complete verse (1 Samuel 3:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 3:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “That is when everything I confirmed/decided to/for Eli and his descendants will be fulfilled without me missing even one thing.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “On that day all the things that I have said against Eli and his family from beginning to end will be fulfilled.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When that time comes/arrives, I will- really -do all that I have-said against the family of Eli.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “When that happens, I will punish Eli and his family. I will do to them everything that I said that I would do.” (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 1 Samuel 3:12

The verb fulfil may present difficulties to translators in certain languages. In Hebrew it is literally “cause to arise.” The idea is that Yahweh will make everything happen that he had previously said would happen to Eli and his family. All that I have spoken is a reference to the words of the LORD speaking through the “man of God,” which are recorded in 2.27-36.

His house does not refer to the building in which Eli lived but to his family. In many languages it will be important to use something other than a literal rendering in order to avoid misunderstanding.

From beginning to end: literally “beginning and finishing.” This Hebrew idiom stands for totality and may be translated “I will fulfill completely what I have spoken.” In other languages the same idea may be expressed by saying “without missing anything at all” or, as a separate sentence, “I will not fail to do even one of those things.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .