complete verse (Deuteronomy 19:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 19:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “then the matter/words that he wanted to be done to the other man should be done to him. Be doing like that so that you can put an end to evil in your midst.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “You are to do to the person who gave false witness exactly as he had intended to do to that person he spoke against. You must remove such kind of evil deeds from among you.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “he should be-punished with a punishment that would-have-been for the accused-one. You (plur.) must eliminate/eradicate this wickedness from you (plur.).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “that person must be punished in the same way that the other one would have been punished if the judge decided that he was guilty/had done what is wrong. By punishing such people, you will get rid of this evil practice among you.” (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 19:19

Do to him as he meant to do to his brother: this is what is called the lex talionis, the law of equal retaliation. An alternative way of expressing this is “You must punish him in the same way you would have punished the accused person [or, the person he accused of doing wrong].”

Purge the evil from the midst of you: see verse 13; 17.7, 12.

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 .