Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 20:25:
Kupsabiny: “Then I abandoned them to follow things that do not have life.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I had-let them obey the commands and statutes which were- not -good and could- not -give them good life.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “I also allowed them to obey laws that were not good, and laws that would not enable them to live a long time if they obeyed them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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.
Moreover renders an emphatic Hebrew connector that introduces an additional punishment of the next generation of disobedient Israelites. It is the same connector that was used in verse 12 (see the comments there).
I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not have life: God gave them bad laws that caused them to die. They were exactly opposite to the previous laws God gave to his people (compare verse 11). It is astonishing that God actually gave his people “bad” laws that led to punishment and death. Some translators are troubled by the idea of God doing this, and they therefore try to soften what this verse says; for example, New International Version has “I gave them over to statutes that were not good and laws they could not live by,” and New Century Version says “I also allowed them to follow rules that were not good and laws by which they could not live.” Such an interpretation is not warranted, and we recommend that translators follow Contemporary English Version, which translates “I gave them laws that bring punishment instead of life.” New Living Translation is also good with “I gave them over to worthless decrees and regulations that would not lead to life.” However, we note that the statutes and ordinances mentioned here do not have the possessive pronoun “my” as in the previous verses.
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 .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.