19Like a lion coming up from the thickets of the Jordan to a perennial pasture, I will suddenly chase Edom away from it, and I will appoint over it whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who can summon me? Who is the shepherd who can stand before me?
There are no lions in Bawm country, so the Bawm Chin translation uses “a tiger with a mane” where the Greek term for “lion” is used and in Sranan Tongo the “roaring lion” in 1 Peter 5:8 is a krasi tigri, an “aggressive tiger.”
In the Kahua culture, lions are not known either so the Kahua translation used “fierce animal.”
In 1 Peter 5:8, the Uripiv translation uses “a hungry shark” instead of a roaring lion.
Sources: David Clark for Bawm Chin and Kahua, Japini 2015, p. 33, for Sranan Tongo, and Ross McKerras for Uripiv)
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 ).
Like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan: In biblical times the region along the Jordan was heavily wooded, and lions were not an uncommon sight. See 4.7 for this same figure. Note that the expression is like a lion coming. To have “I am like a lion” would be incorrect. Rather, the comparison is “I will come just as a lion comes.” If the lion is an unknown animal, translators can say instead “wild animal” or “hunting animal” (see 2.15, 30). The area was not, of course, thick jungle like that in some other parts of the world, and translators should use a word such as “forest” or “thick woods” (Good News Translation).
A strong sheepfold is ambiguous, since it may mean either a strong group of sheep or a group of sheep fenced in by a strong fence. The expression is literally “field of strength,” which is taken by most to mean “perennial pasture” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible), which serves as the basis for Good News Translation “green pasture land.” Some scholars take this to refer to a field that always has water and vegetation, that is, like the oases in the desert of the Jordan rift valley. But the ultimate meaning would be the same as that represented by Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and Good News Translation. Most translators, therefore, will say something like “green [or, rich] pasture land.”
I will suddenly make them run away translates two verbs: “I will do [something] quickly. I will chase them away.” As the Revised Standard Version note indicates, them represents the Septuagint; Hebrew has “him.” However, the singular form refers to “Edom,” which may be understood collectively, as in Good News Translation “the Edomites.” Her is a reference to the land of the Edomites; that is, “their country” (Good News Translation).
I will appoint over her whomever I choose means “I will appoint for the nation a leader who I have chosen.”
For who is like me?; that is, “Who can be compared to me?” The answer expected is “No one.” Some translators will render this “No one can be compared to me.”
Who will summon me? is taken by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch to mean “who will call me to account?” and by Good News Translation as “Who would dare challenge me?” New English Bible renders “Who is my equal?” and New Jerusalem Bible has “Who can hale me into court?” Again, instead of a rhetorical question, some translators will use a statement such as “No one is able to challenge me” or “No one can call me to account.”
What shepherd can stand before me?: Shepherd stands for “ruler” or “leader” (see 2.8) and stand before me must be taken in a sense of “oppose me” (Good News Translation) or “stand up to me” (New Jerusalem Bible). This question, too, can be expressed as a statement: “No ruler can stand up to me” or “No ruler is able to oppose me.”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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