abomination

The Hebrew that is translated as “abomination” or similar in English is translated in Vidunda as “hated thing” and in Kwere as zitibusa which means “evil” but also something that causes horror or disgust and revolts people. (Source for both: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

in Ngambay it is nékɔb or “taboo.” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

See also detestable in the sight of God and holy.

Translation commentary on Proverbs 8:7

“For my mouth will utter truth”: “Mouth” is literally “palate,” the roof or top of the inside of the mouth. This is a rare use of “palate” to represent the mouth. It may also be seen in Job 31.30. “Utter” means to speak. “Truth” is normally taken to mean that which is consistent with fact or reality, what is real or genuine, and the opposite of “falsehood.” In the Old Testament “truth” is saying or doing that which conforms to God’s standards. It is understood here that “truth” means “only the truth” or “nothing but truth” (Revised English Bible), and this may need to be expressed in some languages.

“Wickedness is an abomination to my lips”: “Wickedness” in this context stands in contrast to “truth” in the first line and so refers to whatever is false. Good News Translation says “lies,” Bible en français courant “false speech.” For “abomination” see 3.32. We may translate this verse, for example, “Every word I speak is true; I hate every kind of lie.” Some versions (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible) take the Hebrew connector that begins the second line as making that line the reason for the first line: “I will speak only the truth, because I hate lies.”

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 .

complete verse (Proverbs 8:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 8:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “I am saying a word/matter of truth because I do not tolerate evil/sin/wickedness.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “I always speak only the truth.
    I hate lying talk.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “What I say is really true and I detest to say/speak bad (thing).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “All that I say is true because I hate to tell-lies.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

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”.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 8:7

8:7

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

7a
For my mouth will speak the truth,

7b and wickedness is detestable to my lips.

8:7a

For: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as For gives the second reason for listening to Wisdom. The first reason is given in 8:6a. This verse does not give a reason or explanation for 8:6b. In some languages, it may be necessary to make explicit the connection to the command “Listen” in 8:6a. For example:

⌊Also listen,⌋ for my mouth speaks what is true

my mouth will speak the truth: The phrase my mouth is a figurative way of referring to Wisdom herself. The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the truth also means “dependable” or “reliable.” In Hebrew, it occurs in an emphatic position in the sentence. Some ways to express this emphasis in English are:

I speak nothing but truth (Revised English Bible)
-or-
I always speak the truth (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Only the truth is what I speak

8:7b

and wickedness is detestable to my lips: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as and is usually translated as “and” or left implicit when it introduces another parallel line with similar meaning. For example:

and my lips hate wickedness (NET Bible)
-or-
wickedness is abhorrent to my lips (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

The clause wickedness is detestable to my lips is a figurative way of saying:

I detest saying anything that is wicked.

The word wickedness contrasts here with “what is true” in 8:7a. In this context, it may be understood specifically as “lies” (Good News Translation). But the word itself means simply “evil” or “wickedness.” For the word translated as detestable (“abomination” in the English Standard Version), see the note on 3:32a.

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