complete verse (Genesis 43:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 43:6:

  • Kankanaey: “Jacob then said, ‘You are the reason for this hardship of mine, because you told him (blame particle) that you had another sibling.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Israel said — ‘Why have you given me this trouble, by saying to him that you also had a younger brother?'” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Jacob said, ‘Why have- you (pl.) -given me a great/big problem? Why did- you (pl.) -tell the governor that you (pl.) still have one sibling/(brother)?'” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Jacob asked, ‘Why did you cause me to have this trouble by telling the man that you had a younger brother?'” (Source: Translation for Translators)

2nd person pronoun with low register (Japanese)

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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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.

In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

Translation commentary on Genesis 43:6

Israel said: see 35.21. Jacob’s question is “Why did you [plural] do evil to me by telling the man you had another brother?” By this question Jacob is thinking of the grief the brothers have caused him by mentioning Benjamin to the ruler. The question is not rhetorical but real, and the brothers give their reply in Gen 43.7. For the man see verse 3.

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 .

3rd person pronoun with high register (Japanese)

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 third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used.

In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also third person pronoun with exalted register.