complete verse (Leviticus 23:35)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 23:35:

  • Kupsabiny: “On the first day call a meeting for prayer and do not do any work.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “On the first day of the festival it is not OK for anyone to work, and, having gathered in one place [you] are to worship God.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “On the first day [you (plur.)] do- not -work but-instead [you (plur.)]gather to worship the LORD.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “On the first day of that festival, the people must gather together to worship me, and they must not do any regular work on that 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 23:35

On the first day: the text implies the first of the seven days mentioned in the previous verse. For this reason Good News Translation adds “… of these days.”

Holy convocation: see verse 3.

Laborious work: see verse 7.

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 .