complete verse (Deuteronomy 6:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 6:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “Do not worship any idol/god of your neighbors.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “You are not to do puja to the gods of the nations that live right and left of you.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) do- not -follow other gods, the gods of the people-groups around you (plur.);” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “You must not worship any other gods, the gods that the people-groups who will live near you worship.” (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 6:14

Verses 14-15 are one sentence, with the prohibition first (“don’t worship other gods”), followed by the consequences if the Israelites disobey the command. This combination of command and threat appears often in this book (see 4.23-26; 8.19-20; 11.16-17).

From this verse to verse 17, you and your are plural in Hebrew.

Go after other gods: this means to pledge allegiance to them, or to worship them. For gods see 3.24.

The gods of the peoples who are round about you refers to the gods worshiped by the Canaanites, the Moabites, the Edomites, and other neighboring peoples.

The Hebrew of this verse is repetitive, and both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation maintain the redundancy. Another model of this strong command may be:

• You must not worship any of the gods that the other nations [or, people] worship.

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 .