sell

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “sell” in English is translated in Noongar as wort-bangal or “away-barter.” Note that “buy” is translated as bangal-barranga or “get-barter.” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)

See also buy and buying / selling.

complete verse (Leviticus 25:42)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 25:42:

  • Kupsabiny: “The people of Israel are my slaves whom I brought out from the land of Egypt so they should not be sold like slaves who come from other communities.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “For the Israelites are my servants. I have brought them out of the land of Egypt. It is not OK to buy or sell them like slaves.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) (are) my slaves, you (plur.) the Israelinhon who I brought-out of Egipto. So [you (plur.)] do- not -sell yourselves/[lit. your (plur.) own self] to-become a slave forever/[lit. until whenever].” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “It is as though you Israelis are my slaves/servants, whom I freed from being slaves in Egypt. So none of you should be sold to become slaves.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

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

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Leviticus 25:42

They: the third person plural pronoun actually refers to the people of Israel, as indicated by the context that follows. The Good News Translation rendering makes this reference clear from the beginning, and this should probably be followed in most other languages.

My servants: the Hebrew word used here is actually “slave,” as in verse 39, and should be so translated so that the connection between this statement and the previous verses may be clear. The people of Israel had been slaves of the Egyptians, but when they were delivered they became the property of the one who redeemed them, the LORD himself. If indirect discourse is being used, the pronoun my should be changed to “the LORD’s,” as in Good News Translation.

I brought forth: the pronoun I should become “he” in indirect discourse.

Slaves: this is the same word as translated servants at the beginning of this verse. The two should be translated similarly.

The last sentence in this verse may be introduced with a more explicit “This is why they must not be sold as slaves.” This will clarify the relationship between what was said previously and this statement.

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 .