6True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in integrity and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.
The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is usually translated into English as “peace,” when referring to one’s inner peace, is (back-) translated with a variety of idioms and phrases:
“rest the heart” (Central Mazahua) / “rest within” (Lacandon) (source: Nida 1952, p. 40 and 128ff.) / “wait well in your heart” (Yatzachi Zapotec) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “serve,” “minister,” “walk with,” or “service” is translated in Igede as myị ẹrụ or “agree with message (of the one you’re serving).” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
In Quetzaltepec Mixe, “serve” is translated as “obey.” (Source: Robert Bascom)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Malachi 2:6:
Kupsabiny: “They taught true words without lying. They stayed/lived in peace and were righteous. They helped many people to turn away from evil deeds.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The truth that I have taught them was in their mouth. Nothing false was on their lips. They walked with me in peaceful and straight manner, and they turned many away from sin.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “He taught what (is) right and not what (is) wrong/mistake. His relationship with me (is) good and lived righteously. And he helped many people not to sin anymore.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “What they taught is what was right and they did what was in-harmony-with what I desire. Their behavior was righteous/just and they helped many to stop sinning.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
English: “They told the people that what I instructed them to do was right. And they did not tell lies. They worked for me peacefully and loyally, and they helped many people to stop sinning.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The Greek, Hebrew, and Ge’ez that is translated in English as “Law” or “law” is translated in Mairasi as oro nasinggiei or “prohibited things” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Noongar with a capitalized form of the term for “words” (Warrinya) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
In Yucateco the phrase that is used for “law” is “ordered-word” (for “commandment,” it is “spoken-word”) (source: Nida 1947, p. 198) and in Central Tarahumara it is “writing-command.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
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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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-oshie (みおしえ) or “teaching (of God)” in the referenced verses.
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 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.
These two verses are treated together because they form a chiasmus. In this case the elements form an A-B-C-B-A pattern in which the A and B elements are the words mouth … lips … lips … mouth …. The rhythmic structure of the two verses is shown most clearly in the poetic layout used in New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh (with the last line not shown):
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Malachi. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
his: In this verse the Hebrew forms which the Berean Standard Bible translates as his continue to refer to Levi and his descendants, especially to those who were priests.
2:6a
True instruction: The Hebrew word which the Berean Standard Bible translates here as instruction refers to what the priests taught the people about God’s law. This was one of their responsibilities.
True: The priests taught the people God’s law in an accurate way. They told the truth about what was written in the law.
in his mouth: In Hebrew the expression which the Berean Standard Bible translates as in his mouth is a poetic way to refer to the words/teachings of the priests. For example:
They taught the true teachings. (New Century Version)
2:6b
nothing false was found on his lips: That is, he never said/spoke anything evil or untrue.
on his lips: The Hebrew expression which the Berean Standard Bible translates as on his lips is similar to the phrase “in his mouth” in 2:6a. It is another poetic way to refer to the words of Levi and his descendants.
General Comment on 2:6a–b
These two verse parts are parallel. Notice the use of positive and negative terms: true instruction and nothing false (speech).
True instruction was in his mouth,
and nothing false was found on his lips.
2:6c
He walked with Me: This is a figure of speech in Hebrew. “To walk with someone” in this figurative sense means “to live in harmony with someone,” “to live in close fellowship.”
peace: See the note on 2:5a.
uprightness: The Hebrew word which the Berean Standard Bible translates as uprightness can also mean “integrity, loyalty, honesty.”
One way to express this without using a noun is to say, “they always did what was right.”
2:6d
he turned many from iniquity: This is a figure of speech. The early descendants of Levi obeyed the LORD and accurately explained his laws to the people. This caused many people to change the way they behaved—they stopped sinning and began to obey the LORD.
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