gentiles

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The Greek that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).

Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).

See also nations.

joy

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The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that is translated with “joy” or “gladness” in English is translated with various associations of “sweetness” or taste: Bambara has “the spirit is made sweet,” Kpelle translates as “sweet heart,” and Tzeltal as “the good taste of one’s heart,” Uduk uses the phrase “good to the stomach,” Baoulé “a song in the stomach,” Mískito “the liver is wide open” (“happily letting the pleasures flooding in upon it”) (source: Nida 1952), Mairasi says “good liver” (source: Enggavoter 2004), Noongar has koort-kwabba-djil or “heart very good” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), and Chicahuaxtla Triqui “refreshed heart” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.).

See also Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling,” happiness / joy, and exceeding joy.

Jerusalem

The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:


“Jerusalem” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)


“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

Translation commentary on 1 Maccabees 3:45

At this point the author inserts a few lines of poetry as a kind of commentary on the situation. Imagine seeing a film of this story. We have seen the men come together in their camp and heard their sturdy resolve to fight on. Now the camera zooms slowly out and we see the whole camp and the surrounding landscape. A voice off-camera now reads these lines, giving the audience an insight into the situation from outside the scene of action.

Jerusalem was uninhabited like a wilderness may be expressed as “Jerusalem was like an empty desert.” For wilderness see 1Macc 2.29.

Not one of her children went in or out may be rendered “Jews did not go to the city and those who were there did not leave” or “No Jews entered the city or left it.”

The sanctuary was trampled down: This is metaphorical. The Temple was still standing. It had not been destroyed, but it had been profaned, so that as far as observant Jews were concerned, it was as good as destroyed. So we may say “Gentiles [or, Foreigners] walked all over the [grounds of the] Temple.”

And the sons of aliens held the citadel; it was a lodging place for the Gentiles: Sons of aliens may be expressed as “foreigners” or “Gentiles.” The verb held is supplied by Revised Standard Version; it may be rendered “were in.” For the citadel, see the comments on 1Macc 1.33. Lodging place refers to a type of inn in the ancient world that had an enclosed area or courtyard in which travelers and their animals could stay for the night. It is not clear, however, whether the lodging place is the citadel, the Temple itself, or even Jerusalem. Good News Bible has combined these two lines, which works well if the citadel is the lodging place. We prefer to think that the lodging place is the Temple, so we offer the following model for lines 3-5:

• Gentiles walked all over the grounds of the Temple;
they used it as a place to live,
and guarded it from the fort they built there [or, overlooking it].

Joy was taken from Jacob: Jacob refers to Israel, the Jewish people (see the comments on verse 7). This line may be rendered “There was no joy in Israel,” “Israel was left with nothing but sorrow,” or even “All the people of Israel were sad.”

The flute and the harp ceased to play: The flute is a long, thin, hollow musical instrument. The sound is produced by blowing into or over a hole at one end; the tune is made by fingering holes along its length. It can be made from hollowed wood, a reed, or a bone. Many cultures have instruments similar to the flute, and translators should not have great difficulty finding a suitable term. The harp is a stringed instrument; the musician plucks the strings by hand. Some cultures may have several stringed instruments of various sizes; a small one with several strings should be used. Good News Bible renders this line as “and the sound of music was heard no more,” which is permissible, if not colorful. We could say “flutes and harps were silent” or “and no one made music.”

This ends the short poem. An alternative model for this verse using a poetic structure is:

• Jerusalem was like an empty desert.
No Jews entered it [the city] or left it.
Gentiles walked all over the grounds of the Temple;
they used it as a place to stay,
and guarded it from the fort they built there [or, overlooking it].
All the people of Israel were sad,
and no one made music.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.