interest

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “interest” (as in payments for a loan) in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) as chiwongoladzanja which literary means something that stretches the hand. The understanding is that an interest is paid to thank the hand that was stretched out in the process of giving a loan. Since a person gets a loan to be helped from their problems, thanking the hand that has given (stretched out in giving) is considered to be an important way of expressing one’s gratitude. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

complete verse (Nehemiah 5:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Nehemiah 5:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “Having thought of the way things are, I confronted the leaders and the wealthy people. I said to them, ‘But why do you oppress your relatives when you are deducting/cutting your money from what they borrowed from you?’ Then I announced a big meeting because of those matters.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “I carefully think of the situation, and then I accused the leaders/[lit. heads] and officers. I said, ‘You (plur.) are-oppressing your (plur.) fellowmen! For when they borrow money from you (plur.) you (plur.) charge-with-interest.’ Then I summoned the people for a meeting.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So I thought about what I could do about it. I told the leaders and officials who were responsible for this work, ‘You are charging interest to your own relatives when they borrow money from you!’ Then I called together a large group of people,” (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 Nehemiah 5:7

I took counsel with myself: Before calling the Jewish leaders together to point out the injustice of their actions, Nehemiah thought about how to change the situation because it involved the richest and most influential people in the community. He did not make quick decisions without thinking carefully about their implications. New International Version renders it “I pondered them in my mind.” Good News Translation and some other translations interpret this to mean that he “decided to act” (Bible en français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Some commentators have suggested that another form of the Hebrew verb here could mean “I controlled myself,” so New English Bible reads “I mastered my feelings.” This use of the verb is not found elsewhere in the Old Testament. The usual meaning as in Revised Standard Version is appropriate here, that is, he thought about the situation (so New Living Translation) and then he took action.

I brought charges against the nobles and the officials: The basic meaning of the Hebrew verb rendered brought charges is “contend” or “plead.” It can be used in the legal sense of making a lawsuit or in a general sense. Some commentators think that Nehemiah made a special case against the nobles and the officials (see Neh 2.16). They say that this case could not be brought before an ordinary court because the people that he was accusing included the judges. So instead he called an assembly to deal with the charges. Others, however, say that this interpretation is too formal because Nehemiah was more concerned with the moral issue than with legal observance. Nehemiah does not make an appeal here to Lev 25, where the legislation related to loans, debts, and enslavement for debts is found. These commentators suggest that the general sense of the word, such as “reproached” (Nouvelle version Segond révisée), “contended with” (New American Standard Bible), or “reasoned with” (Revised English Bible), would be more appropriate here. This view is recommended to translators.

You are exacting interest, each from his brother: There is also disagreement among commentators about the nature of Nehemiah’s accusation. The Hebrew verb here can mean exacting interest or “lending against a pledge as collateral.” Charging interest from a fellow Jew was prohibited in the Torah (see Exo 22.25) but giving loans backed by pledges was allowed within certain safeguards (see Deut 24). It has also been suggested that the basic meaning of the Hebrew word is “to lay a claim on, be entitled to” and that Nehemiah is referring to “pressing claims for repayment” as in New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh (Gross).

I held a great assembly: It is also questioned whether Nehemiah held a great assembly. The ordinary Hebrew word for assembly is not used here. However, the word that occurs here is used with the sense of assembly, as in Deut 33.4. It occurs with the usual word for assembly in Sirach 7.7 (Revised Standard Version “the public” and “the people”). There is actually an assembly in verse 13 with the usual Hebrew word at which Nehemiah accuses the officials of acting against their kin. See Ezra 10.7 for a description of an assembly. It has been suggested that instead of assembly the Hebrew word means “rebuke” on the basis of an Arabic cognate (Williamson 1985; Blenkinsopp 1988). This is followed by New English Bible, but most translations have “assembly” or “meeting.”

Against them: The Hebrew does not specify what action was carried out in the great assembly. It only qualifies the meeting with the prepositional phrase against them. However, natural English expression prefers to make the purpose of the meeting explicit. Good News Translation therefore says “to deal with the problem.” Other translations indicate what action Nehemiah took in the meeting with regard to the leaders whom he had called together. Contemporary English Version says he “accused the leaders.” Other possible ways to express this are “to deal with them” (New International Version) and “to speak words on their heads.”

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 .