Kölsch translation (Boch 2017): nix zo Käue han or “have nothing to chew on” and singe Mage hät geknottert wie ne Hungk or “his stomach growled like a dog” (source: Jost Zetzsche)
German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999): Hunger überfiel ihn or “Hunger overtook (lit.: “attacked”) him” (in Matthew 4:2)
Kupsabiny: “hunger ate him” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Mairasi: “feeling tuber pains” (tubers are the main staple) (source Enggavoter 2004)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “world” in English is translated in Mandarin Chinese with shìjiè (世界). While shìjiè is now the commonly used term for “world” in Chinese, it was popularized as such by Chinese Bible translations. (Source: Mak 2017, p. 241ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 50:12:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“If I was hungry wouldn’t I have told you,
for the whole earth and everything that is in it is mine.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“Even if I were to become hungry,
I would not tell you.
The world and all that is in it is mine.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“If I will-be-hungry I would- not -ask-for food from you (plur.),
because the world (is) mine and all that (is) in it.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Laarim:
“If I was hungry, I would never tell you,
because the land all the things which are in it are mine,” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Iwapo ningekuwa nakuwa na njaa, nisingekwambia wewe,
kwa maana nchi na ambavyo vimo vyote vyangu.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“So, if I were hungry, I would not tell you to bring me some food,
because everything in the world belongs to me!” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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.
God does not need sacrifices. It is not a matter of his needs but of his people’s needs. If God were to get hungry he wouldn’t have to go and ask his people for food, since all the world and everything in it belong to him (see 24.1). So I would not tell you in verse 12a does not mean only that he would not inform them of his hunger; rather, God is saying he would not ask them to feed him. Bible en français courant, closer to the Hebrew, translates “If I were hungry, I would not need to tell you about it.”
In picturesque language God denies the need of sacrifices: he doesn’t eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats. This is to be understood against the background of certain primitive beliefs that sacrifices were actually eaten by the gods. The two rhetorical questions in this verse will require replies of “No!” in some languages in which rhetorical questions normally take a reply.
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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