complete verse (Ezekiel 26:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 26:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “The countries that are near the coast are afraid
    on account of how you have been destroyed.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Now, the ones who-live near the sea were-shaking in fear because of your destruction.’ ’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Now on the day when that city is destroyed,
    it is as though the people in the areas along the coast tremble
    and the the people on the islands in the sea are terrified because of that city being ruined.’’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

2nd person pronoun with low register (Japanese)

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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.

In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 26:18

Now the isles tremble on the day of your fall: The adverb Now stresses that Tyre’s neighboring countries tremble in fear on the same day that it is destroyed. Isles renders the same Hebrew word translated “coastlands” in verse 15 (see the comments there). For tremble see verse 16. On the day of your fall refers to the day Nebuchadnezzar defeated Tyre. Parole de Vie renders these two lines well, saying “Now the peoples of the coast tremble because you don’t exist anymore.”

Yea, the isles that are in the sea are dismayed at your passing: These two lines repeat the sense of the first half of this verse. The Hebrew verb rendered dismayed has the sense of being greatly “afraid” (New Century Version) or paralyzed by fear (see 7.27, where it is translated “palsied by terror”). New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, and New Jerusalem Bible say “terrified.” At your passing is a euphemistic reference to Tyre’s destruction. Parole de Vie says “because you disappeared.”

A model for the song in verses 17-18 is:

• Ah, Tyre! That famous city,
Her people [came] from the seas far and wide,
She has been destroyed.
[Before that,] she wielded great power over the sea,
She and those who lived in her;
They inspired great terror,
All those who lived in her.
18 Now, on the day that Tyre has been defeated,
Those who live on the islands and the coasts tremble with fear;
They are paralyzed with fear [or, They are very, very frightened],
Because Tyre has passed away.

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 .