wolf

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated in English as “wolf” is translated in Muna as da’u ngkahoku: “forest dog,” because there is no immediate lexical equivalent. (Source: René van den Berg)

In Asháninka, it is translated as “ferocious animal,” in Waffa and Kui as “wild dog,” and in Navajo as “Coyote” (source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125), and in Odia as “tiger” (source for this and for Kui: Helen Evans in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. )

In Lingala it is translated as “leopard.” Sigurd F. Westberg (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 117ff. ) explains: “The wolf, for example, does not exist here, but its relative the jackal does and we have a name for it. But the jackal does not prey on domestic animals as the wolf did in Palestine, nor is he as fierce. The equivalent from these points of view is the leopard. Hence in Genesis 49 Benjamin is likened to a ravenous leopard, and the basic meaning is approached more closely than if we had been governed by scientific classification.”

Mungaka also uses “leopard” (see also bear (animal)) (source: Nama 1990). Likewise in Klao and Dan (source: Don Slager).

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acceptable during that time frame, but weighed against today’s translation theory and procedures, they appear quite outdated and even questionable.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.”

sheep

“Sheep are known throughout most of the world, even though, as in Central Africa, they are a far cry from the fleecy wool-producing animals of colder climates. Where such animals are known, even by seemingly strange names, e.g. ‘cotton deer’ (Yucateco) or ‘woolly goat’ (Inupiaq), such names should be used. In some instances, one may wish to borrow a name and use a classifier, e.g. ‘an animal called sheep’. In still other instances translators have used ‘animal which produces wool’, for though people are not acquainted with the animals they are familiar with wool.” (Source: Bratcher / Nida)

In Dëne Súline, it is usually translated as “an evil little caribou.” To avoid the negative connotation, a loan word from the neighboring South Slavey was used. (Source: NCAM, p. 70)

Note that the often-alleged Inuktitut translation of “sheep” with “seal” is an urban myth (source Nida 1947, p. 136).

See also lamb.

The good shepherd (image)

Hand colored stencil print on washi by Sadao Watanabe (1975).

Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe.

For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.

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.

complete verse (John 10:12)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 10:12:

  • Uma: “As for a person who is just paid a salary, his shepherding is not good, because he is not the owner of the sheep. If he sees a wolf coming, he runs away leaving behind the sheep he is herding. So those sheep are chased and taken-in-mouth by the wolf, with the result that they are all separated/scattered.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “A person who is hired to watch the sheep is not the shepherd and he is not the owner of the sheep. Therefore when he sees a wild animal coming towards the sheep he flees and leaves the sheep. Then the wild animal catches the sheep and scatters them.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The person who is just hired, he is not the true carer because the sheep are not his. If he sees the wild dog called lobo coming, he will leave the sheep and run away. And the lobo will bite one of the sheep, and the others, they will scatter.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “As for the one who is merely salaried to pasture the sheep, if he sees-in-the-distance a fierce animal coming, he will abandon the sheep and run-away, because it is not he who is the true care-taker who owns the sheep. When then the fierce animal appears, he will bite some while-simultaneously scattering others.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But if the one tending them is one who is just hired who is not the owner of the sheep, if he sees a wild dog approaching, he does nothing but run away. He at once deserts those sheep. Therefore what that wild dog does is, he will now kill-and-eat. Well those sheep will then be scattered.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But he who is just a hired hand is not the guardian of the sheep. Because he is not the owner. If he sees a wild animal coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away. Then the wild animal grabs the sheep and scatters the rest.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on John 10:12

In Greek this verse begins with an absolute statement “the hired man…,” which Good News Translation has changed to a dependent clause (when the hired man…) for stylistic reasons.

The hired man may be rendered as “the man who is just paid to take care of the sheep” or “the man who is paid to care of other people’s sheep.”

Who is not a shepherd may be translated “whose real work is not that of taking care of sheep” or “who is not a shepherd by profession.”

The phrase does not own the sheep must be translated in some languages “the sheep do not belong to him.”

So the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them is translated “Then the wolf harries the flock and scatters the sheep” by New English Bible; Jerusalem Bible translates “and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep.” The verb translated snatches in Good News Translation is used frequently n Greek to refer to wild animals carrying away their prey. It may be awkward in some languages to speak of both snatching and scattering the sheep, as though the two activities affect all the sheep in the same way. What happens is that the wolf grabs one of the sheep and causes the rest of them to scatter. This meaning may be expressed as “pounces upon one of the sheep and scatters the rest.”

In languages that have no indigenous term for wolf, some translators prefer a term identifying another kind of animal which may attack sheep, for example, a “leopard.” Others prefer to use a term which would designate an animal either resembling or belonging to the dog family, for example, “hyena” or “wild dog.” Translators sometimes use a generic term, such as “dog,” but qualify it as “fierce.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .