Honorary "rare" construct denoting God (“[someone/who] is”)

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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, a-rare-ru (あられる) or “(someone/who) is” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 42:5

May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us: May the LORD be is a difficult formula in many languages, including English. For this reason, some translations prefer “The LORD himself will be…” (Contemporary English Version) or “We will ask the LORD to be….” True and faithful is retained in most translations, though Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders “incorruptible.” It is possible also to translate “honest” or “honest and fair.” However, in this context the sense is that the LORD will be an incontestable witness, one no one can contradict. There are different ways to render the whole clause; one that is clear is “The LORD will be a witness against us who no one will be able to contradict.”

If we do not act according to all the word with which the LORD your God sends you to us: This is an impossible construction for most English readers. Good News Translation renders “if we do not obey all the commands that the LORD our God gives you for us” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “if we do not do exactly what he commands us through you.”

Bible en français courant has reversed the order of the last sentence to make it more readable:

• We undertake to do exactly what the Lord your God orders you to tell us. May he be the indisputable witness of our oath!

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 .