idolatrous priests

The German term Pfaffe which today is a negative term for “priest” or “pastor” was first used in that derogative meaning by Martin Luther’s 1534 translation of the Hebrew komer (typically translated as “idolatrous priest” in English). “Pfaffe,” which Luther used as “Götzenpfaffe” (or “priest of idols”), originally just meaning “priest,” was used to implicitly criticize to Catholic priests. (Source: Günther 2017, p. 98)

For other idioms or terms in German that were coined by Bible translation, see here.

priest

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Greek that are typically translated as “priest” in English (itself deriving from Latin “presbyter” — “elder”) is often translated with a consideration of existing religious traditions. (Click or tap for details)

Bratcher / Nida (1961) say this:

“However, rather than borrow local names for priests, some of which have unwanted connotations, a number of translations have employed descriptive phrases based on certain functions: (1) those describing a ceremonial activity: Pamona uses tadu, the priestess who recites the litanies in which she describes her journey to the upper or under-world to fetch life-spirit for sick people, animals or plants; Batak Toba uses the Arabic malim, ‘Muslim religious teacher;’ ‘one who presents man’s sacrifice to God’ (Bambara, Eastern Maninkakan), ‘one who presents sacrifices’ (Baoulé, Navajo (Dinė)), ‘one who takes the name of the sacrifice’ (Kpelle, and ‘to make a sacrifice go out’ (Hausa); (2) those describing an intermediary function: ‘one who speaks to God’ (Shipibo-Conibo) and ‘spokesman of the people before God’ (Tabasco Chontal).”

In Obolo it is translated as ogwu ngwugwa or “the one who offers sacrifice” (source: Enene Enene), in Mairasi as agam aevar nevwerai: “religious leader” (source: Enggavoter 2004), in Ignaciano as “blesser, one who does ritual as a practice” (using a generic term rather than the otherwise common Spanish loan word sacerdote) (source: Willis Ott in Notes on Translation 88/1982, p. 18ff.), and in Noongar as yakin-kooranyi or “holy worker” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

For Guhu-Samane, Ernest Richert (in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. ) reports this: “The [local] cult of Poro used to be an all-encompassing religious system that essentially governed all areas of life. (…) For ‘priest’ the term ‘poro father’ would at first seem to be a natural choice. However, several priests of the old cult are still living. Although they no longer function primarily as priests of the old system they still have a substantial influence on the community, and there would be more than a chance that the unqualified term would (in some contexts particularly) be equated with the priest of the poro cult. We learned, then, that the poro fathers would sometimes be called ‘knife men’ in relation to their sacrificial work. The panel was pleased to apply this term to the Jewish priest, and the Christian community has adopted it fully. [Mark 1:44, for instance, now] reads: ‘You must definitely not tell any man of this. But you go show your body to the knife man and do what Moses said about a sacrifice concerning your being healed, and the cause (base of this) will be apparent.'”

For a revision of the 1968 version of the Bible in Khmer Joseph Hong (in: The Bible Translator 1996, 233ff. ) talks about a change in wording for this term:

​​Bau cha r (បូជា‌ចារ្យ) — The use of this new construction meaning “priest” is maintained to translate the Greek word hiereus. The term “mean sang (មាន សង្ឃ)” used in the old version actually means a “Buddhist monk,” and is felt to be theologically misleading. The Khmer considers the Buddhist monk as a “paddy field of merits,” a reserve of merits to be shared with other people. So a Khmer reader would find unthinkable that the mean sang in the Bible killed animals, the gravest sin for a Buddhist; and what a scandal it would be to say that a mean sang was married, had children, and drank wine.

See also idolatrous priests.

Judah, Judea

The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)


“Judah” and “Judea” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

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

See also Judah, Judah (son of Jacob) , and Tribe of Judah .

Jerusalem

The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:


“Jerusalem” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)


“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jerusalem .

complete verse (Zephaniah 1:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Zephaniah 1:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “I will punish the people of Judah and all the people who live in Jerusalem. I will tear down the ceremonial/idol things of Baal that are still present there. I will also remove the priests of Baal to get lost/finished never to be thought of again.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “‘I will lift up my hand against Judah
    and against all who live in Jerusalem.
    I will remove remnants of Baal worship in this place
    and memory of the idolatrous priests.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘I will-punish all the residents of Juda as-well-as all the residents of Jerusalem. I will-destroy the remaining worshippers of the god which (is) Baal as-well-as the priests who serve to it, so-that no-one will-remember them anymore.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

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”.

Translation commentary on Zephaniah 1:4

Verses 4-6 form a unit in Hebrew which consists of a long list of different classes of people in Judah and Jerusalem who will be singled out for punishment. For a comparable list, see 2 Kings 23.5. Since it is not natural in English to have the long list of noun phrases in verses 4 to 6 dependent on a single verb in verse 4, as in Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation has split the list into several sentences and repeated the clause “I will destroy” in each sentence.

At the beginning of verse 4 in Hebrew there is a figure of speech which is retained in Revised Standard Version, I will stretch out my hand against (compare 2.13). This figure is not normal usage in English, and Good News Translation therefore drops it and gives the meaning in nonfigurative language with “punish.” In other languages, however, this figure of speech may well be acceptable, and translators should consider whether they can keep it in their own language. “Punish” may be restructured as “cause to suffer” (see comments under Nahum 1.2).

The opening part of verse 4 also shows a repetitive structure in Hebrew which can be seen in the Revised Standard Version wording against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Good News Translation makes the English clearer by reversing the order of the place names to give “the people of Jerusalem and of all Judah.” This also has the effect of putting the main focus on Jerusalem, which is what the Hebrew does by mentioning Jerusalem last. Since this is the first mention of Jerusalem in Zephaniah, it will be helpful for many translators to identify it as a city or town. An alternative translation base for this first sentence is “I will cause all the people in the city of Jerusalem and in the land of Judah to suffer.” For comments on the translation of “city,” see notes on Nahum 3.1

Good News Translation‘s “I will destroy” translates the Hebrew verb for cut off, as in the previous verse. See verse 3 for comments on the translation of cut off or “destroy.”

The remnant of Baal means “every vestige of idol worship” (Lehrman) and is expressed in Good News Translation as “the last trace of the worship of Baal.” This may need to be expressed in some languages as “every single person who worships Baal.” This is the first time the god Baal has been mentioned in these three prophetic books. In many languages translators will need to identify Baal as a male god and as a false god (see Nahum 1.14 for a discussion on the translation of “god”).

In Hebrew the verb cut off also governs a second object, which is rendered in Revised Standard Version the name of the idolatrous priests. These are of course the priests involved in the cult of Baal, and Good News Translation makes this explicit with its “the pagan priests who serve him.” The Hebrew expression cut off … the name means “cause people to forget,” and this is the meaning expressed nonfiguratively in Good News Translation, “no one will even remember.”

The Hebrew text contains two more words, translated “with the priests” in the Revised Standard Version footnote. The ancient Greek translation omits these words, and many modern versions do the same, including Revised Standard Version, Moffatt, Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, Good News Translation, and Bible en français courant. However, the word used suggests that the second group are priests of the LORD who have turned away from him to serve Baal. One can therefore translate “no one will remember the pagan priests or the priests who have turned away from the LORD.”

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on the Book of Zephaniah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1989. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .