wine

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that are translated as “wine” in English is translated into Pass Valley Yali as “grape juice pressed long ago (= fermented)” or “strong water” (source: Daud Soesilo). In Guhu-Samane it is also translated as “strong water” (source: Ernest L. Richert in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. ), in Noongar as “liquor” (verbatim: “strong water”) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), in Hausa as ruwan inabi or “water of grapes” (with no indication whether it’s alcoholic or not — source: Mark A. Gaddis), or in Papantla Totonac and Coyutla Totonac as “a drink like Pulque” (for “Pulque,” see here ) (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ).

In Swahili, Bible translations try to avoid local words for alcoholic drinks, because “drinking of any alcohol at all was one of the sins most denounced by early missionaries. Hence translators are uncomfortable by the occurrences of wine in the Bible. Some of the established churches which use wine prefer to see church wine as holy, and would not refer to it by the local names used for alcoholic drinks. Instead church wine is often referred to by terms borrowed from other languages, divai (from German, der Wein) or vini/mvinyo (from ltalian/Latin vino/vinum). Several translations done by Protestants have adapted the Swahili divai for ‘wine,’ while those done by Catholics use vini or mvinyo.” (Source: Rachel Konyoro in The Bible Translator 1985, p. 221ff. )

The Swahili divai was in turn borrowed by Sabaot and was turned into tifaayiik and is used as such in the Bible. Kupsabiny, on the other hand, borrowed mvinyo from Swahili and turned it into Finyonik. (Source: Iver Larsen)

In Nyamwezi, two terms are used. Malwa ga muzabibu is a kind of alcohol that people specifically use to get drunk (such as in Genesis 9:21) and ki’neneko is used for a wine made from grapes (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext).

In some Hindi translations (such as the Common Language version, publ. 2015 ), one term (dākharasa दाखरस — grape juice) is used when that particular drink is in the focus (such as in John 2) and another term (madirā मदिरा — “alcohol” or “liquor”) when drunkenness is in the focus (such as in Eph. 5:18).

In Mandarin Chinese, the generic term jiǔ (酒) or “alcohol(ic drink)” is typically used. Exceptions are Leviticus 10:9, Numbers 6:3, Deuteronomy 29:6, Judges 13:4 et al., 1 Samuel 1:15, and Luke 1:15 where a differentiation between weak and strong alcohol is needed. The Mandarin Chinese Union Version (2010) translates that as qīngjiǔ lièjiǔ (清酒烈酒) and dànjiǔ lièjiǔ (淡酒烈酒), both in the form of a Chinese proverb and meaning “light alcohol and strong drink.” (Source: Zetzsche)

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about wine in biblical times (source: Bible Lands 2012)

See also proceeds from the vine / anything that comes from the grapevine and wine (Gen 27:28).

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 32:32 - 32:33

Verses 32-33 describe how worthless are the pagan enemies, how corrupt and sinful they are. Notice the careful progression: their vine … their grapes … their clusters … their wine.

Some background information on Sodom and Gomorrah may be supplied in a footnote (see below), to make the text clear to the reader.

Good News Translation has shifted slightly and made the enemies themselves the term of comparison, not their actions; Bible en français courant does this also, “As for them, they are no better than the people of Sodom and Gomorrah…,” with a footnote, “The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were well known for their immorality; see Gen 18.20-21; 19.4-11.” This is a good alternative model to follow. However, we may also keep the picture of a vine and translate as follows:

• Their enemies are like a grapevine
planted in the fields of Sodom and Gomorrah. *

Their grapes are grapes of poison, their clusters are bitter: these two lines have the same meaning. It is unlikely that a literal translation will make sense in any language. Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje provides a good model to follow: “They are like grapevines that bear worthless grapes, bitter and poisonous grapes,” or following on from the first two lines:
* They [the vines] produce grapes [or, fruit]
that are bitter and poisonous [or, full of bitter poison].

Verse 33 should continue without a break, if possible. Its two lines also have the same meaning. Again Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje is a good model: “they are like wine made of snake’s poison, the deadly poison of serpents.”

Serpents … asps: in this context these nouns mean the same. In modern English serpents (Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible) no longer makes much sense. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “asps … vipers,” New Jerusalem Bible “snakes … vipers.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .