9But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).
Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).
In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 20:9:
Kupsabiny: “But I did not do like that because I knew that my name would be disgraced among those people who saw me bringing the stomach of Israel out from there in Egypt.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “But I did not do this, because my name will-be-put-to-shame to the nations around Israel who know that I revealed to the Israelinhon that I will-cause- them -to-come-out from Egipto.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “But for the sake of my own reputation, I decided to do something in order that I would not be dishonored by the people of the nations who would see it when I brought my people out of Egypt.” (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.
But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they dwelt: The reason that God did not punish the people in Egypt was not because he had mercy on them or because they repented of their sin. Rather, he decided not to punish them so that he would not be shamed in the presence of the people among whom the Israelites were living. I acted for the sake of my name means God protected his reputation. The Hebrew verb rendered profaned means to treat with contempt or disdain something that is sacred or holy, in this case God himself. If he had punished his people as they deserved, God would have been shamed. His action would have brought dishonor to his own reputation. The nations among whom they dwelt refers to the Egyptians with whom the Israelites were living at the time.
In whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt: God would have been shamed because he had promised the Israelites in the presence of the Egyptians that he would lead them out of Egypt. In whose sight refers to the Egyptians. I made myself known may be rendered “I had announced” (Good News Translation) or “I had already promised” (Contemporary English Version). Both occurrences of the pronoun them refer to the Israelites. This is a complicated verse and translators need to make clear to whom these pronouns refer.
A model for this verse is:
• But I did not punish them like that. If I had [punished them], I would have been shamed in front of the Egyptians. The Israelites lived among the Egyptians and I promised the Israelites that I would bring them out of Egypt. So if I had broken that promise at that time, I would have been shamed in front of the Egyptians.
In this verse is the first example of an important theme in the book of Ezekiel. This is the theme that God acts to protect his own reputation, his “honor.” Even though it is difficult to imagine God being shamed, Ezekiel says that sometimes God does something, or does not do something, so that he will not be shamed. The theme usually focuses on the way he treated the people of Israel much better than they deserved.
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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