complete verse (Zephaniah 2:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Zephaniah 2:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “The God of power says, ‘I have heard the people of Moab curse my people and those of Ammon mock (them). Those people mock my people and challenge one another to come and fight and conquer this land.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “‘I have heard the insults of Moabites
    and the scold of the Ammonites,
    They mocked my people
    and made warning attack their land.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel said, ‘I heard the putting-to-shame and mocking of those- (who) -come-from-Moab and those- (who) -from-Ammon of my people. They also boast that they are-able to take-by-force the land of my people. Therefore I swear to myself that I will- surely -destroy Moab like Sodom and Ammon like Gomora. These lands can- no-longer -be-useful forever/[lit. until whenever]. This will- now -be-covered with thorny grass and be-filled with holes where salt is being-made. This will-be-taken-by-force by my remaining people and they will-take its properties.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The Commander of the armies of angels, the God to whom we Israeli people belong, says this:
    ‘I have heard the people of Moab and Ammon
    when they insulted my people,
    and when they said that they would conquer my people’s country.” (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”.

Translation commentary on Zephaniah 2:8

Translators who are following Ball’s analysis will have a section heading here rather than at 2.4.

The opening words in Good News Translation, “The LORD Almighty says,” actually occur in verse 9 in the Hebrew, but Good News Translation places them here at the start of the paragraph, where they identify the speaker before the direct speech begins.

I have heard the taunts of Moab and the revilings of the Ammonites, how they have taunted my people: as can be seen from this literal translation, the Hebrew sentence is expressed with parts parallel to each other. Good News Translation drops this parallel structure and puts the sentence into an order more natural for English, “I have heard the people of Moab and Ammon insulting and taunting my people.” Most translators will find this order more natural in their own languages. “Taunting” is similar to insulting. It refers to using contemptuous or sarcastic language which is intended to embarrass or hurt someone else.

“The people of Moab and Ammon” were Judah’s neighbors on the east, across the River Jordan. They were both Semitic peoples, descendants of Abraham’s nephew Lot, according to Genesis 19.30-38. Their relations with the people of Israel were usually hostile. Here the implication seems to be that hard words spoken against Israel as the LORD’s people are in effect spoken against the LORD himself.

And made boasts against their territory: the probable meaning is that the Ammonites either advanced across the frontier (compare New English Bible “encroached on their frontiers”) or threatened to do so. Good News Translation understands the sentence in the second sense and translates it plainly as “boasting that they would seize their land” (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Made boasts against may be translated in a variety of ways; for example, “spoke big words saying that they would…” or “said that they were superior people and would….” “Their” in the phrase “their land” refers to the people of Judah. “Seize” may also be rendered as “take by force.”

Alternative translation models for the final sentence of this verse are:

• “They used big words saying that they would take the land of the people of Judah by force”

or

• “They used proud words, saying ‘We will take your land by force.’ ”

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 .