The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “grain” (or: “corn”) is translated in Kui as “(unthreshed) rice.” Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) explains: “Padddy [unthreshed rice] is the main crop of the country and rice the staple diet of the people, besides which [grain] is unknown and there is no word for it, and it seemed to us that paddy and rice in the mind of the Kui people stood for all that corn meant to the Jews.” “Paddy” is also the translation in Pa’o Karen (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. ).
Other translations include: “wheat” (Teutila Cuicatec), “corn” (Lalana Chinantec), “things to eat” (Morelos Nahuatl), “grass corn” (wheat) (Chichimeca-Jonaz) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), “millet” (Lambya) (source: project-specific notes in Paratext), “food” (Nyamwezi) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)or ntimumma lujia / “seeds for food” (Lokạạ — “since Lokạạ does not have specific terms for maize and rice that can be described as grains”) (source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
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 36:29:
Kupsabiny: “I will save you from everything that is not clean. I will make food/crops to be plenty so that you will never again experience famine.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I will-clean you (plur.) from all your filthiness. I will-give you abundant grains, and you no-longer suffer in hunger.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “I will free you from all your disgraceful behavior. I will cause your grain to be plentiful, and I will not send a famine to you again.” (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.
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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
Verses 29-30 assure God’s people that they will be able to live safely and securely in the land.
And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses: God will purify them from anything that makes them unfit to worship him. Deliver may be rendered “save” (New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New International Reader’s Version, New Century Version, King James Version, New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible) or “free” (Christian Community Bible). For your uncleannesses, see verse 25. This phrase may be translated “anything that makes you unclean” (Contemporary English Version) or “anything that makes you unfit to worship me.”
And I will summon the grain and make it abundant: God will make the seeds grow so that there will be very good crops and plenty of food. Summon carries the picture of God calling to the seeds to make them sprout and grow. New Century Version and Revised English Bible have “command.” The Hebrew word for grain refers to cereal crops, such as “wheat” (Christian Community Bible) and barley. Some translations use the term “corn” (Good News Translation British edition, King James Version, New English Bible); this reflects British usage of the term, which in American English means maize. Others have used “rice,” but translators may also use a generic term such as “crops.” Make it abundant may be rendered “make it grow abundantly.”
And lay no famine upon you is literally “and I not give upon you famine.” Since there will be plenty of food, the people will not starve. Good News Translation renders this clause as “so that you will not have any more famines,” Contemporary English Version says “and no one will starve,” and New International Reader’s Version has “So you will never be hungry again.”
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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