justice

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

Translation commentary on Psalm 82:3 - 82:4

Instead of favoring the wicked, the gods in their position as judges are to provide help for those most in need of it: the weak, the fatherless, the afflicted, the destitute (verse 3), and the weak and the needy (verse 4a). All these terms apply to the poor and powerless people in that society at that time.

The two verbs in verse 3, Give justice and maintain the right, are not used here in the sense of a rigorous and impartial application of the law, but of active help for those who are being oppressed and mistreated by wicked people. Give justice may be rendered, for example, “Do what is right,” “Be fair to,” “Act in a right way toward.” Maintain the right is closely synonymous to the first expression. Other suggestions are “defend,” “help,” “protect.”

Good News Translation has combined and shortened the two lines in verse 4. “Rescue” represents the two synonymous verbs in lines a and b: for Rescue see “deliver” and comments on 17.13, and for deliver see comments on 7.1. Good News Translation “them” refers to the helpless and oppressed people cited in verse 3. But a translation may wish to maintain two synonymous lines, and so the following may serve as a model:

• Rescue those poor people,
free them from the power of evil men.

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 .