obedience / obey

The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek that is translated in English typically as “obedience” or “obey” is translated in Tepeuxila Cuicatec as “thing hearing,” because “to hear is to obey.” (Source: Marjorie Davis in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 34ff. )

In Huba it is translated as hya nǝu nyacha: “follow (his) mouth.” (Source: David Frank in this blog post )

In Central Mazahua it is translated as “listen-obey” and in Huehuetla Tepehua as “believe-obey” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), and in Noongar as dwangka-don, lit. “hear do” (source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).

See also disobedience.

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Jeremiah 35:10)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the exclusive pronoun, excluding Jeremiah.

complete verse (Jeremiah 35:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 35:10:

  • Kupsabiny: “We have lived in tents from old and followed everything that our ancestor Jonadab told us.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “We lived in the tents and we fully obeyed all that Jonahab our ancestor commanded us.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “We have lived in tents. We have obeyed all the commands that Jehonadab, our ancestor, gave us.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 35:9 - 35:10

Not to build houses: See verses 2, 7.

To have no vineyard or field can mean to not possess vineyards or fields, but probably also means not working or farming them. Seed could mean either not to plant crops or, as in Good News Translation, to have no grain. Either is acceptable.

We … have obeyed …: See verse 8.

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 .