complete verse (Leviticus 11:9)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 11:9:

  • Kupsabiny: “These are the animals that live in the water that you may eat: Any animal that lives in the ocean or that lives in a river and has things like wings that it beats the water with and scales.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “It is OK to eat any of the animals that live in water [and] have fins and scales.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) may eat any/whatever animals are-living in the water which has fins and scales. But you (plur.) are- not -to-eat what does-not-have fins and scales, and you (plur.) are- not -to-touch their dead bodies. You (plur.) are-to-consider these animals detestable.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “From all the creatures that live in the oceans and the streams, you are permitted to eat any that have fins and scales.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Leviticus 11:9

Verses 9-12 deal with creatures of the sea, and so a new paragraph should begin here. The structure of the first sentence is awkward and may be reformulated in a way that is natural in the receptor language. The structure may be parallel to verse 2b, where the land animals are first introduced. For example, “These are the sea creatures that you are allowed to eat….” It may also be necessary to eliminate some of the redundant material such as the second occurrence of in the waters or of you may eat. The phrase whether in the seas or in the rivers is left implicit in this verse in Good News Translation, and its second occurrence (in the following verse) is summarized as “living in the water,” perhaps in order not to exclude oceans and lakes.

Fins and scales: these two characteristics were essential for a sea creature to be considered acceptable by the Jews. In cultures where such terminology is lacking, fins may be rendered by “flapping things” or “things which cause to move,” or in some cases “wings,” “arms,” or “hands.” Scales may be “things which cover the skin” in some languages.

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .