“know something is true because of seeing it” in Teutila Cuicatec (source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
“ones who will confirm that these-things that you have seen are true” in Kankanaey (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
“ones who are to testify about these things, because it all happened before your eyes” in Tagbanwa (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 55:4:
Kupsabiny: “I made him to become a leader of nations, to lead and advise them. I used him so I could show them my power.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Look! I chose him to give testimony among the nations and to become their captain and leader.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I have-made him a leader/[lit. head] to the nations, and by him I have-shown my power to them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
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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.
The Hebrew word rendered Behold calls attention to what follows.
I made him a witness to the peoples: The Hebrew verb rendered made (literally “gave”) means “appointed” here. The pronoun him refers back to David. David was probably a witness to the peoples since his victories over the surrounding nations showed God’s power at work through him (see Psa 18.43-50). The peoples refers to the nations surrounding Israel. For this whole line Good News Translation has “through him I showed them [the nations] my power.”
A leader and commander for the peoples spells out two other responsibilities that David had. The Hebrew word for leader refers to a ruler or prince. This term occurs in 2 Sam 7.8, where God calls David a “prince over my people Israel.” As both a political and military commander, David issued orders. The peoples refers to the same foreign nations mentioned in the previous line. For the peoples probably means “in the presence of the nations.” The surrounding nations recognized David’s leadership over Israel. This phrase may mean “over the nations” if there is poetic exaggeration here. Then the whole line means David ruled the nations.
For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:
• See, I appointed him to bear witness to my power,
and to be a leader and commander in the eyes of nations [or, before nations].
• See, through him I showed my power to the nations,
and he was a leader and commander of the peoples.
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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