prostitute oneself / play the prostitute

The Hebrew that is translated as “prostitute oneself” or “play the prostitute” in English is translated in Vidunda as “(practice) sexual immorality.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Ezekiel 23:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 23:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “Oholah continued with her prostitution even though she was mine. She admired and joined with soldiers of Assyria.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Even-though Oholah was my wife already, she still continued to sell her body, and she really chased-after her lovers who come-from-Asiria which is near her.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Oholah acted like a prostitute while she was still my wife. She desired to have sex with those she loved—soldiers from Assyria.” (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 23:5

Oholah played the harlot while she was mine: This subsection of the parable focuses on Oholah, the northern kingdom of Israel, which was destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. New Century Version uses “Samaria” here instead of the name Oholah. We do not recommend this. It is better to keep the names of the sisters used in this parable. For played the harlot, see Ezek 23.3. New Century Version says “had sexual relations with other men.” While she was mine means while she was still God’s wife. Translators may render this whole sentence as “While she was still my wife, Oholah acted like a prostitute [or, slept with other men].”

And she doted on her lovers the Assyrians: The Hebrew verb rendered doted on means “have a great sexual desire for” (so New Century Version). Contemporary English Version says “chased after.” Her lovers are the men Oholah had sex with instead of her husband. For the Assyrians, see 16.28. This sentence may be rendered “She had great desire for her lovers [or, the men she had sex with], the Assyrians.”

The Hebrew text has one more word at the end of this verse, which Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and Contemporary English Version place at the beginning of verse 6. Most other translations keep it in verse 5; for example, New International Version renders verses 5b-6a as “and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—warriors 6 clothed in blue.” Since there is no change of meaning involved, translators may choose for themselves where to place the verse break to make the text easy to read.

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 .