obedience / obey

The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek that is translated in English typically as “obedience” or “obey” is translated in Tepeuxila Cuicatec as “thing hearing.” “For to hear is to obey.” (Source: Marjorie Davis in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 34ff. )

In Huba it is translated as hya nǝu nyacha: “follow (his) mouth.” (Source: David Frank in this blog post )

In Central Mazahua it is translated as “listen-obey” and in Huehuetla Tepehua as “believe-obey” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), and in Noongar as dwangka-don, lit. “hear do” (source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).

See also disobedience.

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 11:7

I solemnly warned translates a Hebrew idiom (literally “warning I warned”), which New English Bible translates “I took pains to warn” and New American Bible “Urgently … I warned.” New International Version apparently combines solemnly warned with persistently and translates “I warned them again and again.” For both Traduction œcuménique de la Bible has “I pleaded … tirelessly I pleaded with them, repeating….”

Even to this day is translated “until this day” by Good News Translation.

As elsewhere, Obey my voice is more naturally rendered “obey me” (Good News Translation).

The whole verse may be restructured slightly as follows:

• For from the time I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt until now, I have been constantly urging you to obey me.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .