complete verse (Numbers 16:45)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 16:45:

  • Kupsabiny: “‘Go away from these people. I shall kill them right away.’ Moses and Aaron fell down with their foreheads touching the ground.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Go, move away from this community, and in a moment, I will reduce them to ashes. Then Moses and Aaron fell prostrate to the ground.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘[You (plur.)] stay-far-away from that community for I will-destroy them immediately.’
    Then the two of them knelt-down.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘Get away from these people, in order that I can get rid of them immediately without injuring you two!’ But Aaron and Moses/I prostrated themselves/ourselves on the ground and prayed.” (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”.

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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

Translation commentary on Numbers 16:43 - 16:45

And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting: The conjunction And may be rendered “Then” (New Revised Standard Version) or “At that [immediate point in] time” (Chewa). It introduces the next event. The front of the tent of meeting may be translated “the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.”

And the LORD said to Moses: See 1.1.

Get away from the midst of this congregation is literally “Lift yourselves from the midst of this community.” The Hebrew verb here is plural, referring to Moses and Aaron. This verb may be rendered “Withdraw” or “Separate yourselves.” More expressive translations in English are “Stand back!” (Contemporary English Version) and “Stand well clear” (Revised English Bible). This congregation is better translated “this community” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh; see 1.2)

That I may consume them in a moment: See the comments on verse 21.

And they fell on their faces: The pronoun they refers to Moses and Aaron. Good News Translation makes this clear by saying “The two of them,” and so does New Century Version with “Moses and Aaron.” For fell on their faces, see verse 4 and 14.5.

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .