year of Jubilee

The Hebrew that is translated as “(year of) Jubilee” in English is translated in Kwere as mwaka wa kubweleza or “year of return.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Leviticus 25:40)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 25:40:

  • Kupsabiny: “Stay with him as a visitor or a foreigner. He shall work for you until the year or release arrives.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He is to be like a hired worker or one who comes from outside to stay at your place. He is to work at your place until the Year of Jubilee.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) are-to-consider him as a hired worker or a visitor who is- just -living with you (plur.). He will-work with you (plur.) until the Year of Setting-Free and Returning.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Treat him like you treat workers that you hire or like someone who is living on your land temporarily. But he must work for you only until the Year of Celebration.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Leviticus 25:40

Depending on the translation of the previous verse, it may be advisable to begin this verse with a strong contrasting conjunction like “rather” or “but.”

A hired servant: this is in contrast with the word “slave” in the previous verse. A hired servant was a person who had considerably more freedom than a slave, since he agreed to do a job and received pay for it. He did not perform tasks that involved humiliation, since these were normally left to slaves. The point of this verse is that the poor Israelite was technically a slave and received no salary, but he was to be treated like the salaried worker.

And as a sojourner: this has been omitted from Good News Translation for some unknown reason, but should definitely be included in the receptor-language translation. The lot of the resident alien living in the house of an Israelite was even better than that of the hired servant. So this represents a further softening in the attitude toward the Israelite slave.

The year of the jubilee: see verse 10.

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 .