Aaron

The name that is transliterated as “Aaron” in English is translated in Catalan Sign Language and Spanish Sign Language as “stones on chest plate” (according to Exodus 28:15-30) (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Aaron” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In Colombian Sign Language, Honduras Sign Language, and American Sign Language, the chest plate is outlined (in ASL it is outlined using the letter “A”):


“Aaron” in ASL (source )

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

See also Moses, more information on Aaron , and this lectionary in The Christian Century .

complete verse (Numbers 4:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 4:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “Do not let the people from that house of Kohath die by coming close to the things that are honored. In order to prevent these things from happening, Aaron and his sons must put/assign it to each person what he is to carry.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “So that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy items Aaron and his sons are to show them the work they must do and the items they are to carry when they come to the place where the most holy items are.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “This is what you (plur.) should do so they will- not -die if they approach/come-near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons/children will-accompany them when they enter the Tent and they will-talk to them what they should do and what they should carry/bring.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘When the descendants of Kohath approach the sacred items in the Sacred Tent to take them to another location, Aaron and his sons must always go in with them and show each of them what work to do and what things to carry. But the descendants of Kohath must not enter the Sacred Tent at any other time and look at the things that are in it. If they do that, I will get rid of all the descendants of Kohath.’” (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 Numbers 4:18 - 4:19

Let not the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites: The Kohathites were actually not a tribe but a large subdivision of the tribe of Levi. Families renders the Hebrew word mishpachah, which is better translated “clans” (Bible en français courant; see 1.2). Good News Translation renders the tribe of the families of the Kohathites as “the clan of Kohath,” which we do not recommend since the Kohathites had four clans (see 3.27). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh provides a better model for this phrase by saying “the group of Kohathite clans.” Be destroyed is literally “be cut off” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), which means “be killed” (Good News Translation) in this context. Good News Translation omits the phrase from among the Levites, but translators should keep it if possible. De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling provides a good model for verse 18 by saying “Make sure that the Kohathite branch of the Levites is not exterminated.” Another possible model is “Let not the Levite clans of Kohath be destroyed/killed.”

But deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: This sentence introduces how the Kohathites could survive when they handled the Tabernacle’s most sacred objects. But deal thus with them may be rendered “But let them follow this procedure.” For the most holy things, see 4.4. Good News Translation renders verses 18-19a as “Do not let the clan of Kohath 19 be killed by coming near these most sacred objects,” which may be misleading. The point is not that the Kohathite clans were not allowed to come near the most holy objects. They had to come near these objects, but only in the specified manner. Verses 18-20 regulate how they could survive while they carried out their awesome tasks.

Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden means Aaron and his sons had to enter the Tabernacle with their fellow Kohathites and assign each one a sacred object to carry. Burden renders the Hebrew word massaʾ (see verse 15). The difference between task and burden is conveyed by Good News Translation, which renders this clause as “Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each man his task and tell him what to carry.”

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 .