Looking for expert Hebrew translation services? Since 2003, Green Crescent has been delivering professional translation services between English and Hebrew to clients globally. We specialize in various industries, including legal, business, academic, and religious sectors. Our team ensures accurate, high-quality translations tailored to your specific needs. Get a fast, free Hebrew translation quote today!
Our Comprehensive Hebrew Translation Services
Green Crescent’s skilled team of Hebrew translators includes subject matter experts for industry-specific needs. We provide translations based on Modern Standard Hebrew (Ivrit), the official language of Israel and the form used for most formal and written communication, while also considering any regional and cultural nuances.
We specialize in both English to Hebrew and Hebrew to English translations, offering the following services:
Simple Translation
Our simple translations in the English/Hebrew language pair are designed for basic communication needs. These translations are completed by a single Hebrew translator without the involvement of an editor or proofreader, and therefore should not be considered final or polished work for most professional or formal use cases. While they are typically of high quality, simple translations are essentially "rough drafts" that do not go through additional editing, proofreading, or other quality control processes. These translations are ideal for personal letters, informal communications, initial drafts that will later be revised, or for situations where you need to quickly understand the general meaning or "gist" of a Hebrew text.
Standard Translation (TEP)
Our Standard Hebrew Translation service is designed to provide high-quality translations for everyday use, including business correspondence, websites, reports, presentations, and similar content. This service includes translation, editing, and proofreading (TEP) to ensure the highest level of accuracy and clarity in your Hebrew communications.
Organization Critical Translation (TEP+)
Our Organization Critical Hebrew Translation service is designed for situations where perfection is essential. This option is recommended for texts intended for large-scale printing, technical documents, legal contracts and patents, medical documents, or any case where an error could be critical or costly. Each translated line is reviewed by a minimum of three linguists, with multiple rounds of proofreading. Subject matter experts (SMEs) may be involved as needed throughout the Hebrew translation, editing, and proofreading (TEP) process.
Bilingual Editing
Bilingual Editing for Hebrew Translation is the process of editing a translated text by comparing both the source and target texts in the English/Hebrew language pair. The editor, fluent in the source language and a native speaker of Hebrew, ensures that the translation is accurate, consistent, and faithful to the source text while also maintaining clarity and fluency in Hebrew. This step occurs after the initial translation in our TEP (Translation, Editing, Proofreading) Organization Critical and Standard Translation services. We also offer this service as a standalone option for translations completed by individuals or organizations not affiliated with Green Crescent.
Proofreading
With each additional round of editing and proofreading, the error rate of a document approaches the perfection horizon. Our proofreading service for English to Hebrew and Hebrew to English translations involves reviewing a single-language text to identify and correct surface-level errors, such as spelling mistakes, grammar issues, punctuation errors, and formatting inconsistencies. This step is the final phase in our TEP (Translation, Editing, Proofreading) Organization Critical and Standard translation services. We also offer proofreading as a standalone service for translations completed by individuals or organizations not affiliated with Green Crescent.
Legal Translation
Green Crescent's elite team of linguists, each with subject matter expertise in specialized legal fields, is ready to assist you with the translation of a wide range of judicial, administrative, and private legal documents between Hebrew and English. Nearly all countries recognize that submitting documents for translation does not compromise attorney-client privilege. Furthermore, we can implement enhanced security measures to ensure strict confidentiality upon request.
Technical Translation
Technical translations involve any text that features specialized vocabulary or language registers, necessitating additional research and terminology verification. Common technical subject matter includes legal, medical, scientific, engineering, and IT topics, but any text that utilizes industry-specific terminology or neologisms may be considered technical in nature. These translations cannot be executed by generalists alone; they require the expertise of linguists with in-depth knowledge of the relevant technical field in both Hebrew and English.
Medical Translation
Green Crescent has established protocols to ensure compliance with HIPAA and HITECH regulations, which you can learn more about here. Our Hebrew medical translations are treated as "organization critical," unless otherwise specified, and we are committed to implementing the necessary digital security measures and legal safeguards for every project subject to HIPAA and HITECH requirements. Our team of skilled linguists, specialized in medical terminology, ensures that your translations are both accurate and secure.
Localization
Our translation services are tailored for specific target markets that require non-standard varieties or dialects of the Hebrew language. Green Crescent is equipped to accommodate requests for localized Hebrew translation, ensuring that your content resonates with the intended audience. Our experienced linguists are well-versed in the nuances of Hebrew, allowing us to provide translations that are not only accurate but also culturally relevant and engaging. By focusing on the unique linguistic characteristics of Hebrew, we help you effectively connect with your audience and enhance the impact of your message.
Website, App, and Software Localization for Hebrew
At Green Crescent, we leverage our extensive experience in software development to provide specialized Hebrew localization services. We excel in adapting your website, app, or software’s content, design, and functionality for Hebrew-speaking audiences. Whether you need a fully multilingual solution or specific adaptations for Hebrew, our services encompass translating text, adjusting images, and modifying layouts. We also adapt and program code for both mobile and desktop applications, ensuring that your app functions seamlessly across Hebrew-speaking regions while adhering to platform-specific guidelines. Let us help you create an engaging and culturally relevant experience for your Hebrew-speaking users.
Back-translation
Back-translation is often a crucial component of the quality control process, particularly when translating highly technical documents or for critical translations in the Hebrew/English language pair where an error could have significant consequences. This process involves an independent linguist translating a previously translated text back into its original source language—either Hebrew or English—without reference to the original document. The resulting text is then compared to the original translation to verify its intelligibility, accuracy, and suitability for its intended use. Back-translation is also relevant in situations such as the translation of legal documents, medical texts, and marketing materials, where precise wording is essential. It can be particularly beneficial when adapting content for different cultural contexts, ensuring that the intended message is preserved and resonates appropriately with the target audience in both Hebrew and English.
Peer Review
Green Crescent offers professional focus group services that include a comprehensive "read-through" conducted by one or more linguists who were not involved in the original translation process. This approach allows for an unbiased assessment of the translation's quality, style, and overall fitness for its intended purpose. The focus group can evaluate various aspects of the text, including linguistic accuracy, cultural relevance, and the effectiveness of the messaging in reaching the target audience. Feedback is provided on how well the translation conveys the original intent and nuances of the source material, ensuring that it resonates with readers in both Hebrew and English contexts.
SME Review
Subject Matter Expert (SME) review is a specialized form of peer review conducted by non-linguist professionals with deep expertise in specific fields. This process is particularly important for Hebrew to English or English to Hebrew translations of highly technical texts, ensuring that the content is both linguistically accurate and technically precise. In fields such as legal, medical, scientific, and engineering, SMEs help verify the correct use of industry-specific terminology, adherence to regulatory or technical standards, and the contextual relevance of the translated material. By incorporating SME review into the translation process, we ensure that your final product is not only fluent and culturally appropriate but also technically sound and ready for professional use in both Hebrew- and English-speaking markets.
Transcreation
Our Hebrew Transcreation Service goes beyond simple translation by creatively adapting your content to resonate with Hebrew-speaking audiences. At Green Crescent, we ensure that your brand’s messages, campaigns, and communications maintain their original intent, emotional impact, and tone, while aligning with the cultural and linguistic nuances of the target market. Whether it’s marketing, branding, or advertising, we reimagine your content to feel authentic and compelling in Hebrew, helping your brand connect meaningfully and effectively with Hebrew-speaking audiences.
MTPE-Full (Machine Translation Post-Editing - Full)
MTPE-Full (Machine Translation Post-Editing - Full) refers to the comprehensive post-editing of a machine-translated text between Hebrew and English, ensuring the final product meets the highest standards of linguistic quality. In this process, once the machine generates the translation, a skilled human editor thoroughly reviews the entire content, ensuring that it is not only accurate in meaning but also flows naturally and fluently in the target language. This detailed editing process includes correcting grammar, syntax, and terminology, adapting the text for the intended audience, and ensuring it adheres to any stylistic preferences or regulatory requirements. MTPE-Full is suitable for business-critical texts where precision and quality are paramount.
MTPE-Light (Machine Translation Post-Editing - Light)
MTPE-Light (Machine Translation Post-Editing - Light) is a more streamlined version of post-editing, designed for situations where speed and cost-efficiency are prioritized over linguistic perfection. In this process, the human editor focuses primarily on fixing major errors and ensuring that the overall meaning of the machine-translated text is clear and understandable in the target language (Hebrew or English). While MTPE-Light may not deliver a translation that is fully polished or ready for publication, it provides an efficient and cost-effective solution for internal documents, reports, and communications where basic comprehension is sufficient.
Additional Language Services and Options for Hebrew
Certified Translation
Green Crescent provides certified translations of a wide range of legal documents, including birth, marriage, and death certificates, diplomas, school transcripts, passports, and much more, in both Hebrew and English. Our certified translations are recognized for their accuracy and compliance with legal standards, making them suitable for official use. You can receive hard copies of our standard certificate of translation mailed directly to your home or business.
Rush Service
If you require expedited service, Green Crescent can usually accommodate such requests. However, please note that rushing translations often comes with trade-offs, which may affect both price and consistency. Please consult with a project manager for more details.
Discounts
Volume discounts are available for large projects, long-term clients, and for non-profits, charities, NGOs, and government organizations.
Minimum Fee
There is a minimum project fee of $75.00 USD per language, which can be reduced or waived for regular clients.
Additional Language Services
In addition to translation, Green Crescent offers a range of other Hebrew language services, including interpretation, transcription, website design and development, and desktop publishing.
About the Hebrew Language
Hebrew, known locally as "עברית" (Ivrit), is the official language of Israel and is spoken by around 9 million people worldwide. It is a member of the Northwest Semitic language group and has a long and rich history stretching back thousands of years. After centuries of being used primarily as a liturgical language, Hebrew underwent a revival in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, becoming a modern, everyday spoken language. This revival is one of the most remarkable linguistic phenomena in history.
The Cultural Context, History, and Linguistic Features of Hebrew
Hebrew holds a central place in Jewish culture and religion, as the language of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and many other religious texts. Its ancient form, Biblical Hebrew, was used from around the 10th century BCE until the 2nd century CE. After this period, Hebrew became less commonly spoken, although it continued to be used for religious, literary, and scholarly purposes.
In the 19th century, Hebrew was revived as a spoken language by Jewish communities in Palestine, particularly under the influence of figures like Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. Modern Hebrew, while based on the ancient form, has been adapted to meet the needs of contemporary life, with new words and expressions added from various languages, including Yiddish, Arabic, and English.
Linguistically, Hebrew is a root-based language, where most words are derived from a set of three consonants, known as the "triliteral root." This system allows for the creation of a wide variety of words from a single root, making Hebrew both concise and flexible. Modern Hebrew also features a mixture of native Semitic grammatical structures and elements borrowed from Indo-European languages.
The Writing System: Hebrew Script
Hebrew is written from right to left using the Hebrew script, which consists of 22 consonants. Modern Hebrew does not use vowels in most writing; instead, readers rely on context and grammar to understand vowel sounds. In certain texts, such as religious or children's literature, a system of diacritical marks, called *nikkud*, is used to indicate vowels.
Vowels and Consonants: Hebrew has a relatively simple vowel system, but since vowels are often not written in Modern Hebrew, fluency in the language requires a strong understanding of the grammatical and lexical context. The consonant system includes several guttural sounds that are unique to Semitic languages.
Hebrew Alphabet
The Hebrew alphabet consists of 22 letters, all of which are consonants:
- א (Aleph), ב (Bet), ג (Gimel), ד (Dalet), ה (Hey), ו (Vav), ז (Zayin), ח (Chet), ט (Tet), י (Yod), כ/ך (Kaf), ל (Lamed), מ/ם (Mem), נ/ן (Nun), ס (Samekh), ע (Ayin), פ/ף (Pe), צ/ץ (Tsade), ק (Qof), ר (Resh), ש (Shin), ת (Tav)
Five of these letters—Kaf, Mem, Nun, Pe, and Tsade—have special final forms that are used when they appear at the end of a word.
Key Linguistic Differences Between Hebrew and English for Translation
Several important linguistic factors must be considered when translating between Hebrew and English:
Root-Based Morphology: Hebrew words are built from three-consonant roots, which serve as the basis for verbs, nouns, adjectives, and other parts of speech. This system is fundamentally different from English, which relies on a more direct relationship between words and their meanings. Translating Hebrew into English requires a deep understanding of the root system and its implications for meaning.
Gendered Nouns and Verbs: Hebrew has grammatical gender, meaning that all nouns are either masculine or feminine. Verbs, adjectives, and pronouns must agree in gender with the nouns they describe, a feature that does not exist in English. This requires careful attention during translation to ensure that gender agreement is accurately conveyed.
Word Order and Flexibility: While both Hebrew and English generally follow a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) word order, Hebrew allows for greater flexibility, particularly in poetic or biblical contexts. This flexibility can make translation challenging, as the meaning of a sentence may depend on nuanced word order or emphasis.
Definite Articles and Pronouns: Hebrew uses the definite article "ה" (ha) before nouns to indicate definiteness, which is similar to "the" in English but behaves differently in compound phrases. Hebrew also lacks indefinite articles ("a" or "an" in English), which must be inferred from context.
Verb Tenses and Aspects: Hebrew verbs conjugate for tense (past, present, and future) but also convey aspects such as completeness or ongoing action in different ways than English. Translators must account for these subtle differences to accurately reflect the intended meaning.
By recognizing and addressing these linguistic and cultural factors, Green Crescent ensures that translations between Hebrew and English are accurate, contextually appropriate, and sensitive to the rich historical and cultural legacy of the Hebrew language.
An Insight into Hebrew Expression
This passage is from Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), a well-known book in the Hebrew Bible, reflecting on the cyclical nature of life and human experiences.
- Hebrew: "הבל הבלים אמר קהלת, הבל הבלים הכל הבל."
- English Translation: "Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity."