The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).
Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).
In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
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 inclusive pronoun, including everyone.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 48:2:
Kupsabiny: “The goodness of Moab has been torn down. Enemies have taken Heshbon and they are making plans to take over Moab. They will silence the city of Madmen, soldiers shall break through and fight against it.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Moab will no longer be praised. There in Heshbon, the enemy is planning to attack Moab. They say, ‘Come, let us destroy Moab.’ The town of Madmen, will- also -be-attacked by the enemies and it will-become desolate/lonely.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “No one will boast about Moab again; the enemies of Moab will plan to destroy the capital city, Heshbon. They will say, ‘Come, let’s cause Moab to no longer be a nation.’ You people in Madmen town, you also will be silenced; enemy armies will pursue you.” (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 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. )
The renown of Moab is no more is more literally “there is no more praise of Moab,” which New International Version renders “Moab will be praised no more.” The reference is best taken to mean that Moab’s “fame” (so Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) or “splendor” (Good News Translation) will no longer be remembered. Translators can say something like “No longer will people praise Moab.”
In Heshbon they planned evil against her: In Heshbon they planned represents a play on words in Hebrew, since the expression they planned sounds very much like Heshbon. Bible en français courant has a note to this effect. Heshbon was the capital city of the Amorite king Sihon (Num 21.25-30). Both Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch identify they as “the enemy.” Her is Moab. This clause can be rendered “In Heshbon the enemy [or, they] plotted against Moab.”
Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!: This line is a direct quote of the enemy of Moab. Good News Translation has transformed this line into indirect discourse (see above). Translators can also say quite simply “Let’s put an end to the nation.”
The town of Madmen is otherwise unknown, and there is a great deal of discussion regarding the origin of the name. It is a shame that in English it sounds like a town full of persons who have gone mad! In Hebrew there is a further play on words in the statement, You also, O Madmen, shall be brought to silence, but it is impossible to bring this out in translation. Translators can render this line as “You people of the town of Madmen, we will silence you also.”
The sword shall pursue you: Since the sword is often used in Jeremiah with the meaning of “war,” Good News Translation here translates “armies will march against it.” Translators can also say, for example, “warfare will come to you” or “you can’t escape from the coming war.”
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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