The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin that is translated as “justice” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that describes the quality or principle of fairness, righteousness, and impartiality in treating other people. A literal back-translation of the signs are “FOLLOW(God is implied) ACTIONS, DECISIONS JUST-RIGHT”. A more idiomatic back-translation would be: “actions and decisions are right/fitting/just in accordance to God’s will.” The movement in the signs itself helps to indicate that this is a noun, not a verb. (Source: RuthAnna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Justice” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “bear” in English is translated in Mungaka and Berom as “leopard” since bears are not known in that culture (see also wolf) (source: Nama 1990 and Andy Warren-Rothlin).
In Vidunda and Kutu it is translated as “lion,” in Kwere as “cheetah” (in Proverbs 17:12) (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext) and in Idakho-Isukha-Tiriki as “jackal” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
Michel Kenmogne comments on this and comparable translations (in Noss 2007, p. 378 ff.): “Some exegetical solutions adopted by missionary translations may have been acceptable during that time frame, but weighed against today’s translation theory and procedures, they appear quite outdated and even questionable. For example, Atangana Nama approvingly mentions the translation into Mungaka of terms like ‘deer’ as ‘leopard’, ‘camel’ as ‘elephant’, and ‘wheat’ as ‘maize,’ where the target language has no direct equivalent to the source text. These pre-Nida translation options, now known as adaptations, would be declared unacceptable in modern practice, since they misrepresent the historico-zoological and agricultural realities in the Bible. Nowadays it is considered better to give a generalized term, like ‘grain,’ and where necessary specify ‘a grain called wheat,’ than to give an incorrect equivalence. Unknown animals such as bears, can be called ‘fierce animals,’ especially if the reference is a non-historical context.”
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, the Adamawa Fulfulde translation uses the exclusive form, because “the people themselves speak, admitting that they have turned away from God.”
The Jarai translation, however, uses the inclusive form.
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, the Jarai translation uses the inclusive pronoun, including everyone. The Adamawa Fulfulde translation uses the exclusive pronoun.
The imagery changes again as the people continue to describe their difficult situation. Here they compare themselves to bears and doves.
We all growl like bears: What this comparison means is uncertain, because this is the only place in the Old Testament where it occurs. Some commentators think the Hebrew verb for growl refers to the noise made by a bear that is chained up and expresses its great discomfort. This verb can refer to aggressive activity as in Psa 59.6, where it is used of dogs howling, but that does not seem to be its meaning here. Translators can use a verb that generally describes the sound made by a wild animal in distress. For bears see the comments on 11.7. If bears are unknown in a culture, translators may use “wild/ferocious animals.”
We moan and moan like doves: The meaning of this comparison is more certain since it is used in several other places in the Old Testament (see 38.14; Ezek 7.16; Nahum 2.7). The people moan mournfully like doves cooing. We moan and moan is literally “moaning we moan.” The Hebrew verb for moan is repeated for emphasis (first as an infinitive and then as a finite verb). Like Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible understands this repeated verb to refer to an ongoing activity by saying “we keep moaning.” New American Bible is similar with “we moan without ceasing.” For doves and the mournful sound they make, see the comments on 38.14. In this line the emphasis is on the sound the dove makes, thus symbolizing someone who is mournful or distressed. Since the meaning of the image is more certain than was the case for the bear, it is possible to state it openly; for example, New International Version has “we moan mournfully like doves,” and Bible en français courant says “or [we all make] the sad/plaintive cries of a dove.”
In the first two lines of this verse the point of comparison is not the animals themselves but the sounds they make, sounds that represent discomfort or distress. Good News Translation drops the comparison with sounds made by the animals and summarizes what it sees as the underlying meaning: “We are frightened and distressed.” However, we recommend that translators keep the imagery here if possible, because it is an important element in the poetry of the verse.
We look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us: These two parallel lines repeat the form and message of the second half of verse 9. The people long for God in his justice to rescue them from their present difficulties, but they are not experiencing his help. It is the same complaint they made in verse 9. See the comments there on the verb look for, the noun justice, and the phrase far from us, which form an inclusio for this subsection. Salvation here refers to God rescuing his people (see the comments on “save” at 25.9), which is not happening. Good News Translation combines both lines into one statement, but Bible en français courant preserves the parallel structure by saying “We hoped that God would intervene, but nothing. We waited for salvation, but it remains far from us.”
For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:
• Like bears we all growl [or, howl],
like doves we constantly moan.
We hope for God’s justice, but it is not there,
for his rescue, but it is far away from us.
• We all howl like a [wild] animal,
we moan sadly/plaintively like a dove.
God’s justice is what we long for, but we do not see it,
we want him to rescue us, but such is far from us.
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.