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### Description
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Ellipsis is the omission of words that would normally be needed to make a sentence complete, but they are understood either by convention or because they were already used in a previous phrase.
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Here are two examples of elliptical sentences whose missing words are understood by convention. English speakers normally use the shorter forms.
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* "Fire when ready" means "Fire when < u > you are</ u > ready."
* "Back to the drawing board" means "< u > We need to go</ u > back to the drawing board."
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Here are three examples of elliptical sentences whose missing words were already used in a previous phrase.
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* "I drank water, and Bob milk" means "I drank water, and Bob < u > drank</ u > milk.
* "I drank water, not milk" means "I drank water; < u > I did</ u > not < u > drink</ u > milk.
* "I drank water, and Tom did, too" means "I drank water, and Tom < u > drank water</ u > , too."
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### Reasons this is a translation issue
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Readers who see incomplete sentences or phrases may not know what the missing information is if they do not use ellipsis in their language.
### Examples from the Bible
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In all of these examples, the missing words are understood because they were in the first phrase.
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>For Adam was formed first, < u > then Eve< / u > . (1 Timothy 2:13 ULB)
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The underlined phrase above means, "then Eve was formed."
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>... his works were evil and < u > his brother's righteous< / u > . (1 John 3:12 ULB)
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The underlined phrase above means, "his brother's works were righteous."
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>So the wicked will not stand in the judgment, < u > nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous< / u > . (Psalm 1:5)
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The underlind phrase above means "sinners will not stand in the assembly of the righteous."
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>He makes Lebanon skip like a calf and < u > Sirion like a young ox< / u > . (Psalm 29:6 ULB)
The underlined phrase above means, "he makes Sirion skip like a young ox."
> Then Saul said to his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it. ..." <u>But his armor bearer would not</u>, for he was very afraid. (1 Samuel 31:4 ULB)
The underlined phrase above means, "But his armor bearer would not draw his sword and thrust Saul through with it."
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### Translation Strategies
If ellipsis would be natural and give the right meaning in your language, consider using it. If not, here is another option:
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1. Add the missing words to the incomplete phrase or sentence.
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### Examples of Translation Strategies Applied
1. Add the missing words to the incomplete phrase or sentence.
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* **... the wicked will not stand in the judgment, < u > nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous</ u > .** (Psalm 1:5)
* ... the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor < u > will</ u > sinners < u > stand</ u > in the assembly of the righteous.
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* ... the wicked will not stand in the judgment, and sinners < u > will not stand</ u > in the assembly of the righteous.
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* **He makes Lebanon skip like a calf < u > and Sirion like a young ox</ u > .** (Psalm 29:6)
* He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and < u > he makes</ u > Sirion < u > skip</ u > like a young ox.
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