Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 20:22:
Kupsabiny: “Follow (plur.) my laws and what I have decided/ruled so that the country that I am taking you to live in does not spit you out.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The LORD said– "’ keep all my law and command. Otherwise, the land [to which] I said I would bring you will vomit you out.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “[You (plur.)] obey all my decrees/[lit. what-is-to-be-followed] and commands so-that you (plur.) will- not -be-caused-to-leave the land to-which I will-bring you (plur.) where you (plur.) live.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “‘Obey all my laws/decrees carefully, in order that you will not be forced to leave the land to which I am bringing you.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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.
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).
At the beginning of this verse, Good News Translation again makes explicit what is implied throughout this section: the commandments given are from God. This kind of reminder is made necessary by the fact that readers do not always start from the beginning when reading Scripture.
The land where I am bringing you: “the land of Canaan” is obviously intended here, and this may be made explicit in translation if judged necessary.
Vomit you out: that is, reject you. See 18.28.
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 .
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