complete verse (Ezekiel 16:39)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 16:39:

  • Kupsabiny: “I shall hand you over to their hands/power and they will scatter/destroy where you have built to worship those idols. Those people will strip of your clothes and steal your arm rings going to leave you naked.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “I will-hand- you -over to the hand of your lovers, and they will-destroy your place-of-worship which are for your gods. They will-take-off[-your-clothes] and [they-will] take your beautiful jewelries, and they will-leave you naked.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I will allow your enemies who you thought loved you to defeat you, and they will tear down your shrines. It will be as though they will strip off your fancy clothes and take away your fine jewelry and cause you to be completely naked.” (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 Ezekiel 16:39

Having pronounced the sentence of death on the girl (Jerusalem), God adds to her punishment by placing her in the power of her enemies. However, in view of the logical difficulty of the girl being stripped naked again in this verse when she already is naked, it may be better to understand verses 39-41 as adding some details on the punishment described in verse 37. Instead of God stripping and punishing her, he will allow her enemies to do so.

And I will give you into the hand of your lovers means God will hand the girl over into the power of those who had sex with her. For the figurative use of hand as “power” (Good News Translation), see the comments on 1.3.

And they shall throw down your vaulted chamber and break down your lofty places means the girl’s lovers will destroy her places of prostitution and false worship. Throw down and break down may be rendered “tear down” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). For vaulted chamber and lofty places, see verse 24.

They shall strip you of your clothes, as God promised to do in verse 37. The Hebrew verb rendered strip also has the meaning of making a quick raid as robbers do, so once again the terminology hints at the historical background.

And take your fair jewels: They will also take the precious ornaments that God had given the girl (see verses 11-13 and 17).

And leave you naked and bare: For the strong Hebrew words rendered naked and bare, see Ezek 16.7. Contemporary English Version renders this clause as “leaving you naked and empty-handed,” which means the girl will be physically naked and lose all her wealth. This rendering does not follow the Hebrew text. Better renderings are “and leave you completely naked” (Good News Translation) and “and leave you stark naked” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible).

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 .