Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 7:21:
Kupsabiny: “I will send enemies to plunder those things (and/so) the sinners of the land/world will take them for themselves and destroy/defile (them).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I will-let- it -to-be-taken by wicked men from another place, and they will-defile it.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “I will give their silver and gold to foreigners who invade your country and take away your valuable treasures. I will give those things to wicked people, and they will do disgraceful things to those treasures that I give them.” (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.
Good News Translation adds the clause “says the LORD” near the beginning of this verse, because Good News Translation understands verses 10-20 as the words of Ezekiel. However, if God is understood as the speaker of verses 10-20 (so Revised Standard Version), this addition is unnecessary. The main thing for translators to remember is to make it clear that God is the speaker in verse 21.
And I will give it into the hands of foreigners for a prey: God threatens to give the Israelites’ silver and gold to the Babylonians as booty. Foreigners refers to the Babylonian army. The Hebrew word for prey refers to booty, that is, the things soldiers take for themselves from the people they defeat in war. This clause may be rendered “I also will let foreigners take their wealth as booty [or, spoils of war].”
And to the wicked of the earth for a spoil: This line is parallel to the previous one and has almost the same meaning. The verb phrase I will give it is implied here. The foreigners and the wicked of the earth refer to the same people, that is, the Babylonians. The wicked of the earth may be rendered “the most evil people in the world.” The Hebrew word for spoil refers to booty, like the word for prey. The first two lines of this verse may be combined by saying “I also will give your silver and gold to the most wicked foreigners to take home for themselves after defeating you.” However, it is also possible to keep both lines as follows: “I also will let foreigners take your wealth as a prize of war. Yes, it is the most wicked people who will take your wealth.”
And they shall profane it means the Babylonians will make the silver and gold ritually impure. The Hebrew word for profane has the sense of removing the sacred character of something. For the Jews, anything that non-Jews touched was polluted. This clause may be rendered “It will not be fit for respectable people to touch anymore.”
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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