witness

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “witness” in English is translated in these ways:

  • “truly have seen” in Highland Popoluca
  • “telling the truth regarding something” in Eastern Highland Otomi
  • “know something” in Lalana Chinantec
  • “verily know something to be the truth” in San Mateo del Mar Huave
  • “we ourselves saw this” in Desano
  • “tell the truth about something” in Eastern Highland Otomi
  • “know something is true because of seeing it” in Teutila Cuicatec (source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • “ones who will confirm that these-things that you have seen are true” in Kankanaey (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • “ones who are to testify about these things, because it all happened before your eyes” in Tagbanwa (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

complete verse (Exodus 23:1)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 23:1:

  • Kupsabiny: “Do (plur.) not spread rumor mongering or defend/aid a person who has done wrong.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Do not speak a lie, do not cooperate with an evil man and give a false testimony.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘[You (plur.)] do- not -spread-news of lies. [You (plur.)] do- not -help the evil people by-means-of witnessing/(telling) lies.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “God spoke again like this, ‘You (pl.) can’t/mustn’t spread false talk. If a man has a bad fault and so they make him testify on charges, you can’t/mustn’t make false talk about his enemy in order to help him.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “«Speaking lies, you (sing., imp.) not (imp.) it for others go tell. If a man sin, you (sing., imp.) not (imp.) him help with speaking lies.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “‘Do not tell to others false rumors/untrue reports about other people. Do not help someone who is guilty by testifying falsely/lying about what happened.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Exod 23:1

You shall not utter a false report is literally “You [singular] shall not lift up a report of emptiness.” It is quite similar to the commandment in 20.7 regarding “lifting up” the name of Yahweh in “emptiness.” Here, however, it concerns a false report rather than the name. This means “you shall not repeat” (New American Bible) or “spread a baseless rumour” (Revised English Bible). The rest of the verse seems to place such “rumors” in a lawsuit setting. In some languages an indirect object or goal will be necessary for the verb phrase utter a false report; for example, “Don’t spread harmful [or, baseless] rumors about other people” or “Don’t tell stories about other people that are untrue.”

You shall not join hands with a wicked man is literally “Do not put your hand with a guilty [person].” The rest of the verse clarifies what this means: to be a malicious witness, literally “to be a witness of violence.” The idea of “joining hands” means to “assist” (Translator’s Old Testament) or “lend support to” (New Jerusalem Bible), so Good News Translation makes it clear: “do not help a guilty man by giving false testimony.” Contemporary English Version has “Don’t … help a criminal by giving false evidence.” Translators are advised to follow this interpretation. New American Bible understands this malicious witness to be directed against a third party, which is possible: “Do not join the wicked in putting your hand, as an unjust witness, upon anyone.” The words “upon anyone,” however, are not in the text.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .