Most High

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, Ge’ez, or Greek that is translated as “(God) the Most High” or “Most High God” in English is translated in various way:

  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “he the completely glorified God”
  • San Mateo del Mar Huave: “Father God who is high in heaven”
  • Teutila Cuicatec: “God who has such tremendous authority”
  • Chichimeca-Jonaz: “he who is the native of the highest place”
  • Palantla Chinantec: “the Big God Himself”
  • Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “God who has authority over all”
  • Estado de México Otomi: “most exalted God”
  • Isthmus Mixe: “God who is in heaven”
  • Teutila Cuicatec: “God who has a great rule” (source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Sa’a: “God, the Surpassing One” (source: Carl Gross)
  • Elhomwe: Mulluku Muullupalli or “God the Great” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Chichewa: Wammwambamwamba: A name of God. While this word is difficult to translate into English, its sense implies that God is highly above everything in his power and greatness. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

secure

In Gbaya, the notion of “(to stand) secure” is emphasized with mitak, an ideophone used to describe the act of standing firmly, with support and energy.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

complete verse (Psalm 87:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 87:5:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “Surely, about Zion they will say that,
    ‘This one and that one were born in her,
    and the One in the Highest will establish her.’” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “Zion will be spoken of like this,
    "All people have citizenship there and [can] live there."
    and the Almighty will make it secure.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “This will- truly -be-said concerning Zion, that many people will-be-considered her native-born.
    And the Most High God himself will-be-the-one-who will-strengthen this city.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “Truly, people will speak about Zion say that,
    ‘This person and that person were born in Zion.’
    and God Almighty will build Zion.’” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Kweli watu watakuja kusema, ‘Kila mtu alizaliwa katika Sayuni,
    Mungu mkuu anaulinda mji ule.’” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “And concerning Jerusalem, people will say ‘It is as though everyone was born there, and Almighty God will cause that city to
    remain strong/safe/secure.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

oneself (go-jishin) (Japanese honorifics)

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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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God or a person or persons to be honored, the honorific prefix go- (御 or ご) can be used, as in go-jishin (ご自身), a combination of “onseself” (jishin) and the honorific prefix go-. This can also be used for other reflexive pronouns (myself, himself, yourself etc.)

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

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God ("build")

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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, tate-rare-ru (建てられる) or “build” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Psalm 87:5 - 87:6

These verses repeat the thought of verse 4. In verse 5 This one and that one is an idiomatic phrase meaning “everyone”; Good News Translation “all nations”; New English Bible “men of every race”; Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New Jerusalem Bible “Every man.” But the reference may be restricted to those people listed in verse 4 (so Bible en français courant). It seems better to take the text to mean that all peoples will be among God’s people. They are all “reckoned as citizens of Zion”; the thought, on the surface at least, is that all peoples (or, all those people) will be counted as belonging to God’s people. Both Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version express the first line as a future passive, which in many languages must be recast as a future active. Since it is God who makes these statements, the translator may say, for example, “God will say about Zion….”

The third line of verse 5 bears no logical relationship to the first line; it is more appropriate with verse 1 (so Weiser, New English Bible). Some treat it as a relative clause, “the city which the Most High himself has established”; Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “and it is the Most High who strengthens her.” Dahood is like Good News Translation: “and the Most High will make her secure.” In English “her” is used to refer to cities and localities as if they were female.

For comments on the Most High, see 7.17.

The LORD is pictured in verse 6 as making a register of all the citizens of Jerusalem, in which he includes all peoples. See 69.28 for a similar figure of a list of citizens. Revised Standard Version The LORD records as he registers the peoples, followed by a direct quotation, is an unclear use of the verb “to record.” New Jerusalem Bible “The LORD will inscribe in the register of peoples that each was born there” is clear (see also New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version).

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 .