complete verse (Leviticus 25:24)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 25:24:

  • Kupsabiny: “If any field is sold it must be clear that the person who sold it has the right to return/bring back the field one day.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “When [you] buy or sell own family property, always sell [them] in a way that [makes] it possible to redeem [them].” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “So you (plur.) are-to-allow the owner to-buy-back/to-redeem his land from you (plur.) You (plur.) are-to-do this with all the land that you (plur.) have-bought.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Throughout the country that you will possess, you must remember that if someone sells some of his land to you, he is permitted to buy it back from you if he wants to.” (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 25:24

In all the country you possess: the word translated country here is the same as translated land at the end of the verse and in the previous verse. The whole phrase is intended to emphasize the general nature of the rule. It applies “throughout the whole land which you possess (as tenants).”

You shall grant a redemption of the land: this very condensed statement was understandable to the Israelites who were familiar with the custom, but most modern readers require a translation that is more explicit. Moffatt translates “you must allow the land to be bought back.” Another model can be “You must permit the person who sold the land to buy it back.” The verses that follow spell out the conditions under which such redemption could take place.

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 .