shepherd

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “shepherd” in English is translated in Kouya as Bhlabhlɛɛ ‘yliyɔzʋnyɔ — ” tender of sheep.”

Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains:

“Then one day they tackled the thorny problem of ‘shepherd’. It was problematic because Kouyas don’t have herdsmen who stay with the sheep all the time. Sheep wander freely round the village and its outskirts, and often a young lad will be detailed to drive sheep to another feeding spot. So the usual Kouya expression meant a ‘driver of sheep’, which would miss the idea of a ‘nurturing’ shepherd. ‘A sheep nurturer’ was possible to say, but it was unnatural in most contexts. The group came up with Bhlabhlɛɛ ‘yliyɔzʋnyɔ which meant ‘a tender of sheep’, that is one who keeps an eye on the sheep to make sure they are all right. All, including the translators, agreed that this was a most satisfactory solution.”

In Chuj, the translation is “carer” since there was no single word for “shepherd” (source: Ronald Ross), in Muna, it is dhagano dhumba: “sheep guard” since there was no immediate lexical equivalent (source: René van den Berg), in Mairasi it is translated with “people who took care of domesticated animals” (source: Enggavoter 2004), in Noongar as kookendjeriyang-yakina or “sheep worker” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), and Kwakum as “those-who-monitor-the-livestock” (source: Stacey Hare in this post ).

See also I am the good shepherd.

David

The name that is transliterated as “David” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign signifying king and a sling (referring to 1 Samuel 17:49 and 2 Samuel 5:4). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff.)


“Elizabeth” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In German Sign Language it is only the sling. (See here ).


“David” in German Sign Language (source )

The (Protestant) Mandarin Chinese transliteration of “David” is 大卫 (衛) / Dàwèi which carries an additional meaning of “Great Protector.”

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about David (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 34:23

In verses 23-24 God promises to restore the Davidic kingship.

And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David: For his people God will appoint one shepherd, that is, “a single shepherd” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), in contrast to the many bad shepherds that had led Israel in the past. The Septuagint says “another shepherd,” but we prefer the reading in the Hebrew text. For the confusion between the Hebrew words for one and “another,” see the comments on 11.19. The shepherd will be God’s servant David. It is unlikely that God is thinking of a miraculous resurrection of King David, who had been dead for almost four hundred years. Rather, he is referring to David as the ideal king who will obey him and rule the people properly. That is why Good News Translation renders my servant David as “like my servant David,” and Contemporary English Version has “from the family of my servant King David” (similarly New International Reader’s Version). Another possible model is “from the family of David who did what I required.” For my servant, see 28.25.

And he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd: In Hebrew the clause he shall feed them occurs twice, probably for emphasis, but some translations follow the Septuagint by omitting one occurrence of this clause, presumably for stylistic reasons (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation). Translators should be guided by the requirements of their own language in deciding whether or not to do the same thing. As noted in the comments on Ezek 34.2, the Hebrew words for feed and shepherd come the from same root. Feed may be rendered “take [good] care of” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “look after” (New International Reader’s Version).

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .