complete verse (Leviticus 26:41)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 26:41:

  • Kupsabiny: “so that they made me be fierce to them and I sent them to go to the country of enemies, and then they bring themselves down and repent,” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “If they pay the price for their sin and their stubborn hearts become humble, that I have gone against them [and] brought them into the land of their enemies,” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Because of your (plur.) betrayal and disobeying/going-against me I went-against/opposed you (plur.) and caused-(you)-to-be-captured in the place of your (plur.) enemies. But if you (plur.) confess these sins of yours and (the sins of) your (plur.) ancestors and stop/quit your (plur.) being-stubborn/[lit. being-hard], and you (plur.) accept the punishment because of your (plur.) sins,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘But your descendants must confess their sins and the sins that their ancestors committed. Their ancestors acted unfaithfully toward me and were hostile to me, with the result that I forced them to go to the countries that belonged to their enemies. But when your descendants humble themselves and stop being very stubborn and accept being punished for their sins,” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (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 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.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Leviticus 26:41

So that: see the above discussion on the relationship between verses 40 and 41.

I walked contrary to them: the opposite of “walking contrary to me” in the previous verse. See also verse 21.

Brought them into the land of their enemies: again, this refers to the exile of the people of Israel (see verse 39).

If then: this probably means “if at that time” or “when that time comes, if….” But the exact meaning of these two words is unclear, and their interpretation is tied to the understanding of verses 40-41 as a whole. New Jerusalem Bible has simply “Then…” (see HOTTP, page 205).

Their uncircumcised heart: a literal translation of this expression would be very confusing in most languages. New English Bible has “stubborn spirit,” while Good News Translation leaves this element implicit at this point, but it is probably better to make it explicit in the receptor language. See the discussion under 19.23. Some other possible models are “if their [descendants’] hearts are changed…,” or “if they stop being so stubborn…,” or “if they unblock their hearts….”

Make amends for their iniquity: this phrase presents difficulties with regard to the understanding of both the verb, make amends, and the noun, rendered iniquity in Revised Standard Version, and consequently for the interpretation of the whole. A number of versions have adopted essentially the same interpretation as Revised Standard Version (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, and New American Bible). But the noun used here may mean either “guilt” or “punishment for guilt.” The idea of punishment seems more probable in this context, as in 5.1, 7; 10.17; and 16.22; as well as Genesis 4.13. The verb translated make amends in Revised Standard Version is sometimes used in the sense of “accept.” An example of this in Leviticus is God’s accepting a sacrifice in 1.4. Moffatt translates the whole phrase “submit to be punished for their sins,” while New English Bible has “accept their punishment in full,” leaving the idea of guilt implicit. It is especially significant that, while Jerusalem Bible (1966) rendered the whole phrase “atone for their sins,” the more recent New Jerusalem Bible (1985) has “accept the punishment for their guilt.” The latter interpretation is therefore recommended to translators.

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 .