complete verse (Leviticus 25:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 25:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “The country will produce food that you can eat until it is enough for you and you shall live being safe.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The fields will grow grain, then you will get to eat and you will live in safety.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) are-to-obey/follow my decrees/[lit. what-is-to-be-followed] and commands so-that you (plur.) will-live peacefully in the land in- which you (plur.) -will-live and you (plur.) will- not -be-without food because of the abundant crops of the land.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “And crops will grow well on the land, and you will have plenty to eat.” (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 25:19

The land: in Hebrew the same word may mean “earth (or, soil)” and “land.” In other languages it will be most natural to use the word for “soil” in this context.

Yield its fruit: or “yield its harvest” (New English Bible), or “yield its crops” (Moffatt), since the term translated fruit is meant to be understood in its broadest possible sense.

Eat your fill: Good News Translation conveys the meaning more clearly. Other possible models may be “be satisfied (or, filled) with the food produced,” “never lack food,” or “have food in abundance” (New American Bible).

Dwell in it securely: this is almost word-for-word the same as in verse 18. If the receptor language accepts such repetition, the translator may simply copy the previous rendering. But if variety is called for, a synonymous phrase may be used; for example, “live there without worry” or “have no problems living there.”

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 .