Καλῶς γένοιτο Ρωμαίοις καὶ τῷ ἔθνει Ιουδαίων ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ξηρᾶς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, καὶ ρομφαία καὶ ἐχθρὸς μακρυνθείη ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν.
23“May all go well with the Romans and with the nation of the Jews at sea and on land forever, and may sword and enemy be far from them.
the Hebrew and Greek that is translated with “sword” in English is translated in Tepeuxila Cuicatec as “machete that is sharp on two sides,” in Lalana Chinantec as “machete” and in San Mateo del Mar Huave as “knife.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
See also two-edged sword.
May all go well with the Romans and with the nation of the Jews at sea and on land for ever: This introduction to the treaty states the wish that there should never be an occasion to turn to the actual terms of the treaty. Good News Bible translates it well, saying “May things go well forever for the Romans and for the Jewish nation on land and sea!” However, Goldstein’s translation may be a bit better: “Forever may there be peace between the Romans and the nation of the Jews on sea and land!”
And may sword and enemy be far from them: The word sword refers to “war” (Good News Bible). Another model for this clause is “May they never have enemies or have to go to war!”
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.
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