adulterer

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “adulterer” in English would imply “I only take unmarried girls” in Telugu, so it was necessary to be more generic and say “I go after other women” (source: David Clark).

In Central Subanen an “adulterer” is “one who can’t be trusted” (source: Bratcher / Nida) and in Yagaria as “woman-theft man” (source: Renck 1990, p. 139)

See also adulteress and adultery.

complete verse (Psalm 50:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 50:18:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “When you see a thief you follow him,
    you cast a lot together with adulterers” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “When you meet a thief you become a friend of the thief,
    by being with prostitutes you become one.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “When you (plur.) see a thief you (plur.) make-friends with him,
    and you (plur.) also join-together with (ones) who-commit-adultery-with-a-woman and (ones) who-commit-adultery-with-a-man.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “When you see a thief stealing together with you,
    then you walk with people who sleep with the wives of people.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Iwapo umemwona mwizi, unakuwa na urafiki naye,
    wazinzi, unashirikiana nao.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “Every time that you see a thief, you become his friend,
    and you spend much time with those who commit adultery.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

2nd person pronoun with low register (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 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.

Translation commentary on Psalm 50:17 - 50:18

The wicked hate to be disciplined by God and they reject his commandments (literally words–see the use of the Hebrew “word” as a commandment in the traditional Ten Commandments, or “Ten Words,” Exo 34.28). The first line can be translated “you detest my teaching” (New Jerusalem Bible), or “you hate my instruction” (New International Version), since the word translated discipline can have the broader meaning of “education.”

Intensification is used in verse 17 through the use of the figure cast my words behind you in line b. In some languages an equivalent figure may be used; for example, “you throw away my words” or “you wipe my words away.” However, the use of a metaphor in line b may not be an intensifying device, and the translator may have to say, for example, “You hate for me to teach you, and more serious than that, you reject what I have ordered you to do.”

And instead of condemning such flagrant sinners as thieves and adulterers, these wicked people become their friends and associate with them (verse 18). In verse 18a “become the friend of” translates a verb which generally means “be pleased with, be favorable to, approve”; one version may be “you think well of him”; New International Version “you join with him”; Bible en français courant “you take his side.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project notes that the verb may mean “to run” as well as “to agree with.” The rendering “you ran with him” would probably be understood as “you became his partner.”

The expression adulterers including both sexes is often more difficult than the terms for the female only, which is often expressed by means of idiomatic phrases. In speaking of adulterers one can sometimes say, for example, “men and women who are not faithful to their spouses” or “people who live in other marriages.”

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 .