The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin that is translated as “soul” in English is translated in Chol with a term that refers to the invisible aspects of human beings (source: Robert Bascom), in Yagaria with oune or “shadow, reflection” (source: Renck, p. 81), and in Elhomwe as “heart” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
The Mandarin Chineselínghún (靈魂 / 灵魂), literally “spirit-soul,” is often used for “soul” (along with xīn [心] or “heart”). This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32, see also Clara Ho-yan Chan in this article )
In Chichewa, moyo means both “soul” and “life.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 18:14:
Uma: “That is why those merchants wept over the villagers of Babel, they said: ‘All the things that you desired no longer are. All the sweet-smelling things that you liked, all the things that you used to make your bodies beautiful, they are all lost, they are no longer found.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “The traders said to the city, ‘All the wealth that you desired/craved is no more, all your riches and the things you boasted about have disappeared and you will not find them again.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The wealth seekers will say to the woman which is the city of Babylon, they will say, ‘All the things that you would like to own have been thoroughly destroyed. Your wealth has also been destroyed and that which brought you joy, and it will never again be seen,’ they said.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “All the businessmen, they will-say to her, ‘Absolutely no one will sell you (sing.) the expensive fruits that you (sing.) craved. You (sing.) no-longer-have the foods that are difficult to get and the expensive decorations of the rich, and you (sing.) will not be-able-to-get (them) again.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Those merchants will say, ‘What a real pity, because all the good things which were valued by the people from there are no more. They will really never again find the wealth and splendor of that city.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “The merchants will say to the city: ‘those things which overflowingly were wanted by your hearts to own, now are gone. Forever you have lost your money and all the things which seemed good to you,’ they will say.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.
In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Revised Standard Version places this verse within quotation marks, indicating that this is quoted speech; but Revised Standard Version does not identify the speaker. It is better, with Good News Translation and others, to say that the businessmen of verse 11 are the speakers.
The fruit for which thy soul longed has gone from thee: the Greek word translated fruit appears only here in the New Testament and means “autumn fruit,” that is, ripe fruit (a related word, “late autumn,” is used in Jude 12). Here the word means “all the good things,” “all the pleasures.” Unless fruit in a given language will be understood to indicate “good things,” the translator should abandon the figure and state clearly what is meant by the figure. For which thy soul longed is literally “the desire of thy soul.” The Greek noun meaning “desire” appears only here in this book. “the fruit, the desire of your soul” means “everything you longed for (or, craved).”
All thy dainties and thy splendor: in Greek there is a wordplay: ta lipara and ta lampra, which New English Bible represents quite well: “all the glitter and the glamour.” An American Translation and New American Bible, Revised have “luxury and splendor.” The first Greek word means “the fatty things,” that is, delicacies, luxuries, the good things of life; the second one means “the shining things” (see its use in the phrase “bright linen” in 15.6; 19.8). This probably refers to objects that glitter, such as gold, silver, and precious stones. One possible rendering is “all the things that make you look beautiful.”
Are lost to thee, never to be found again: the second part of this verse may be restructured as follows: “you have lost all your luxuries and riches, and you will never get them back again” or “you have lost all the things that make your life comfortable and all your expensive possessions, and you will never….” The verbal phrase are lost translates the active “have left (you)”; and (never) to be found translates the impersonal third plural active “they will (not) find,” meaning “(not) be found.” In at least one language this is expressed as follows: “you will not meet the day when you will find these things again.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
And they will say: “The fruit of your soul’s desire has departed from you; all your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be seen again.”: The Berean Standard Bible adds the words “And they will say” and quote marks to the beginning of 18:14a. However, the Greek does not introduce a new speaker here. There are several ways to interpret who said these words:
(1) The voice from heaven (18:4) continues speaking. The New American Standard Bible begins this verse without any added words and does not indicate a change of speaker with a change of quote mark. For example:
The fruit…
(2) John continues speaking. The Contemporary English Version begins this verse without any added words and does not indicate a change of speaker with a change of quote mark. But the Contemporary English Version indicates that the voice from heaven stopped speaking at 18:8. For example:
The fruit…
(3) The merchants spoke the words of 18:14. The Good News Translation adds the words “The merchants say to her,” and therefore says:
The merchants say to her, “All the good things…
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because:
(a) the Greek does not indicate or imply a change of speaker,
(b) it makes little sense to have the merchants speak here (interpretation 3), and then introduce them as speaking in the next verse,
(c) the things said here are more appropriate coming from someone agreeing with God’s judgment than from the merchants mourning the loss of their best customer,
(d) it seems unlikely that John (interpretation 2) would interrupt the heavenly voice with his own prophecy here,
(e) interpretation (1) at the note on 18:9–20 recommends it.
If people in your area will not be clear as to who spoke this verse, you may want to:
• Explain in a footnote. For example:
The voice from heaven continued speaking here.
• Explain the meaning in your translation. For example:
⌊The voice from heaven continued and said,⌋ “The fruit…
If you followed interpretation (2) at the note on 18:9–20, you can:
• Allow the voice to speak this verse. For example:
⌊The voice from heaven said,⌋ “The fruit…
• Allow John to speak this verse by not introducing who spoke or adding quote marks. The Contemporary English Version and NET Bible have John speaking. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:
Babylon, the things…
Allowing the heavenly voice to speak seems more likely, as John mostly observes throughout the vision and does not speak unless spoken to. For this reason, the Notes will follow the New American Standard Bible for 18:14a–b.
18:14a
The fruit of your soul’s desire has departed from you: The word fruit refers figuratively to good things that pleased or benefited the woman, the city called Babylon. She desired to have them. Other ways to translate this clause are:
The fruit you craved is gone (God’s Word) -or-
All the good things you longed to own have disappeared (Good News Translation) -or-
The fancy things you loved so much are gone (New Living Translation (2004))
18:14b
luxury: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as luxury literally means “fatty.” Here it refers figuratively to things that are luxurious and expensive. Other ways to translate this word are:
dainties (Revised Standard Version) -or-
all things that were luxurious (New American Standard Bible) -or-
delicacies (English Standard Version)
splendor: The Greek word here refers to something bright or shiny. Here it probably refers to shiny and expensive items like jewels, jewelry, and precious metals. Other ways to translate this word are:
sparkling trinkets/things -or-
all things that were…splendid (New American Standard Bible) -or-
all the…glamour (Revised English Bible)
have vanished: These Greek words can be translated as “have perished from you” or “are lost to you.” It indicates that Babylon’s riches and splendor were destroyed. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
are destroyed -or-
are lost to you (New Revised Standard Version)
never to be seen again: There is a textual issue with the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as never to be seen again :
(1) Some Greek manuscripts have the clause they will never find. It indicates that nobody will find the lost riches and splendor. For example:
never to be found again (Revised Standard Version)
(2) Other Greek manuscripts have the clause you may never find. It indicates that Babylon will not find the lost riches and splendor. For example:
you will never find them again (Good News Translation)
It is recommended that you follow option (1), because the UBS Handbook Greek NT supports it.
The Greek indicates generally that no one will find Babylon’s lost riches and splendor. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
it will never again be seen -or-
No one will ever find them again (God’s Word)
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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