The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as a form of “save” in English is translated in Shipibo-Conibo with a phrase that means literally “make to live,” which combines the meaning of “to rescue” and “to deliver from danger,” but also the concept of “to heal” or “restore to health.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Micah 6:14:
Kupsabiny: “You (plur.) may well be eating, but you shall not be satisfied. You shall struggle to keep something but you shall lose everything. I shall destroy in battle/war the things that you wanted to keep.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Though you eat much your belly will never be filled. You will always be hungry. Though you gather property, you will not be able to keep it. Because all what you keep, I will give to the sword.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “It is true that you (plur.) can-eat but you (plur.) will-not-be-satisfied; you (plur.) always still be hungry. You (plur.) will-gather harvests, but you (plur.) cannot-make-use of it, for I will-have- your (plur.) enemies -take-them -away in time of war.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
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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.
This verse and the next give a series of statements parallel in structure. Each statement has two lines, or clauses, in the Hebrew. The first line describes some normal activity of the people, and the second line describes how the usual expected result of that activity will not happen. In these ways the people will be punished for their sins.
The main aspect of the punishment is hunger. The people will eat, but not be satisfied. Satisfied refers to the feeling of having had enough to eat. In some languages not be satisfied can be expressed as “you will still feel hungry.” In that case, this clause and the next will probably have to be combined.
The implication is that there will not be enough food, so that they will still be hungry. This second clause contains a word of unknown meaning. Revised Standard Version “hunger” and Good News Translationhungry are both guesses based on the context, and they fit the context well. New English Bible “your food shall lie heavy on your stomach” suggests indigestion rather than hunger, and matches neither the opening line nor the statements that follow.
The people will carry things off, but … will not be able to save them. The Hebrew does not indicate what kind of things are in mind. However, life in Micah’s day was mainly agricultural, and the references in the following verse are to farming, so that the things may refer to normal farm produce. If the people manage to keep anything long enough to save it, the Lord will destroy it in war. This is the meaning of the Hebrew “I will give to the sword” (Revised Standard Version). Such an expression usually refers to the killing of people, but it can also have an extended sense and refer to the destruction of property. This is the way Good News Translation seems to take it, and it fits with the suggestion above that the things in mind are the agricultural products of verse 15. This second half of verse 14 is then a general statement to which verse 15 adds specific examples. Carry … off is probably best understood as meaning “carrying away so that the things can be stored for future use,” as one might do with certain crops, for example.
The purpose of putting these things away is to save them, but something will happen to the things, and the people will not be able to save them. This seems to contradict the next statement, anything you do save, but it is a typical Hebrew way of speaking (compare 1.7). This contradiction may not bother readers in many languages, but if it is a problem, the translator can make some small adjustment. For example, one can say “You will hardly be able to save any of these things, and the things you do save I will destroy in war.” I will destroy in war can be translated as “I will send your enemies to destroy.”
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. et al. A Handbook on Micah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1978, 1982, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Verses 14 and 15 consist of a series of curses. Each curse describes a hypothetical situation in which a normal activity, such as eating or farming, has an unexpected, undesirable outcome.
These curses are figures of speech that add emphasis to the previous statements in 6:13. The curses indicate how complete and serious the punishment from the LORD will be.
Each curse is addressed to “you(sing),” which continues to refer collectively to the people of Jerusalem and Judah as in 6:9–13. In some languages, it will be more natural to use “you(plur) ” for a group of people.
6:14a–b
Notice the parallel lines that are similar in meaning:
14a You will eatbut not be satisfied,
14b and your hunger will remain with you.
There is an ellipsis (a deliberately omitted phrase) in 6:14b. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply the missing words from 6:14a. For example:
14b
⌊you shall eat,⌋ and your hunger will remain with you.
Together, these parallel lines are a curse about hunger. The underlined part describes the normal activity of eating food. The parts in bold print describe the unexpected, undesirable result.
6:14a
You will eat but not be satisfied: This clause probably means that a person will remain hungry after eating.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
You will eat, but you won’t become full (New Century Version) -or-
You will eat but never have enough. (New Living Translation (2004))
6:14b
and your hunger will remain with you: The phrase your hungerwill remain with you is another way to describe a lack of satisfaction from the food.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
So you will always be hungry. (God’s Word) -or-
your stomach will still be empty (New International Version)
General Comment on 6:14a–b
In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder these lines. For example.
You will eat, but still be hungry (Contemporary English Version)
6:14c–d
The Revised English Bible has been used as the source line for 6:14c–d because it allows for the recommended interpretation.
6:14c
(Revised English Bible) you will come to labour: There is a combined textual and interpretation issue with the Hebrew word that the Revised English Bible translates as you will come to labour. Here are the two main options:
(1) The Hebrew word is a form of nāśag, “to reach,” or “attain to.” Here it means to reach the time for a child to be conceived or born. For example:
You have been conceiving without bearing young, and what you bore I would deliver to the sword. (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
(Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, Revised English Bible)
(2) The Hebrew word is a form of sûg, “to remove, carry away.” Here it means “put away” as in storing food or property for safekeeping. For example:
you will store up but never keep safe; what you do keep safe I shall hand over to the sword (New Jerusalem Bible)
It is recommended that you follow option/interpretation (1). It has good support from commentators, both traditional and modern. Option/interpretation (2) assumes an unattested meaning for the Hebrew word.
This phrase is part of a curse on childbirth. It describes the process of pregnancy that normally would result in childbirth.
(Revised English Bible) but not bring forth: This phrase is more literally “and/but not you will bring to safety.” There is an interpretation issue with the Hebrew word that the Revised English Bible translates as bring forth. The same Hebrew word also occurs in 6:14d. Both occurrences are underlined below. Here are the main interpretations:
(1) The word means “bring an infant to safety” as in a safe delivery from a womb. For example:
14c You will come to labour, but not bring forth ; 14d even if you bear a child I shall give it to the sword (Revised English Bible)
(Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, Revised English Bible)
(2) The word means “bring something to store in safety” as in storing food or treasures in a safe place. For example:
14c you will store up but never keep safe; 14d what you do keep safe I shall hand over to the sword (New Jerusalem Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). It has good support from commentators. See also Job 21:10.
This phrase describes the undesirable outcome of the pregnancy. The child is not safely born. Some language groups may have euphemisms to refer to miscarriage or to a stillborn child. Translate this phrase in a culturally appropriate way.
6:14d
(Revised English Bible) even if you bear a child I shall give it to the sword: This clause continues the curse on childbirth from 6:14c. This is a conditional clause. When the condition, you bear a child, is true, the result is that the LORD will give it to the sword.
Verse 6:14c says that no more children will be born. This verse part, 6:14d, describes an imagined situation in which someone was still able to give birth to children. Even if that could happen, the children would nevertheless be killed. See Hosea 9:11–12, 16 for similar curses.
(Revised English Bible) give it to the sword: This expression means to give the child to an enemy to be killed.
(Revised English Bible) the sword: This phrase refers to violence and destruction in war. Some versions make the context of war explicit without using the word sword. For example:
I will give it to those who conquer you (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
I will destroy in war (Good News Translation)
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