Sabbath

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “Sabbath” in English is rendered as “day we rest” in Tzotzil, in Mairasi as “Jew’s Rest Day,” in Quiotepec Chinantec as “day when people of Israel rested,” in Shilluk as “day of God,” in Obolo as Usen Mbuban or “Holy Day,” and in Mandarin Chinese as ānxírì (安息日) or “rest day” (literally: “peace – rest – day”). (Sources: Tzotzil: Marion Cowan in Notes on Translation with Drill, p. 169ff; Mairasi: Enggavoter 2004; Quiotepec Chinantec: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.; Shilluk: Nida 1964, p. 237; Obolo: Enene Enene; Chinese: Jost Zetzsche)

In Matumbi it is translated as Sabato ya Ayahudi or “Sabbath of the Jews,” to distinguish it from the Islamic Sabbath (which is Friday) or the Christian Sabbath (which is Sunday). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

In the old Khmer version as well as in the first new translation this term was rendered as “day of rest” (Thngai Chhup Somrak / ​ថ្ងៃ​ឈប់​សំរាក). Considered inadequate to convey its religious meaning (not only about cessation of work, but also in honor of Yahweh as the Creator), the committee for the Today’s Khmer Version (publ. 2005) decided to keep the Hebrew word and use its transliterated form Thgnai Sabath (​ថ្ងៃ​សប្ប័ទ). “The Buddhist word Thngai Seil ‘day of merits’ used by some Catholics was once under consideration but was rejected because it did not receive unanimous support.” (Source: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 233ff. )

In Spanish, the translation is either día de reposo (“day of rest”) or sábado (usually: “Saturday,” derived from the Greek and Hebrew original). Nida (1947, p. 239f.) explains that problem for Spanish and other languages in its sphere of influence: “In translation ‘Sabbath’ into various aboriginal languages of Latin America, a considerable number of translators have used the Spanish sábado, ‘Saturday,’ because it is derived from the Hebrew sabbath and seems to correspond to English usage as well. The difficulty is that sábado means only ‘Saturday’ for most people. There is no religious significance about this word as the is with ‘Sabbath’ in English. Accordingly the [readers] cannot understand the significance of the persecution of Jesus because he worked on ‘Saturday.’ It has been found quite advantageous to use the translation ‘day of rest,’ for this accurately translated the Hebrew meaning of the term and resolves the problem in connection with the prohibitions placed upon some types of activities.”

In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts closing of the blinds of a store:


“Sabbath” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Sabbath .

complete verse (Leviticus 23:32)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 23:32:

  • Kupsabiny: “This day is for rest and you need to abstain from eating. This day of rest begins on the ninth day after the sun has set in that month until the day that follows when the sun has set.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “This is a day purely for rest and recovery for you. From sundown of the 9th day of the month until sundown of the next day you must keep this Sabbath by fasting.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “So [you (plur.)] rest and fast starting from the setting-of-the-sun of the day on the ninth day of that month until the following the setting-of-the-sun of the day. You (plur.) and your (plur.) descendants in generations to come coming/future generations must obey these regulations/decrees/[lit. what-is-to-be-followed], wherever you (plur.) live.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “That day will be a day of complete rest for all of you, and on that day you must fast/abstain from eating food to show that you are sorry for having sinned. That day of rest and fasting/abstaining from eating food will begin on the evening before the day in which you ask me to forgive you for your sins, and it will end on the evening of the following day.’” (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. )

Translation commentary on Leviticus 23:32

It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest: this special day is likened to the regularly observed Sabbath. Good News Translation attempts to convey the meaning with “a special day of rest,” but others have proposed to make the comparison more explicit, saying “this shall be a rest day like the Sabbath.” The expression sabbath of solemn rest is literally “sabbath of sabbathing,” with the two words having the same root. Some versions see this as a kind of superlative indicating “complete rest” (New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, An American Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, and Moffatt).

Afflict yourselves: see verse 27 and 16.29.

From evening to evening: in the Old Testament the day begins at sunset (compare Gen 1.5). Notice that Good News Translation has radically restructured this verse and reduced some of the repetition to make it sound more natural in English.

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 .