complete verse (Psalm 50:21)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 50:21:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “You have done these and I was quiet;
    you thought that I am equal to you
    but I will rebuke you
    and I will oppose you in your eyes.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “Even though you did like this I didn’t say anything.
    You thought that I did not know anything.
    Now I will accuse you,
    and I will expose your faults one by one.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “When you (plur.) have-done these things, I just kept-silent,
    and you (plur.) thought that I (was) just like you (plur.).
    But I will-rebuke you (plur.) and I will-show you (plur.) how wicked you (plur.) are.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “You did these matters, and I am keeping quiet,
    you think that, I am staying with you.
    But now, I will rebuke you,
    and accuse you in your face.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Umefanya hayo yote, mimi niko kimya.
    Je, unasema mimi niko kama wewe?
    Lakini sasa nakukemea,
    nakaripia peupe.’” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “You did all those things, and I did not say anything to you,
    so you thought that I was a sinner just like you.
    But now I rebuke you and accuse you, right in front of you.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

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”.

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 50:21

The first line of this verse may be translated as a rhetorical question, “When you do such things, shall I keep silent?” (so New English Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible). The next line is also rendered as a rhetorical question, with good effect: “Do you think that I am really like you?” (New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant; also Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New American Bible).

The statement now I rebuke you recalls what is said in verse 8. Good News Translation “I … make the matter plain to you” translates “I lay it out (in rows, in order) before your eyes.” That is, God is plainly stating, as a witness, the charges he brings against them.

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 .