complete verse (Psalm 106:33)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 106:33:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “for they rebelled against the spirit of God,
    and on the lips of Moses came out worthless words.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “For they rebelled against the Spirit of God
    and Moses spoke without thinking.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “Because they caused- the feelings of Moises -to-be-hurt, he spoke words that he did- not -think-about carefully/[lit. well].” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “They made Mose angry,
    and he spoke foolishly.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Kwa maana wakamwasi,
    akasema maneno yasiofaa.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “They caused Moses to become very angry,
    and he said things that were foolish.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Spirit (of God) (Japanese honorifics)

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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, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-tama (御霊) or “Spirit (of God)” in the referenced verses.

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

See also Holy Spirit

Translation commentary on Psalm 106:32 - 106:33

For the incident reported in these verses, see Numbers 20.1-13; see further references in Psalms 81.7; 95.8. At the beginning of verse 32 it is important to specify that it was the LORD whom the people made angry; otherwise, as Revised Standard Version shows, him could be taken to refer back to Phinehas.

The historical narrative in Numbers is not too clear as to the precise nature of Moses’ sin; here the text says it was his rash words which brought him trouble, that is, God kept him from entering Canaan. On their account may be stated more clearly “because of what they did.”

Verse 33a has been taken in different ways. The Masoretic text is “they rebelled against his spirit,” the verb marah here being the same as the one in verse 7; his spirit is probably Yahweh’s (so New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Dahood, Kirkpatrick, Briggs), although it could be Moses’ (who is the subject of the following line).

But the Masoretic text consonants can be assigned other vowels to become a causative form of the verb marar “be bitter” (so two Hebrew manuscripts, and the Septuagint, Syriac, and Jerome); in this case they made his spirit bitter refers to Moses (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New English Bible, New American Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). Either interpretation is possible; the majority prefer the second one. In either case the subject of verse 33b is Moses, not God. In many languages made his spirit bitter or Good News Translation‘s “made him so bitter” must be recast to say “they made him so angry….”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .