complete verse (Leviticus 19:33)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 19:33:

  • Kupsabiny: “Do not persecute an immigrant who has come to adopt your country.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “’If any foreigner is living with you, [you] must deal well with him/her. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “[You (plur.)] do- not -treat badly the foreigners who are-living together-with you (plur.).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘hen foreigners live among you in your land, do not mistreat them.” (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 19:33

The entire verse is recast in Good News Translation to make the structure more natural in English. The same kind of restructuring may be helpful in other languages.

Stranger: see 16.29.

Do him wrong: the verb may be translated “mistreat,” “oppress,” “exploit,” or “take unfair advantage of.” In this context there seems to be the idea of a person in a position of power taking unfair advantage of one who is weak.

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 .