Translation commentary on Susanna 1:8

If integrated into the book of Daniel: 13.8.

Good News Translation seems to have things backward here. First, the two elders would see Susanna taking her daily walks, and then began to lust after her. The Greek does not really say that “they would wait around and watch for her” (Good News Translation). Their desire for Susanna arises in this verse; it becomes full-blown in verse 9. Contemporary English Version has a helpful alternative model, keeping the same order as Revised Standard Version:

• The two men watched her every day as she walked in the garden, and soon all they could think about was sleeping with her.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Shorter Books of the Deuterocanon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2006. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.

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