complete verse (Numbers 15:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 15:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “‘Show/explain to the Israelites: When you have entered that land which I am going to bring you to,” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Say to the Israelites, "Having arrived in the land to which I am taking [you],” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “to say this to the Israelinhon: ‘When you (plur.) now arrive in the land which I will-give to you (plur.),” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘Tell these instructions to the Israeli people: Yahweh says this: ‘When you arrive in the land to which I am taking you,” (Source: Translation for Translators)

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”.

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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).

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

Translation commentary on Numbers 15:17 - 15:18

After the animal sacrifices and the gifts that accompany them (verses 1-16), the text now turns to the special offering of bread as a token offering of the first fruits of the harvest, acknowledging that all products of nature are gifts from God (verses 17-21).

Verses 17-18a are very similar to verses 1-2a, thus marking a new subsection in Hebrew (even though this may not be so evident in terms of the text’s content). NET Bible has the following heading for verses 17-21: “Rules for First Fruits.”

The LORD said to Moses: See 1.1. This clause begins with the Hebrew waw conjunction as in verse 1 (see the comments there).

Say to the people of Israel: See the comments on verse 2. Here this quote frame introduces what the LORD wants Moses to tell the people on his behalf in verses 18b-31.

When you come into the land to which I bring you: Compare verse 2. The Hebrew pronouns for you are plural, referring to the Israelites.

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 .