barbs in your eyes

The now commonly-used German idiom Dorn im Auge for something that is unbearable for someone (literally “a thorn in the eye”) was popularized in 1535 in the German Bible translation by Martin Luther. (Source: Günther 2017, p. 58)

For other idioms or terms in German that were coined by Bible translation, see here.

complete verse (Numbers 33:55)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 33:55:

  • Kupsabiny: “And/But if you (plur.) do not chase away the people who live there, they will disturb you forever like a speck in the eyes or like thorns that are in your sides.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “’But people of that land that you allow to stay without driving them away will be like a barb in your eyes and will prick like thorns in [your] bodies. No matter where you live in the land, they will give you trouble. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘But if you (plur.) will- not -drive-out the residents there, the ones who-will-be-left among them will-be a hindrance to you (plur.) like a pricks/mote in your (plur.) eyes and thorns at your (plur.) sides. They will-give trouble in your (plur.) staying there.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “If you do not force the people who live there to leave, they will cause you to have much trouble. They will be like sharp hooks in your eyes, and like thorns in your sides. And they will bring trouble to you, in that land where you will be living.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 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 33:55 - 33:56

But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you …: As explained above, verses 55-56 form the negative counterpart of verses 51b-54. In some languages it may be helpful to mark this contrast by starting a new paragraph here. These verses mark a climactic moment in the book of Numbers: the Israelites had to expel the present inhabitants to take possession of the land that the LORD had graciously provided for them. If they failed to do that, they would “inherit” great troubles instead! For drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, see verse 52.

Then those of them whom you let remain shall be as pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides: Good News Translation renders those of them whom you let remain as “those that are left” (similarly New Living Translation), which omits an important nuance in the Hebrew text here. This clause refers to the pagans whom the Israelites will deliberately allow to remain in the land. A better model for it is “those whom you allow to remain” (NET Bible). Shall be pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides is figurative language that means the remaining pagans will continually attack the Israelites. The danger of the Canaanite presence is described here in terms of military harassment, rather than cultic temptation as expressed elsewhere (see, for example, Exo 34.11-13; Deut 7.4; Josh 23.7, 12-13). The Hebrew word for pricks refers to a type of thorny plant and so does the word for thorns. Like Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation changes the first image of a thorn in the eye, but keeps the second one of a thorn in the side by saying “will be as troublesome as splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides.” In some languages other figures of speech may be available to graphically express the intended meaning here.

And they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell: Instead of and, another conjunction may be necessary in order to bring out the LORD’s concluding contrastive prediction here; for example, Chewa has “In this case.” The Hebrew verb for trouble can mean “treat with hostility,” “attack,” or “harass” (see 25.17, where it is rendered “Harass”). Good News Translation says “fight against,” which is a good model in this context.

And I will do to you as I thought to do to them is literally “And it will be just as I intended to do to them, I will do to you.” Good News Translation uses the specific verb “destroy” to translate do, but in some languages a generic verb may be kept here; for example, Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant, La Bible de Jérusalem Nouvelle, and Reina-Valera Contemporánea use the verb “treat.” This final utterance of the LORD is expressed with terse poetic forcefulness, which should be matched in translation. NET Bible does this by saying “And what I intended to do to them I will do to you.”

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 .