5Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’ graves, so that I may rebuild it.”
The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Nehemiah 2:5:
Kupsabiny: “and then I said to the king, ‘Your Majesty/Lord, if you wish/accept, you grant me to go to Judah and rebuild that city/town where (our) grandfathers are buried.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “and afterwards I replied to the king, ‘If possible, Beloved King, and if you (sing.) are pleased with me, I want [wish-particle] to-go-home to Juda, in-order to build again the city where my ancestors were-buried.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “then I said to the king, ‘If it’s what you (sing.) want, oh sir king and you (sing.) are merciful to me your (sing.) servant, I plead that you (sing.) may permit that I go to the city in the region of Juda where-are-buried my ancestors so-that I will again build it.’” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
English: “Then I replied, ‘If you are willing to do it, and if I have pleased you, send me to the city of Jerusalem in Judah province where my ancestors are buried, in order that I may help people to rebuild the city.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
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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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, a god, or a person or persons to be greatly honored, the honorific prefix go- (御 or ご) can be used, as in go-kōi (ご好意), a combination of “favor” (kōi) and the honorific prefix go-.
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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-kao (御顔) or “face (of God)” in the referenced verses.
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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, s-are-ru (される) or “do/reckon” is used.
Nehemiah prefaces his request with two conditions. The first refers to the king’s personal point of view. The second refers to the king’s attitude toward Nehemiah. See Est 5.8, where similar expressions occur.
If it pleases the king is literally “If it is good to the king.” This was a standard expression of courtly etiquette that was used when a subordinate person wanted to make a request of a king.
If your servant has found favor in your sight is literally “if your servant is good in your eyes.” This second formula includes a play on words in relation to the first formula. In the first the adjectival form “good” is used and in this parallel expression a verbal form of the same basic word “good” is used. This double occurrence of “good” stands in marked contrast to the repetition of “bad” in the preceding verses. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible translates the Hebrew fairly literally: “If it seems good to the king and if your servant is agreeable in your eyes” (also Darby). If there are equivalent idiomatic expressions in the receptor language, then the translator should retain this contrasting use of “bad” in verses 2-3 above and “good” in this verse. For your servant, see Ezra 4.11 and Neh 1.6.
You send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ sepulchres: Nehemiah asks that the king send him to Judah. Although he is requesting permission to go, he is asking for more than simply being allowed to go (Good News Translation). His wish is that the king will order him to go or cause him to go. In this way he will go with the king’s authority.
Nehemiah does not refer to the name of his city but only to the name of its location Judah. For a comment on Judah, see Ezra 1.2; 2.1.
I may rebuild it: The Hebrew verb here is “build” and does not indicate building the city again or rebuilding it. However, from the information that has been supplied to Nehemiah about the city and from what he has reported to the king, it is clear that he wishes to rebuild the city (see Ezra 1.3, 5; 4.12). Translators should use a verb that is appropriate to rebuilding a city, such as “to reconstruct the city” or “to raise the city up again.” Nehemiah’s request to rebuild the city implies that he is asking for a considerable amount of authority to carry out his wish. This is spelled out in his further requests in verses 7 and 8.
It is important to observe the complexity of Hebrew pronoun reference in Nehemiah’s response to the king. He uses the formal style of language that was suitable for addressing the king. He addresses the king by referring to the king in the third person singular (the king), but he shifts to the second person singular possessive construction when he says your servant, referring to himself in the third person. His request is then addressed to the king in the second person singular while he refers to himself in the first person singular. Translators must use pronoun references that are fitting for a similar setting in the receptor language.
Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Nehemiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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 to do this is through the usage of lexical honorific forms, i.e., completely different words, as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
In these verses, itadaku (いただく), a respectful form of morau (もらう) or “receive” is used. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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