complete verse (Ezekiel 3:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 3:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then the Spirit carried me and I heard behind me a rumbling voice that were saying, ‘The God in heaven be exalted!’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Then the Spirit lifted- me -up, and I heard behind me a voice that roared which saying, ‘Praise be to the powerful presence of the LORD in heaven!’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Thenin the vision the Spiritof God lifted me up, and I heard behind mesomeone speaking very loudly, like a loud rumbling sound. I heard someone say, ‘Praise our glorious Yahweh in the place where he livesin heaven!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

dwelling (of God) (Japanese honorifics)

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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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-sumai (御住まい) or “dwelling (of God)” in the referenced verses.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )