hypocrite

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The Greek and Hebrew terms that are translated as “hypocrite” in English typically have a counterpart in most languages. According to Bratcher / Nida (1961, p. 225), they can be categorized into the following categories:

  • those which employ some concept of “two” or “double”
  • those which make use of some expression of “mouth” or “speaking”
  • those which are based upon some special cultural feature
  • those which employ a non-metaphorical phrase

Following is a list of (back-) translations from some languages:

The English version of Sarah Ruden (2021) uses “play-actor.” She explains (p. li): “A hupokrites is fundamentally an actor. The word has deep negativity in the Gospels on two counts: professional actors were not respectable people in the ancient world, and traditional Judaism did not countenance any kind of playacting. I write ‘play-actor’ throughout.”

See also hypocrisy.

female first person singular pronoun in Psalms

In Garifuna the first person singular pronoun (“I” in English) has two forms. One is used in women’s speech and one in men’s speech. In the Garifuna Bible the form used in men’s speech (au) is typically used, except when it’s clear that a woman’s speech is quoted (for instance in John 4:9) or in Psalms where the women on the translation team insisted that the form used in women’s speech (nuguya) would be used throughout the whole book.

Ronald Ross (in Omanson 2001, p. 375f.) tells the story: “Throughout most of the translation, [the distinctions between the different forms of the pronouns] presented no problem. Whenever the speaker in the text was perceived as a man, the male speech forms were used; and when a woman was speaking, the female speech forms were used. True, the women members of the translation team did object on occasion to the use of the male forms when the author (and narrator) of a book was unknown and the men translators had used the male speech forms as the default. Serious discord arose, however, during the translation of the Psalms because of their highly devotional nature and because throughout the book the psalmist is addressing God. The male translators had, predictably, used the male form to address God, and the male form to refer to the psalmist, even though women speakers of Garifuna never use those forms to address anyone. The women contended that they could not as women read the Psalms meaningfully if God and the psalmist were always addressed as if the readers were men. The men, of course, turned the argument around, claiming that neither could they read the Psalms comfortably if the reader was assumed to be a woman.

“Initially there seemed to be no way out of this impasse. However a solution was found in the ongoing evolution of the language. There is a strong propensity for male speech and female speech to merge in favor of the latter, so the few remaining male forms are gradually dying out. Moreover, male children learn female speech from their mothers and only shift to the male speech forms when they reach adolescence to avoid sounding effeminate. However they use the female form buguya when addressing their parents throughout life. So the women wielded two arguments: First, the general development of the language favored the increasing use of the female forms. Secondly, the female forms are less strange to the men than the male forms are to the women, because the men habitually use them during early childhood and continue to use them to address their parents even in adulthood. Therefore, the female pronominal forms prevailed and were adopted throughout the book of Psalms, though the male forms remained the default forms in the rest of the translation.”

See also female second person singular pronoun in Psalms.

Translation commentary on Psalm 26:4 - 26:5

Continuing to protest his innocence, the psalmist makes clear that he avoids altogether associating with evil, worthless people. In these four lines (verses 4-5) the same thought is expressed in four different ways.

For sit with in verses 4a and 5b, see comments on 1.1. The expression may be rendered as in Good News Translation or idiomatically as in some languages: “I do not tie myself up with” or “I don’t eat my food with.”

In verse 4a false men translates “men of fraud.” New English Bible and New American Bible have “worthless”; New Jerusalem Bible “scoundrels”; Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “impostors,” and New International Version “deceitful men.” Dahood takes the phrase to mean idol-worshipers. “Worthless people” (Good News Translation) is sometimes expressed as “people who cheat others.”

Consort translates a verb which is very frequently used in the Old Testament. It means, generally, “to enter”; here the idea is of entering someone’s house, and so “associate with,” “keep company with.”

Dissemblers in verse 4b is literally “those who hide themselves,” that is, who conceal their real thoughts or motives; so Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, and New International Version have “hypocrites.” (For a detailed treatment of “hypocrites,” see A Translator’s Handbook on the Gospel of Mark, pages 224-225.) Most languages have an abundance of terms or expressions for hypocrites. Many languages base the expression on the basis of a double image; for example, “two tongues,” “two hearts,” “two throats,” “two livers.” Others focus on a false manner of speaking: “to have a sweet mouth” or “to have a straight mouth and a crooked heart.” Others base the expression upon some cultural aspect such as “spreading a clean carpet.”

In verse 5 the two words translated evildoers and the wicked are synonymous and indicate in the broadest terms possible people who aren’t good. Evildoers is used in 22.16a; the word translated the wicked appears eighty-one times in the Psalms.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .