complete verse (Jeremiah 48:46)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 48:46:

  • Kupsabiny: “You people of Moab are in a bad position!
    Those people who worshipped Chemosh are destroyed.
    Your sons have been taken/driven away to become prisoners.
    and your daughters have been taken/driven to go to other countries.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘You (plur.) are-to-be-pitied, those from-Moab! You (plur.) who are-worshipping god Kemosh were destroyed, and your children were-taken-captive.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “You people of Moab, terrible things will happen to you!
    You people who worship your god Chemosh, you will be destroyed.
    Your sons and your daughters will be captured and taken away to other countries.” (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 48:46

Woe to you may be rendered “How terrible for you!” See 4.13.

The people of Chemosh is undone: As discussed at verse 7, Chemosh was a Moabite god, and the Moabite people were often called the people of Chemosh. Hence Good News Translation has “The people who worshiped Chemosh.” The expression, is undone, can be rendered “are destroyed” or “are lost.”

Sons … daughters: This may be better understood as “men and women” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

In languages that would not use passives here, translators can say in this verse, for example:

• People of Moab, how terrible for you! The enemy has destroyed you who worshiped Chemosh, and carried away as prisoners your sons and your daughter [or, your men and your women].

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 .