worship

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The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek terms that are often translated as “worship” (also, “kneel down” or “bow down”) are likewise translated in other languages in certain categories, including those based on physical activity, those which incorporate some element of “speaking” or “declaring,” and those which specify some type of mental activity.

Following is a list of (back-) translations (click or tap for details):

  • Javanese: “prostrate oneself before”
  • Malay: “kneel and bow the head”
  • Kaqchikel: “kneel before”
  • Loma (Liberia): “drop oneself beneath God’s foot”
  • Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “wag the tail before God” (using a verb which with an animal subject means “to wag the tail,” but with a human subject)
  • Tzotzil: “join to”
  • Kpelle: “raise up a blessing to God”
  • Kekchí: “praise as your God”
  • Cashibo-Cacataibo: “say one is important”
  • San Blas Kuna: “think of God with the heart”
  • Rincón Zapotec: “have one’s heart go out to God”
  • Tabasco Chontal: “holy-remember” (source of this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Bariai: “lift up God’s name” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Q’anjob’al: “humble oneself before” (source: Newberry and Kittie Cox in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 91ff. )
  • Alur: rwo: “complete submission, adoration, consecration” (source: F. G. Lasse in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 22ff. )
  • Obolo: itọtọbọ ebum: “express reverence and devotion” (source: Enene Enene)
  • Ngäbere: “cut oneself down before” (“This figure of speech comes from the picture of towering mahoganies in the forest which, under the woodman’s ax, quiver, waver, and then in solemn, thunderous crashing bury their lofty heads in the upstretched arms of the surrounding forest. This is the experience of every true worshiper who sees ‘the Lord, high and lifted up.’ Our own unworthiness brings us low. As the Valientes say, ‘we cut ourselves down before’ His presence. Our heads, which have been carried high in self-confidence, sink lower and lower in worship.)
  • Tzeltal: “end oneself before God.” (“Only by coming to the end of oneself can one truly worship. The animist worships his deities in the hope of receiving corresponding benefits, and some pagans in Christendom think that church attendance is a guarantee of success in this life and good luck in the future. But God has never set a price on worship except the price that we must pay, namely, ‘coming to the end of ourselves.'”) (Source of this and the one above: Nida 1952, p. 163)
  • Folopa: “die under God” (“an idiom that roughly back-translates “dying under God” which means lifting up his name and praising him and to acknowledge by everything one does and thanks that God is superior.”) (Source: Anderson / Moore, p. 202)
  • Chokwe: kuivayila — “rub something on” (“When anyone goes into the presence of a king or other superior, according to native law and custom the inferior gets down on the ground, takes a little earth in the fingers of his right hand, rubs it on his own body, and then claps his hands in homage and the greeting of friendship. It is a token of veneration, of homage, of extreme gratitude for some favor received. It is also a recognition of kingship, lordship, and a prostrating of oneself in its presence. Yet it simply is the applicative form of ‘to rub something on oneself’, this form of the verb giving the value of ‘because of.’ Thus in God’s presence as king and Lord we metaphorically rub dirt on ourselves, thus acknowledging Him for what He really is and what He has done for us.”) (Source: D. B. Long in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 87ff. )

In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning:

Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.

complete verse (Exodus 32:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 32:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “They have deviated from the route/way I directed them and they have molded an idol which looks like a calf which is made from gold and have worshiped that idol making sacrifices to/for (it). They say that that idol is their god which led them from Egypt.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “How quickly they have turned from the commandments I gave them for they are going in another direction. Having made a calf idol for themselves they did puja (trad. form of Newari worship) to it, offered sacrifices and said, ‘Hey Israelites, this is the god that brought you out of Egypt.’” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They have- just/[limiting particle] quickly -turned-away/disobeyed from my commands to them. They made their little-god/idol cow and have-worshiped this. The Israelinhon offered to this little-god/idol and said, ‘This is our (incl.) god who brought- us (incl.) -out of Egipto.’ ’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “They’ve very quickly rejected (lit. turned their backs on) me and so departed from the way which I said for them to follow. And they made another god’s carving of gol to look like a bulmakao, and then they knelt down to it and killed animals to be their offering to it. And so they said, ‘You (pl.) Israel people listen. This thing, it’s our (incl.) god who brought us so that we left Isip and came.’ ’” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “They immediately let go road which they go upon which I tell for them. They make calf for god their, entreat it, give it thing on altar. They say ‹This be God our (incl.) who take [this direction] us (incl.) out from Egypt, we (incl.) children of Israel.›»” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “They have already left the road that I showed them/stopped obeying me! They have made a statue of a young bull from melted gold. They have worshiped it and offered sacrifices to it. And they are saying, ‘This is the god of us Israeli people! This is the one who brought us up from Egypt!’’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Exod 32:8

They have turned aside quickly out of the way is literally “they went away hurrying from the path.” The word for way also has the meaning of “conduct” or “behavior,” so out of the way which I commanded them may be rendered as “from what I commanded them” (New International Version). Translator’s Old Testament simply has “Already disobeyed my commands,” and Contemporary English Version has “They have already stopped obeying me.” However, it will be possible in some instances to keep the figure by adding, for example, “the way that I commanded them to follow” (Good News Translation) or “They have quickly left the path that I commanded them to follow.”

They have made for themselves a molten calf is literal, and it uses the same expressions as verse 4. (See the comment there.) Good News Translation has “they have made a bull-calf out of melted gold,” adding the reference to “gold.” This may also be expressed as “They have taken gold and made a bull-calf.” However, New Revised Standard Version has simply “they have cast for themselves an image of a calf.” And have worshiped it literally means “and they have bowed themselves down to it” (Durham). And sacrificed to it is literally “and they slaughtered to [or, for] it.” This is the usual word for “sacrifice.” So one may also say “They have slaughtered animals and offered them to it [the bull-calf].”

And said, literally “and they said,” introduces the words of the people as a quote within a quote. These are your gods … the land of Egypt is identical with what the people say in verse 4. (See the comment there.)

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 .