Help with translation for a new tattoo =)

[Kendall Jordan]

Hi, I was just wondering what the best translation for 'love God, be free' would be. The best translation I found was:

Amor Dios, se libre

A friend of mine who speaks Spanish said either of these two would be better:

Ama Dios, se libre

OR

Ama a Dios, se libre

So now I'm not really sure which is the best for what I'm trying to say. Basically, the tattoo is saying love God to find true freedom - love God, be free. Does that make sense? Any help would be much appreciated. Cheers. =)

[Cotty]

Ama a Dios, sé libre I think sounds better.

There are longer ways to convey what you are trying to say, such as Amar a Dios te hace libre or Amar a Dios es ser libre, but for a tattoo I guess the short version is OK.

[clarab]

Hi Kendall,
Please note the preposition "a" that follows the verb "amar" is compulsory in this phrase. Any transitive verb whith a person (or personalized) object are always followed by "a".

e.g.: Yo amo cantar. Ellos aman la música.

e.g.: Yo amo a mi mamá. Romeo ama a Julieta.

You did well in checking the phrase beforehand... Misspellings in tattos can be horrid :S haha

[Kendall Jordan]

Thanks so much for the help!

I was also wondering about the best translation for

God is freedom

and

God is love

[ricardor]

Dios es Libertad
Dios es Amor

Cheers

[Kendall Jordan]

^Thanks, I did check it on Google Translate, which said the same, but wanted to make sure it was the best translation.

The last thing I wanted to check was a scripture (Hebrews 13:5). I kind of wanted a Spanish translation for the English Standard Version (there's an oxymoron ), which is:

I will never leave you nor forsake you.

There are Spanish translations for the New International Version and the King James Version, but I really prefer the wording of the English Standard version for this particular scripture.

The NIV in English says:

Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.

In Spanish, it is translated (on biblegateway.com) as:

Nunca te dejaré;
jamás te abandonaré.

Yet, when I put it into Google Translate to check it (and I do realise that Google Translate is often wrong, as it only does basic translation) it translates to:

Never leave you;
Never leave thee.

in English, which isn't right... So I'm kind of wondering if that's correct, or if Google Translate has messed up on this one. Again, any help much appreciated! Am VERY keen to see the ESV translation for it.

[Cotty]

>> I kind I kind of wanted a Spanish translation for the English Standard Version...I will never leave you nor forsake you. <<

1) Ni te dejaré, ni te abandonaré.
2) No te dejaré, ni te abandonaré.
3) Nunca te dejaré, ni te abandonaré.

This one is a tuffy because there are a few versions depending on the style of the translator, what sounds better (again subjective), etc. However, keep in mind that this --being a bible quote and therefore written in the style used at the time-- is somewhat poetic and the translation should keep said style. Hence, Nunca te dejaré; jamás te abandonaré complies with that.

Then again, we are talking tattoos here, so I take it space is an issue too. I think my #1 & #2 save space.

[Kendall Jordan]

Thanks so much for your translations, they're really good! After I posted this, I actually realised that the ESV is the same as the NKJV for this verse, and biblegateway.com has it translated like this:

I will never leave you nor forsake you:
No te desampararé ni te dejaré.

How does this translation compare to the first two you gave me? I'm assuming this is how it is actually written in the Spanish NKJV, since biblegateway has put up the Spanish translations directly from the Spanish bibles. Is it a fluid, poetic translation, or would yours be more so? And don't hold back here. I only ask because I actually kinda like this translation, but obviously I want to use the best one.

[Cotty]

It is basically the same, except that they are using the verb desamparar instead of abandonar. Desamparar suggests more lack of protection rather than actually leaving someone. Leaving focuses more on the person not being there and therefore unable to protect.

They are all synonyms, so as I said before, it's up to the translator.

Leave: desert, abandon / dejar, abandonar, desamparar
Forsake: leave, renounce / abandonar, renunciar a

[Kendall Jordan]

Awesome, thanks so much for your help!