“Sheep are known throughout most of the world, even though, as in Central Africa, they are a far cry from the fleecy wool-producing animals of colder climates. Where such animals are known, even by seemingly strange names, e.g. ‘cotton deer’ (Yucateco) or ‘woolly goat’ (Inupiaq), such names should be used. In some instances, one may wish to borrow a name and use a classifier, e.g. ‘an animal called sheep’. In still other instances translators have used ‘animal which produces wool’, for though people are not acquainted with the animals they are familiar with wool.” (Source: Bratcher / Nida)
In Dëne Súline, it is usually translated as “an evil little caribou.” To avoid the negative connotation, a loan word from the neighboring South Slavey was used. (Source: NCEM, p. 70)
Note that the often-alleged Inuktitut translation of “sheep” with “seal” is an urban myth (source Nida 1947, p. 136).
The Hebrew that is translated as “judge between sheep and sheep” in English is translated in Klao as “judge between the fat sheep and the weak sheep.” (Source: Don Slager)
The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as a form of “save” in English is translated in Shipibo-Conibo with a phrase that means literally “make to live,” which combines the meaning of “to rescue” and “to deliver from danger,” but also the concept of “to heal” or “restore to health.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 34:22:
Kupsabiny: “I shall rescue my sheep so that they are never again being troubled/hurt. I shall judge each of my sheep and separate the good ones from the bad ones.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I will-save/rescue my sheep, and they no-longer will-be-abused again. I will-separate the good from the bad.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “But I will rescue my people, and they no longer will be harassed/treated cruelly. I will judge between one person and another.” (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.
I will save my flock: God repeats the promise he made in verse 10 (see the comments there). The Hebrew word for flock is the collective term for a group of domestic animals (see Ezek 34.2), not the term for a big group of sheep as in verse 12.
God also assures his sheep that they shall no longer be a prey, as they were while the bad shepherds were still there (see Ezek 34.8).
And I will judge between sheep and sheep: See verse 17.
A model for this verse is:
• I will rescue my sheep. No longer will wild animals be able to hunt and eat them. I will judge between one animal and another.
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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