The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).
Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).
In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 21:18:
Kankanaey: “Go take-him-by-the-hand so that he gets-up, because I will cause-to-be-many his descendants.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Newari: “Get up and go, and taking your son’s hand lift him up, and hold him firmly. For from him I will make a great nation.'” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “You stand up and have- the child -rise-up, for I will-make into a big nation his descendants.'” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Help your son up, and hold his hand as you leave, because I will cause his descendants to become a great nation.'” (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.
Arise, lift up the lad: Arise may be taken literally as “Stand up.” Hagar has been sitting since verse 16. This term is also used in a more general sense as “Get ready,” “Go ahead,” “Prepare yourself.” Revised English Bible says “go.” Lift up translates a verb that is used with the sense of lifting up in order to move, carry away. Good News Translation and others say “pick … up.” If the translation pictures Ishmael as a small child, “pick up” will be appropriate. If, on the other hand, the translation pictures Ishmael as a grown youth, something equivalent to “help him up” will be better.
Hold him fast with your hand is literally “make your hand firm on him.” This is an idiom meaning “strengthen,” “encourage,” “comfort.” It is used in Ezek 16.49, where Revised Standard Version translates “aid.” Revised English Bible attempt to give the sense of comforting while using an expression close to the Hebrew idiom: “Hold him in your arms.”
For I will make him a great nation: for introduces a strong assertion here. For the translation of make him … nation, see the discussion in verse 13.
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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