complete verse (Leviticus 26:43)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 26:43:

  • Kupsabiny: “The soil shall be happy for its years of rest because it shall be left on its own. People were punished for their sins because they refused the laws and despised my commandments.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “They will abandon the land and enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. At last, they will accept the punishment for their sins because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But first I must cause- you (plur.) -to-leave your (plur.) land as your payment for your (plur.) sins, because of your (plur.) rejection of my commands and regulations/[lit. what-is-to-be-followed]. And the land will-rest while you (plur.) (are) not-there.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “But before that happens, you will be forced to leave your land, with the result that the land will be able to rest while it is desolate and while the people are being punished for rejecting my laws and hating my decrees.” (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 26:43

But: marking a prior condition to the granting of the land.

Be left by them: this passive formulation may be easily turned around to say “they [the people] must leave….”

Enjoy its sabbaths: see verse 34.

And: some have proposed expanding this to say “during this time (away from the land), they must pay….”

Make amends: see verse 41.

Spurned my ordinances … abhorred my statutes: these two expressions convey the same meaning: “rejected what I command.” In those languages where it is difficult or unnatural to use synonymous expressions in parallel, this may be translated once.

Their soul: better “they” or “they themselves.” Compare “my soul” in verse 11 and “your soul” in verse 15.

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 .