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)

Translation commentary on Sirach 9:15

Let your conversation be with men of understanding: Good News Translation says this well with “Engage in conversation with intelligent people.”

And let all your discussion be about the law of the Most High: The law of the Most High refers to Torah, the Law of Moses. The Most High has reference to God’s supreme majesty, not to his physical size or height (see the comments at 4.10). There is a saying that people with little minds talk about people, people with ordinary intelligence talk about events, and people with great minds talk about ideas. This is essentially the advice ben Sira is giving here. Talk about ideas, not just ideas even, but the greatest ideas of all—those in Scripture. Good News Translation follows Revised Standard Version in use of the verbal construction “let … be.” For those translators who find this construction difficult, another possible rendering for this line is “and when you get together, discuss the Law of the Most High.”

Conversation and discussion have the same meaning here, and translators may wish to combine and simplify the two lines as follows:

• Speak [or, Engage in conversation] with intelligent people about the Law of the Lord Most High [or, the Lord who is above everything].

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Sirach. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.