says the LORD / says the Lord GOD

The English that is translated as “says the Lord” or “says the Lord God” is translated in some influential French translations as oracle de Yahvé (La Bible de Jérusalem) oracle du Seigneur (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), and oracle de l’Éternel (Nouvelle Version Segond Révisée 1978) or “oracle (authoritative statement) of YHWH (or: the Lord).”

Timothy Lloyd Wilt (in The Bible Translator 1999, p. 301ff. ) describes the Hebrew ne’um (adonay) YHWH (quoting S. Meier, 1992) as “a highly marked expression (…) Hebrew does not characteristically repunctuate quoted discourse with reminders of the quote’s source, making this particle’s function quite distinctive and certainly unique in its frequency and distribution.”

The French translations above are emulating this with their distinct wording containing the French oracle.

Similarly, the French translation by Chouraqui uses harangue de or “harangue (or: ‘sermon’) of YHWH” and the English translation by Fox uses Utterance of YHWH. Both of these translations are Jewish translations that attempt to emulate the Hebraic nature of the original text. (Source: Drew Maust) Likewise, the translation by Goldingay (2018) has Yahweh’s declaration, typically set in parentheses: (Yahweh’s declaration).

The translation into Kera marks this by using the equivalent of “the words of me, YHWH” (source: Jackie Hainaut) and a language in West Africa, belonging to the Mande language family, uses a honorific form of “say,” that is only used for speech from God or his prophets. Both of these languages are spoken in francophone Africa.

See also Thus says the LORD, “By this you shall know that I am the LORD.” and tetragrammaton (YHWH).

cloud of witnesses

The Greek in Hebrews 12:1 that is translated as “cloud of witnesses” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with the more natural sounding Wald von Zeugen or “forest of witnesses.”

The Circumcision of Christ

Following is an Albanian Orthodox icon of the circumcision of Christ of ca. 1760-1780 by Athanasios of Korcë (located in the Church of the Annunciation to the Virgin, Tirane).

source: Tourta 2006, p. 165

 

“The Circumcision of Christ is not depicted very often in Byzantine and Post-Byzantine painting, and is not included amongst the Twelve Great Feasts. According to the Gospel of Saint Luke (2:21), Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple when he was eight months old to have him circumcised and named. In the Orthodox Church, the Circumcision is celebrated on 1 January together with the memory of Basil the Great, which accounts for the depiction in the present icon of Saint Basil, who often accompanies the Circumcision in both earlier and later works. In the icon from the church of the Annunciation at Tirane, the painter followed a westernizing model presumably derived from an engraving, as in the other works in the same church. The representation is dominated by the ciborium with its rich curtain and decoration, and also by the round altar with its gold-embroidered cover, on which Christ lies, enveloped in a lacy fabric. The luxurious garments worn by the priests contrast with the plain appearance of Joseph and Mary, who are standing nearby.

“The predominant color in the representation is red, contrasting with the gold-yellow used for the background, clothes and halos.

“Equally impressive are the meticulous workmanship in the luxurious garments and diaphanous fabrics, and the naturalistic rendering of objects such as the scissors in the hands of the priest.” (Source: Tourta 2006, p. 164ff.)

The person depicted in the foreground is Basil of Caesarea .

Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )

Following is an image of the circumcision according to the tradition of the Ethiopian Tewahedo church:

Source: @ArtEthiopic .

also known as Paul

The Greek in Acts 13:9 that is translated as “also known as Paul” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with wir nennen ihn von jetzt an mit seinem römischen Namen Paulus or “from now on we will call him by his Roman name Paul.”

lick his sores

The Greek in Luke 16:21 that is translated as “lick his sores” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with an seinen Wunden leckten und sie weiter verunreinigen or “licked at his wounds and further contaminated them.”

to give her something to eat

The Greek in Mark 5:43 that is translated as “to give her something to eat” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with dem Mädchen zu essen zu geben, damit alle sähen, dass sie wirklich lebendig und kein Gespenst war or “to give the girl something to eat so that everyone could see that she was really alive and not a ghost.”

As she wept she bent over to look into the tomb

The Greek in John 20:11 that is translated as “As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as (Maria) weinte bitterlich, von Kummer und Schmerz gebeugt or “(Mary) cried bitterly, bent over with grief and pain.”

Berger/Nord (p. 24) explain: “The open question with [the traditional] translations is why a woman who cries suddenly bends over so that she can see through the low-set opening of the tomb, deep into the interior of the tomb where the two angels sit. We know that the bent back was part of the mourning ritual of antique Judaism and therefore [the translation above] makes the connection between the mourning and seeing the angels anatomically understandable.”