complete verse (Jeremiah 46:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 46:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “‘Announce news to the land of Egypt,
    including Migdol, Memphis and Tahpanhes
    Tell (them) to prepare well so they can defend themselves
    because enemies are destroying communities/nations who are your neighbors.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Jeremias, announce this to Egipto, Migdol, Memphis and in Tapanhes: [You (plur.)] prepare for the sword is- now -ready to destroy you (plur.).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘Shout this message throughout Egypt!
    Proclaim it in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpenes cities!
    ‘Get into your positions/Line up for the battle;
    Prepare to defend yourselves,
    because everyone around you will be killed.’” (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 Jeremiah 46:14

Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in … Tahpanhes: It should be made clear in translation that while Egypt is a nation, Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes are cities within that nation. For Migdol see 44.1; for Memphis and Tahpanhes, see 2.16. Translators can basically translate this two ways. One is as in Good News Translation “Proclaim it in the towns of Egypt, in Migdol, Memphis and Tahpanhes.” Here the verbs Declare and proclaim (used twice) are combined. The other way is to retain the parallelism, but still show the relationship between Egypt and its cities, as in “Tell this throughout Egypt; proclaim it in the towns [there] of Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes.”

Stand ready and be prepared: The meaning is “Get ready to defend yourselves” (Good News Translation). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders “Get ready for battle; take your weapons in hand!”

The sword shall devour round about you: Here again the sword is used of war or battle, and devour means to kill or destroy (see 2.30), so Good News Translation has “all you have will be destroyed in war.” Translators can also say, for example, “warfare will destroy everything around you.” Bible en français courant understands round about you to refer to the nations that are the Egyptians’ neighbors. This is possible; but most versions translate literally, which readers probably take to mean a widespread slaughter in Egypt (as in Contemporary English Version “Everywhere in your nation”).

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 .