complete verse (Micah 6:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Micah 6:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “How can I tolerate/be patient with the things that are used to measure
    those that are false.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “How can I excuse a person
    who uses wrong weights and measures?” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “It cannot be that I will just leave you (plur.) in your (plur.) cheating in weighing.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

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 Micah 6:11

In this verse the same charge is repeated but in somewhat more detail. It is again in the form of a question. The Revised Standard Version “Shall I acquit…?” does not suggest the answer, but Good News Translation with its How can I forgive…? makes it clearer that a negative answer is expected. The Lord cannot forgive this kind of wicked behavior, and some translators may need to recast this verse in the form of a negative statement, “I cannot forgive….”

The type of scales used were the kind still used in many areas of the world today, with two dishes hanging from a bar. Weights would be put on one of the dishes, and the thing to be weighed on the other dish. The easiest way to cheat when using scales was to use false weights. On the other hand, there may have been ways of changing the scales themselves so as to cheat the customer. No matter how it was done, the result was that the customer got less than he paid for. The Hebrew mentions “a bag of deceitful weights.” Probably the weights for the scales were kept in bags. If there are no appropriate terms for these scales and weights in the receptor language, then it is not necessary to try to give all the details of the ancient culture. A translator can simply give the main point of the accusation as Good News Translation has done. Some translators may have to express the main point in quite a different way, however, such as “If a merchant cheats his customers when he weighs the goods he is selling them, how can I forgive him?”

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. et al. A Handbook on Micah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1978, 1982, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Micah 6:11

6:11a–b

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

11a
Can I excuse dishonest scales

11b or bags of false weights?

There is an ellipsis (a deliberately omitted phrase) in 6:11b. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply the missing words from 6:11a. For example:

11b or ⌊can I excuse⌋ bags of false weights?

This verse is another rhetorical question. Its function is to express the next accusation of the LORD against the people.

Here are some ways to translate this rhetorical question:

• As one or more rhetorical questions. You may use slightly different questions, if that is more natural in your language. For example:

Can I justify wicked scales and a bag of deceptive weights? (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
How can I ignore the use of fraudulent scales? How can I close my eyes to inaccurate weights used to deceive?

• As a statement. For example:

I do not condone the use of rigged scales, or a bag of deceptive weights. (NET Bible)

Can I excuse:
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

Can I justify (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
Shall I acquit (English Standard Version)

dishonest scales…bags of false weights: Each phrase describes a way that a merchant cheated a customer. The phrase dishonest scales refers to measuring balances that were made to be inaccurate in a way that benefitted the merchant. The phrase bags of false weights refers to bags or pouches of inaccurate weights. They may have been lighter or heavier than the true weight. Together these measuring devices were used to deceive others.

Here are some other ways to translate these phrases:

misleading scales or a bag of fraudulent weights (Revised English Bible)
-or-
I do not condone the use of rigged scales, or a bag of deceptive weights. (NET Bible)

General Comment on 6:11a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder these parallel lines. For example:

How can I tolerate your merchants who use dishonest scales and weights? (New Living Translation (2004))

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