vision

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin and Greek that is translated as “vision” in English is translated in a variety in the following languages:

  • Chol: “as if in a dream” (source: Robert Bascom)
  • Obolo: ilaak ọkpọchieen̄ or “dreaming awake” (source: Enene Enene)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “a showing like dreams”
  • Desano: “see in a dream what God will send”
  • Rincón Zapotec: “see what God shows”
  • Mayo: “see things from God as in a dream”
  • Lalana Chinantec: “dream how it is going to be”
  • Chuj: “like dreaming they see”
  • San Mateo del Mar Huave: “understand what they see as if in a dream”
  • Ayutla Mixtec: “see that which will happen” (source for this and seven above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Tagbanwa: “being caused to dream by God” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Chichewa: azidzaona zinthu m’masomphenya: “they will see things as if face-to-face” (interconfessional translation, publ. 1999) (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 69)
  • Mandarin Chinese yì xiàng (异象 / 異象), lit. “different (or: strange) appearance.” (Source: Zetzsche)

The Greek in the books of Revelation and Acts is translated as obq-rmwible: “look-dream” in Natügu. Brenda Boerger (in Beerle-Moor / Voinov, p. 162ff.) tells the story of that translation: “In the book of Revelation, the author, John, talks about having visions. Mr. Simon [the native language translator] and I discussed what this meant and he invented the compound verb obq-rmwible ‘look-dream’ to express it. Interestingly, during village testing no one ever had to ask what this neologism meant.”

See also see a vision.

complete verse (Ezekiel 12:22)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 12:22:

  • Kupsabiny: “‘Ezekiel, why do the people of Israel repeatedly quote this proverb that says, ‘The days are coming and passing, and the words that were prophesied do not take place?’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Man, why is there a proverb in Israel which says, ‘The times are passing, but the prophecies are not also fulfilled’?” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘You human, the people in Israel have this proverb/saying: ‘The days pass, and whatthe prophets predict never happens.’” (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 Ezekiel 12:22

For Son of man, see Ezek 12.2.

What is this proverb that you have about the land of Israel, saying…?: This is a rhetorical question that does not need an answer. It serves only to introduce the topic that this subsection is about. For languages that do not use rhetorical questions, some restructuring will be necessary; for example, “you’ve heard people in Israel use the saying…” (Contemporary English Version), “you Israelites are falsely saying among yourselves…,” “you Israelites have a proverb that says…,” or “now, about that proverb that you Israelites have been using among yourselves….” Most cultures are familiar with what a proverb is. It is a short saying that contains some bit of wisdom or advice. Here Ezekiel’s message is a reaction to a contemporary proverb. According to Revised Standard Version and some other versions, the proverb was about the land of Israel. Although this is a possible translation, the real meaning of this clause is that it was a proverb the Israelites were telling each other. Revised English Bible says “proverb current in the land of Israel,” and New Living Translation has “proverb they quote in Israel,” but a better model is “proverb you Israelites say to each other.” This model retains the pronoun you, which is lost in some translations (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). This pronoun refers to the people who were still living in Jerusalem and the rest of Judah—they were the ones among whom the saying had originated—but Ezekiel’s audience, those who were in exile in Babylonia, had no doubt also heard and repeated the popular saying.

The days grow long, and every vision comes to naught: The days grow long means many days go by; it does not mean the days get longer as during the spring. Every vision comes to nought means none of the prophecies in visions comes true. This proverb may be rendered “Time passes [or, The days go by], but the prophecies [or, predictions] are not fulfilled [or, come to nothing].” Further, it may be helpful to introduce the proverb with “You say,” “The proverb says,” or “The saying is.” This saying reflected a growing belief among the Israelites that the predictions of prophets such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel were false, because the judgment they had predicted had not come. So the people thought they did not need to take the prophets’ messages seriously. In this way the people who used the saying were also showing contempt for God.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .