The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).
Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).
In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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.
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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).
You are cursed with a curse: This rendering is so close to the form of the Hebrew that it makes unnatural English. The repetition is expressed more smoothly in New American Bible “You are indeed accursed.” The Hebrew actually has “the curse” (so Jerusalem Bible) rather than a curse. This suggests that the original readers knew what curse was being referred to, in all likelihood that in Deut 28.15-24. In that passage the penalties for disobedience are stated to include poor crops, small families, small flocks, illness, and drought. The effect of the curse is not stated here, but in the light of verses 10-11 it may safely be assumed to include drought and insect pests, with the consequent poor harvests. See also the comments on 2.2. In some languages it will be necessary to express a subject, and if so, translators may say “You are under a curse” (New International Version, New Living Translation) or “A curse lies on you” (New Jerusalem Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Another possible model is “Terrible things will happen to you,” though if possible, translators should use a word for curse that has a religious sense.
For you are robbing me: The Hebrew word order is different from that in the similar clause in verse 8. Again both you and me are expressed by pronouns rather than verbal affixes, but this time the main emphasis falls on me. Strangely, although this is correctly represented in the Septuagint and Vulgate, the only modern versions that seem to have captured it are Knox and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible renders “it is me that you have deceived.” For robbing see the comments on verse 8.
The whole nation of you: The punctuation of Revised Standard Version is odd, as this phrase is tacked on to the end of the sentence following a semicolon (;). New Revised Standard Version has altered the semicolon to a dash (–), which makes it clearer that the phrase is connected to you in the previous clause. The word translated nation is the Hebrew word goy, a term that is usually used for gentile nations. When used of Israel, it can have the effect of a rebuke, and this may well be the case here (compare Isa 1.4; Hag 2.14). The mocking tone could be expressed in English with a word like “lot,” “crowd,” or even, as Knox expresses it, “brood” (compare Matt 3.7 and parallels).
Alternative translation models for this verse are:
• You are indeed under the curse, because it is me that you are robbing, the whole lot of you!
• Truly the curse is upon you, because the one you are robbing, the whole gang of you, is me!
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Malachi. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
You are cursed with a curse: In Hebrew this is a strong statement which would be better translated: “you are greatly cursed” or “you are truly under a curse” in English.
If people are cursed, they suffer under the LORD’s punishment, instead of enjoying his favor. It is the opposite of being blessed. See the note on 1:14a.
In some languages the word for “curse” might convey a wrong meaning if you used it here. If that is true in your language, it may be more accurate if you use the idea that the LORD would judge or punish them. For example:
You are bound for judgement… (NET Bible)
In some languages it may be more natural to express this idea with an intransitive verb or with an active expression. For example:
You are suffering under a curse… (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures) -or-
You are suffering because I have cursed you…
The LORD was not specific in this verse about the way that he would curse or punish the people. However 3:10–12 implies that their crops were destroyed.
3:9b
you—the whole nation: Scholars differ about whom this expression identifies. There are two options:
(1) It identifies those who are robbing God. For example:
9a A curse is on all of you 9b because the whole nation is cheating me. (Good News Translation)
(2) It identifies those who are under a curse. For example:
You are under a curse—the whole nation of you —because you are robbing me. (New International Version)
Both of these options are true. The whole nation has been robbing God, and the whole nation is under a curse because of that. You should express this idea in the most natural way in your language.
If you must make one of these options explicit, it is recommended that you follow option (1).
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.