וּמַלְתֶּ֕ם אֵ֖ת עָרְלַ֣ת לְבַבְכֶ֑ם וְעָ֨רְפְּכֶ֔ם לֹ֥א תַקְשׁ֖וּ עֽוֹד׃
16Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer.
The Hebrew that is translated as “Circumcise one’s heart” in English is translated in Kutu as “cleanse one’s heart” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext) and in the English translation by Goldingay (2018) as “remove the foreskin from your mind.”
See also circumcise.
The Hebrew and Greek that is typically translated in English as “hardened” or “stubborn” is translated in the Hausa Common Language Bible idiomatically as taurin kai or “tough head.”
Other languages spoken in Nigeria translate similarly: Abua uses oḅom ẹmhu or “strong head,” Bura-Pabir kəra ɓəɓal or “hard head,” Gokana agẹ̀ togó or “hard/strong head,” Igede egbeju-ọngịrị or “hard head,” Dera gɨddɨng koi or “strong head,” Reshe ɾiʃitə ɾigbaŋgba or “strong head,” and in Chadian Arabic raas gawi (رَاسْكُو قَوِي) or “hard head” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
Other translation approaches include Western Bukidnon Manobo with “breath is very hard” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation) or Ixil with “callous heart” (source: Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 40).
See also hardness of heart.
The now commonly-used English idiom “stiff-necked” (meaning haughtily or arrogantly obstinate) was first coined in 1526 in the English New Testament translation of William Tyndale (in the spelling stife necked). (Source: Crystal 2010, p. 284)
For other idioms in English that were coined by Bible translation, see here.
See also stiff-necked / uncircumcised.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 10:16:
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. )
Circumcise … the foreskin of your heart: this figure of speech reflects the rite of circumcision, by which a Jewish male became a member of the chosen race, bound to God by the covenant which God had made with Abraham, of which circumcision was the sign (Gen 17.1-14). To “circumcise … the … heart” is to make your disposition and desire obedient to the terms of the covenant, that is, to obey God’s laws (Jer 4.3-4). The meaning is clarified by what follows, and be no longer stubborn (see 9.6, 13).
In very few languages will this figure of speech mean very much; in fact in some languages such figurative language will be vulgar and offensive. Some translations provide a footnote explaining the figure. It is better to abandon the figure altogether and give the meaning in a straightforward manner, as Good News Translation does with “be obedient to the LORD.” See Bible en français courant “be completely consecrated to the LORD your God.” But Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “Put in your heart the sign of the covenant” (similarly BÍBLIA para todos Edição Comum) is not very clear.
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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