complete verse (Deuteronomy 12:32)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 12:32:

  • Kupsabiny: “Be on guard, and make sure that you do everything that I have told you. Do not add anything or remove anything.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Carefully obey every command I have given you. Neither add nor remove anything.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘You (plur.) really/gid obey all that I am commanding you (plur.). You (plur.) do- not -add to it or take-anything (from it).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘e sure to do everything that I have commanded you to do. Do not add anything to these commands, and do not take anything away from them.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 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. )

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 12:32

This states, in a briefer form, the command in 4.2.

In the Hebrew text, and in the Septuagint, this verse is chapter 13, verse 1. The Hebrew chapter and verse numbers will be shown in square brackets, for those who need to use that chapter and verse system.

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 .