Translation commentary on Proverbs 1:26

Verses 26 and 27 are closely linked in meaning. Verse 26 has two parallel lines and verse 27 three.

“I also will laugh at your calamity”: “I also” serves to indicate that Wisdom also has her turn to scorn them as they have done to her. New English Bible/Revised English Bible say “I in turn shall laugh. . ..” Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version express “also” as a consequence “So when you get into trouble, I will laugh. . ..” “Calamity” refers to suffering, trouble, or disaster. “Calamity” must often be expressed as a verb phrase, for example, “when you suffer” or “when something awful happens to you.”

“I will mock when panic strikes you”: “Mock” means to “deride,” “ridicule,” or “make fun of.” In some languages “mock” is expressed as a figurative expression, for example, “smack the lips at” or “clap the hands at.” “Panic” renders a word used in Lam 3.47 and refers to terror or fright. “Strikes you” is literally “comes [to you].”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

second person pronoun with low register

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 show different degree of politeness is through the choice of a second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.

In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples.

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

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

first person pronoun referring to God

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 show 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”.