complete verse (Romans 10:19)

Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 10:19:

  • Uma: “Also let us not say/think like this: ‘The Israel people did not understand God’s purpose to give salvation [goodness] to mankind.’ They did understand it! First of all, there is the Word of God that was announced by the prophet Musa, it sounds like this: ‘You Jews, I will make you jealous when you see my love to people who are not Jews. You will be irritated/angry [lit., your hearts will be little]at them seeing my care/watching-over people who did not know me.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “I have another question: Didn’t the nation Isra’il understand that the nations not Yahudi belong to God also? They indeed really understood. Musa was the first who answered. God caused him to write his words, God said, ‘I will heed/pay-attention-to the people not Yahudi, the people of whom you say that they are a nation/tribe without use. So then you (pl.) will be jealous and you will be angry because I heed/pay-attention-to people who do not know me.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And it might be that we (incl.) are thinking mistakenly that the descendants of Israel have not understood what was preached to them. However, they have already understood it before, because there’s a written word of God long ago to them by means of the word of Moses in which he says, ‘I will cause you Jews in the future to be jealous of my helping the people who are not my chosen ones. And I will make it so that you become angry because of my pitying the people who long ago did not know who I am,’ he said.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “One other question: Is it maybe possible that they didn’t understand what they heard? They indeed understood, because even the Gentiles, they were able-to-understand-it. Here is what God said to the Jews which Moses wrote saying, ‘I will make-you -jealous on account of collective-people that you despise. I will make-you -angry on account of collective-people who know nothing concerning me.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “So then, didn’t the Jews understand in their hearts about the word which was told to them? But other people understood in their hearts about the word they were told. In past days Moses said: ‘God will save the people who are not Jews in order that the Jews will be jealous of those who are saved. They will be angry because the people who do not have intelligence are the ones who encountered the blessings of God.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

For the Old Testament quote, see Deuteronomy 32:21.

Moses

The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English is signed in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language in accordance with the depiction of Moses in the famous statue by Michelangelo (see here ). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Moses” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here ).

In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:


“Moses” in French Sign Language (source )

The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).

In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).


“Moses” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)


“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL

In Estonian Sign Language Moses is depicted with a big beard. (Source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff. )


“Moses” in Estonian Sign Language, source: Glossary of the EKNK Toompea kogudus

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Moses .

1st person pronoun referring to God (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 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”.

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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

Translation commentary on Romans 10:19

In Greek the expected answer to Paul’s question, Did the people of Israel not know?, is “Yes, they did know.” Paul is saying that Israel not only heard the message (v. 18) but that they were capable of understanding it. However, as he points out from Deuteronomy 32.21, the people of Israel will be put to shame because they failed to believe, though the Gentiles did believe. In the passage in Deuteronomy, God, not Moses, is the speaker. The same thing is true concerning the passage quoted from Isaiah in the two following verses.

The introductory rhetorical question may be changed into a statement—for example, “The people of Israel certainly did know.”

Jealous of a people may be expressed in some languages as “jealous because of a people.” Jealousy is often expressed in rather idiomatic terms—for example, “to burn in your hearts,” “not to want to look at,” or “to see with dark eyes.”

Since in the quotation of verse 19 Moses is represented as speaking on behalf of God (I certainly refers to God), it may be necessary in some languages to introduce the direct quotation in such a way that this relation is clear—for example, “Moses himself, speaking for God, is the first one to answer.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Romans 10:19

Paragraph 10:19–21

10:19a

did Israel not understand?: This is a rhetorical question. The Greek grammar, as in 10:18a, indicates that Paul expected the readers to answer, “They did understand.” If possible, translate in a way that expects the answer “They have heard.” Here are some ways:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Is it maybe possible that they didn’t understand what they heard?

• As a statement. For example:

it is true that the Israelites understood.

Israel: Here this name refers to the people of Israel, often called “the Jews.”

understand: Paul did not explicitly say here what was understood. He implies “the word of Christ” (10:17b) as he did in 10:18a. Some languages must say what is understood. For example:

understand ⌊it⌋
-or-
understand ⌊that message⌋

10:19b

The quote in 10:19b–c is from Deuteronomy 32:21. If you indicate the location of quotes from the Old Testament with cross-references, you may want to do so here.

First, Moses says: Here the word First indicates that Moses was the first one who wrote about God giving his message about the Christ/Messiah to non-Jews.

Moses says: The verb is present tense, but Moses wrote the words of 10:16c over 1,500 years before Paul lived. Greek scholars call it the historical present. In many languages the normal way of referring to a past event must be used. For example:

Moses said

The quote is Moses speaking on God’s behalf. The words are from God. The “I” in the quote refers to God, not Moses. For example:

Moses, ⌊for God,⌋ said
-or-
Moses, ⌊speaking for God,⌋ said

This clause introduces a quote from the Old Testament. Some languages usually introduce Old Testament quotes in a certain way. For example:

⌊in the Scriptures⌋ Moses ⌊wrote what God⌋ said
-or-
Moses ⌊wrote in the Holy Book God⌋ saying this:

I will make you jealous: In the Greek the meaning of the word I is emphasized. For example:

I myself will make you jealous

jealous: Here this word refers to being resentful of someone for something they have. The Jews resent that Gentiles have attained the kingdom of God (and probably that they use Hebrew Scriptures, what many Christians now call the Old Testament). The Jews think that those things belong to them.

those who are not a nation: This refers to a variety of Gentiles. They come from many nations or people groups. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

people who are not even a nation (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
a nation that is no nation (Revised English Bible)
-or-
a group of people who are from all over

You should not translate this phrase with your key term for Gentiles.

10:19c

I will make you angry by a nation without understanding: The Greek puts the phrase by a nation without understanding in the front of the clause as part of a Greek poetic form. In some languages it must be in its usual place in the clause. For example:

I will make you angry with/using a nation without understanding

without understanding: The Greek word here refers to a lack of understanding, usually implying bad morals too. Here are other ways to translate this word:

that has no understanding (New International Version)
-or-
without sense/thinking

General Comment on 10:19b–c

These words are a quote of Deuteronomy 32:21. If you indicate the location of quotes from the Old Testament with cross-references, you may want to do so here.

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