the blood of the goat was not brought into the holy place, you ought to have eaten the flesh in The courtyard of the Tent of Meeting like I told you."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Because its blood was- not -brought inside the Holy Place, you (plur.) should-have eaten this there in the Tent, according-to what I commanded you (plur.).’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Since its blood was not taken into the holy place inside the Sacred Tent, you should have eaten the meat of the goat near the Sacred Tent, as I commanded.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 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. )

Translation commentary on Leviticus 10:18

Behold: see verse 16.

Its blood: it may be clearer to say “the blood of the animal” or “the blood of the animal that was sacrificed.”

The inner part of the sanctuary: the inner part of the sanctuary area was the actual tent.

Certainly is used here to translate a common Hebrew construction made up of two forms of the same verbal root (literally “eating you do eat”). This construction is used for strong emphasis (compare Gen 3.4). Some languages may have similar constructions to add emphasis; otherwise, some emphatic particle or other construction may be used.

Eaten it: the pronoun it refers to the sacrificial animal and not to the blood, as one might possibly imagine on reading Revised Standard Version.

In the sanctuary: the term sanctuary is used in a very broad sense here. It refers to the whole area where the Tent of the LORD’s presence was put up and not just to the Tent itself. These words may be translated by an adverb such as “there,” depending on how the preceding context has been handled.

As I commanded: the verb commanded may require an object in some languages. If this is the case, it is probably best to say “as I commanded you.” Some versions (New English Bible, New American Bible) alter the text slightly to read as a passive verb, “as I was commanded,” but this seems unnecessary and should be avoided in the receptor language. HOTTP recommends that the text not be altered in this fashion.

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .