complete verse (Ezekiel 2:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 2:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “Tell (them) everything that I am saying to you, whether (they) accept or refuse because they are a rebellious people.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (sing.) must say my message to them, whether this rebellious will-listen or not.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Tell them my message, but do not expect them to pay attention to it, because they arevery rebellious.” (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 2:7

And you shall speak my words to them: God commands Ezekiel to tell the people the message he is giving to them.

Whether they hear or refuse to hear: See the comments on Ezek 2.5. Ezekiel is to give them God’s message, whether they respond and obey, or whether they refuse to listen.

For they are a rebellious house: This Revised Standard Version reading is a favorite expression of Ezekiel, and it is supported by many Hebrew manuscripts and early translations. But the best Hebrew text does not have the word house, and says nothing more than “for they are rebellious” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). There is no way of knowing whether the word house was in the original text and accidentally dropped out, or whether it was not in the original text and a scribe put it in by mistake, because it is in verses 5, 6, and 8. Either way, the meaning is the same. Most modern versions follow the best Hebrew text, but Contemporary English Version omits the whole clause, because it is used in verses 5 and 6 already. This is permissible, depending on the requirements of naturalness in the receptor language. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch connects this clause well with the first half of the verse by saying “You know, after all, that they are a rebellious people.”

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 .