drink

In Telugu different verbs for humans drinking (tāgu / తాగు) and animals drinking (cēḍu / చేడు) are required.

complete verse (Jeremiah 25:16)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 25:16:

  • Kupsabiny: “When those communities have drunk that poison, they will be stunned and become crazy on account of the war that I am going to send to them.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When they can-drink it, they will-stagger as-if (they are) crazy because of the war that I will-send to them.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “When they drink the wine, they will stagger and act like crazy people, because they will realize that I will massacre many of their people/cause many of their people to be killed with swords.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (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 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.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 25:16

Drink often requires an object, as in “drink the wine [or, anger] in the cup” or perhaps “drink what is in the cup.” In some languages “drink from the cup” is possible.

Stagger: In another form this verb is rendered by Revised Standard Version as “toss” in 5.22 and as “surge” in 46.7. In the same form in which it appears here, it is translated “surge” by Revised Standard Version in 46.8. Most versions have the equivalent of “stagger,” though Revised English Bible has “vomit” and New American Bible “be convulsed.” Moffatt combines this and the following verb: “stagger madly to and fro.”

The relation between shall drink and stagger is one of consequence, as Good News Translation makes clear: “When they drink from it, they will stagger.”

Be crazed (Good News Translation “go out of their minds”) is the meaning of this verb as rendered by most versions. See elsewhere at 46.9 (Revised Standard Version “rage”); 50.38 (Revised Standard Version “are mad”); 51.7 (Revised Standard Version “went mad”). It can also be expressed as “act as if they are crazy” or “act like crazy people.”

Because of the sword which I am sending among them: As throughout the Bible, the sword often stands for warfare (see 5.12). In this verse, however, it is sometimes easier for readers to understand the sense if translators say “because of the killing that I am sending their way,” “because of the killing that will take place among them,” “because of the many of their people who will be killed,” or even “because of the massacres I am going to bring about them.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .