The Hebrew that is translated as “abomination” or similar in English is translated in Vidunda as “hated thing” and in Kwere as zitibusa which means “evil” but also something that causes horror or disgust and revolts people. (Source for both: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
in Ngambay it is nékɔb or “taboo.” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 16:50:
Kupsabiny: “They were proud and rebellious. They did things that I hate so I destroyed them and you also know that.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “In their pride they did detestable things in my sight, therefore I destroyed them when I saw what they did.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “The people of Sodom and nearby cities were proud and did detestable things in my presence, so I got rid of them when I saw what they had been doing.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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.
They were haughty, and did abominable things before me: They were haughty means the people of Sodom were proud as in verse 49. Abominable things are the things that God hates (see Ezek 16.2). Before me shows that God saw and knew everything they did. This whole sentence may be rendered “They were proud and in my sight did things that I hate.”
Therefore I removed them refers to the time God destroyed Sodom with fire (see Gen 19.23-29). This clause may be rendered “And so I destroyed them” (Contemporary English Version; similarly Good News Translation) or “So I got rid of them” (New Century Version).
When I saw it: Translations are almost evenly divided in their understanding of the Hebrew clause here. Those who follow Revised Standard Version (namely, New Revised Standard Version, New Century Version, King James Version / New King James Version, New American Standard Bible, Moffatt, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) feel that it is meant to remind the reader of the way God went down to see what the people of Sodom were doing (see Gen 18.21). Other translations understand it to mean “as you have seen” (New International Version, New Living Translation; similarly Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Bible en français courant). The form of the Hebrew verb here can be first person, but it may also be an old form of the second person (Ezekiel uses such old forms of the second person often in his work). Some manuscripts of the Septuagint have the second person, but Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends understanding it as first person. Either interpretation is possible.
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 .
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