Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 44:28:
Kupsabiny: “The priests do not get fields in Israel because I am the one to take care of them. I have set them aside to do the burning of sacrifices.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The LORD continued to say, ‘There is no land which is-to-be-inherited by the priests in Israel, for I myself will-give their needs.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “The priests are not permitted to own any property. They will have only what I provide for them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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 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).
They shall have no inheritance: This reading is taken from the Latin Vulgate instead of the Hebrew, which reads “And it will be their inheritance.” Unfortunately, it is not clear what the pronoun “it” refers to, so many translations choose to follow the Vulgate here because they think it makes more sense (so Revised Standard Version, New International Reader’s Version, New Living Translation, Revised English Bible, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Christian Community Bible, Moffatt). But this pronoun may refer to the office of the priesthood which the previous verses talk about; for example, Good News Translation renders this clause as “The priests have the priesthood as their share of what I have given to be handed down from one generation to another.” This makes good sense and is the best model to follow. Inheritance usually refers to the land of Israel that God promised to Abraham and his descendants (see the comments on 35.15), but here it refers to the priesthood promised to Aaron and his descendants.
I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession: Like inheritance, possession also refers to land that a person legally owns. In most cultures owning a piece of land is a matter of great significance. Twice in this verse God says that, for the priests, he himself will fulfill this need to have land. Therefore they will have no land like that given to the other tribes on which to live and from which to make a living. The Hebrew pronoun for you is plural, referring to the people of Israel. God is addressing them through Ezekiel. This pronoun may be avoided by rendering you shall give them no possession in Israel as “they will not own property in Israel” or “They are not to hold property in Israel” (Good News Translation).
A model for this verse is:
• “It will be enough for the priests that they have the privilege of being my priests. Of all that I will give to my people, I will give myself to the priests as their share. They will not own any land in the land of Israel to provide what they need to live, because I will provide everything they need.
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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