Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 1:46

With the beginning of a new section, Moses may need to be introduced again as the speaker; for example, “Moses said to the Israelites, ….”

You remained at Kadesh: Moses continues to address his fellow Israelites. If the second person plural you excludes Moses, the translation should instead say “We remained at Kadesh.” In the next verse (2.1) the narrative in Hebrew goes to the inclusive first person plural, “Then we turned, and went….” If a translation imitates Revised Standard Version, “You stayed at Kadesh…,” and begins 2.1 “Then we turned…,” it will be better to begin a new section at 2.1. But if, like Today’s English Version, a translation uses the first person plural in both verses (which this Handbook recommends), it will be better to start the section with 1.46.

Many days, the days that you remained there: this is a rather odd phrase but is intended to emphasize that the Israelites stayed in Kadesh Barnea for a very long time before they started on their way back. Another way to express it is “We remained at Kadesh for a long time.”

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 .

complete verse (Deuteronomy 1:46)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 1:46:

  • Kupsabiny: “So/therefore they stayed at Kadesh for many days.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Since it was like that, you had to stay in Kadesh for many days.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “That particularly-is-why you (plur.) stayed a-long-time in Kadesh.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So we stayed there at Kadesh-Barnea for a long time.’” (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. )