complete verse (Numbers 12:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 12:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “Do not let Miriam be like a child that is born with one part rotten.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Please do not let her become like a child who has [already] died [and] half of whose flesh has [already] decayed when it comes out of its mother’s womb!"” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Do- not -let Meriam become like a child who was-born dead, that the half of his/her body was- already -consumed-completely.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Do not allow Miriam to be like a baby that is already dead when it is born, whose flesh is already half decayed!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Japanese benefactives (-naide)

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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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, -naide (ないで) or “do not (for their sake)” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”

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

Translation commentary on Numbers 12:12

Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb: Aaron compares Miriam’s skin disease with the disfigured appearance of a stillborn child (so Budd, page 137). Moses of course could not heal Miriam, but Aaron appeals to his brother to plead on her behalf to the LORD. New International Readers Version provides the following helpful model for this verse:

• Don’t let Miriam be like a baby that was born dead. Don’t let her look like a dead baby whose body is half eaten away.”

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .