vision

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin and Greek that is translated as “vision” in English is translated in a variety in the following languages:

  • Chol: “as if in a dream” (source: Robert Bascom)
  • Obolo: ilaak ọkpọchieen̄ or “dreaming awake” (source: Enene Enene)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “a showing like dreams”
  • Desano: “see in a dream what God will send”
  • Rincón Zapotec: “see what God shows”
  • Mayo: “see things from God as in a dream”
  • Lalana Chinantec: “dream how it is going to be”
  • Chuj: “like dreaming they see”
  • San Mateo del Mar Huave: “understand what they see as if in a dream”
  • Ayutla Mixtec: “see that which will happen” (source for this and seven above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Tagbanwa: “being caused to dream by God” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Chichewa: azidzaona zinthu m’masomphenya: “they will see things as if face-to-face” (interconfessional translation, publ. 1999) (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 69)
  • Mandarin Chinese yì xiàng (异象 / 異象), lit. “different (or: strange) appearance.” (Source: Zetzsche)

The Greek in the books of Revelation and Acts is translated as obq-rmwible: “look-dream” in Natügu. Brenda Boerger (in Beerle-Moor / Voinov, p. 162ff.) tells the story of that translation: “In the book of Revelation, the author, John, talks about having visions. Mr. Simon [the native language translator] and I discussed what this meant and he invented the compound verb obq-rmwible ‘look-dream’ to express it. Interestingly, during village testing no one ever had to ask what this neologism meant.”

See also see a vision.

Translation commentary on Daniel 7:20

This verse in Revised Standard Version is a continuation of the same sentence begun in the previous verse, but it will probably be wise to begin a new sentence in the translation (as in Good News Translation), repeating the words “I wanted to know about.” And in some cases it will be more natural to add a word like “also”: “I also wanted to know.” Much of this verse is a repetition of material found in previous verses.

Ten horns: see verse 7.

The other horn … great things: see verse 8.

Seemed greater: literally “its visibility was greater.” This is new information not provided in verse 8. Although this horn was small, it appeared to be more imposing than the others. New Jerusalem Bible has “looked more impressive,” while New Jerusalem Bible has “was more conspicuous.”

Than its fellows: the Aramaic word translated fellows does not imply any particular relationship between the small horn and the ten others, as the English word “fellows” may imply. This is a simple comparison that can easily be rendered by “others,” as in New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, and New English Bible/Revised English Bible, as well as Good News Translation.

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René & Ellington, John. A Handbook on Daniel. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .