Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 30:20:
Kupsabiny: “Their people will stay/live like before, and their people will receive strength before me, and I will punish all the people who suppress them.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Their children will-prosper like before/long-ago. I will-strengthened them before me, and I will-punish anyone who will-oppress them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Their children will prosper like they did before. I will cause them to be a group of people who worship me, and I will punish any nation that oppresses 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.
Children (Hebrew “sons”) is best equated with congregation, and shall be established before me taken to be explanatory of shall be as they were of old. This is the basis for Good News Translation “I will restore their nation’s ancient power and establish it firmly again.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders this as “Their situation will be like it was formerly: under my protection they will live securely.” Bible en français courant makes the same identification, though differently: “Descendants of Jacob, you shall be as you formerly were: your congregation will again be established in my presence.”
Their congregation has been seen by some translators as a reference to the communal worship of the nation, in which case it could be translated as “community” or “assembly” in a phrase such as “worship again as a community in my presence.” Other interpreters put the emphasis on being established as a community before the LORD. Before me in either case has a spatial sense, “in my presence.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh translates before me to mean “by my grace.” Translators who want to retain the form of the parallel lines can have sentences such as “The situation for their children [or, descendants] will be like it used to be, and once again they will be established as a community before me [or, in my presence]” or, slightly preferred, “… and once again will be a nation that worships me as a community.”
Oppress is a participle (so also Jdg 2.18; 6.9; Isa 19.20) made from a root not used elsewhere in Jeremiah. For other occurrences of the verb, see Exo 3.9; 22.21 (Hebrew, verse 20); 23.9.
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 .
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