angry

The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “(was or became) angry” in English is translated in Kwere as “saw anger.” In Kwere, emotions are always paired with sensory verbs (seeing or smelling or hearing). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In Bariai it is “to have grumbling interiors” (source: Bariai Back Translation).

See also anger and feel (terror, pain, suffering, anxiety).

complete verse (Ezekiel 20:43)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 20:43:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then, you will remember the bad things you did to defile yourselves Those things you did will cause you pain.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “And there you will-remember what you have-done which was-able-to-defile/[lit. made-dirty] you (plur.), and you will-hate yourselves because of all your bad deeds.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “And therein Israel you will remember how you conducted your lives previously, you will remember the actions that caused you to become unacceptable to me, and you will hate/despise yourselves for all the evil things that you have done.” (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 20:43

And there you shall remember your ways and all the doings with which you have polluted yourselves: When the Israelites return home, they will remember the wicked things they have done. The adverb there continues the focus on Jerusalem and the land of Israel. Remember may be rendered “recall” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Your ways and all the doings refers to their past evil behavior (see 14.22). Good News Translation says “all the disgraceful things you did,” and Contemporary English Version has “your wicked sins.” Polluted renders the same Hebrew verb translated “defile” in verse 7 (see the comments there). For with which you have polluted yourselves, Contemporary English Version expresses the meaning precisely with “They have made you unacceptable to me.”

And you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed: The Hebrew verb rendered loathe contains the idea of deep dislike, revulsion, or disgust (see 6.9). The people will be distressed and disgusted at themselves when they remember what God has done for them and they recognize all the sins they have committed. Good News Translation provides a good model for this sentence, saying “You will be disgusted with yourselves because of all the evil things you did.”

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 .