Translation commentary on Susanna 1:27

If integrated into the book of Daniel: 13.27.

When the elders told their tale may be rendered “When the two men told their story.”

The servants were greatly ashamed: Good News Translation has “the servants were shocked and ashamed.” Shame is not quite the appropriate response. It is better to say “… shocked and embarrassed.” New Jerusalem Bible has “… thoroughly taken aback.” Though the female servants who were friends to Susanna are probably present on the scene, in the Greek text the author uses the masculine form in speaking of those who came running from the house and of the servants here. The word of the two men is never doubted. We might imagine that Susanna’s maids did not believe the vicious story told about her, but their opinion was meaningless and not asked for anyway. The male servants assumed the word of the two gentlemen was true.

For nothing like this had ever been said about Susanna may be expressed as “No one had ever said such things about Susanna before” (Contemporary English Version).

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.

Translation commentary on Susanna 1:59

If integrated into the book of Daniel: 13.59.

Very well! You also have lied against your own head: See the comments on verse 55. The only difference here is the addition of the word also (“also you” in Greek). The whole expression may be rendered “Aha! You also have told a lie that will cost you your life.”

The angel of God is waiting with his sword to saw you in two: “Hack” is probably better than saw. The important thing is that the verb here and the verb “cut” in verse 55 must be different words, and both must indicate some violent way of bisecting a human body. In this verse the verb must be consistent with the use of a sword. No instrument of execution is mentioned in verse 55, but the author likely has a sword in mind there also.

That he may destroy you both: Good News Translation says “Then we shall be rid of you both.” This translation is very appealing, but it is not what the Greek says. A better rendering is “He will destroy both of you!”

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.

Translation commentary on Bel and the Dragon 1:30

If integrated into the book of Daniel: 14.30.

The king saw that they were pressing him hard: This is literal but does not express well the seriousness of the threat here. Good News Translation “When the king saw [realized] that they meant what they said” is an idiomatic way of building in the king’s fear. New American Bible “When he saw himself threatened with violence” is another approach. New Jerusalem Bible restructures it as “They pressed him so hard that….” Both of these are worth considering, but in English neither has the impact that the Good News Translation rendering has.

Under compulsion he handed Daniel over to them: We cannot say this very often, but here Good News Translation “he was forced to hand Daniel over to them” (similarly Contemporary English Version) is more literal than Revised Standard Version, and better, as well.

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.

Translation commentary on The Prayer of Manasseh 1:15

And I will praise thee continually all the days of my life: This line is part of the previous sentence, and may easily be connected to it saying “and I will praise you as long as I live.” Or it may be translated as a separate sentence, as in Good News Translation. A slight problem may lurk in Good News Translation‘s use of “go on praising” to express the idea of praise … continually. It may suggest that the speaker has been praising God in the past, and will go on doing so. He has not been doing this in the past; he has been too busy committing wicked acts. He can only start praising God when he has assurance of forgiveness. It may then be a shade safer to say “and I will constantly praise you as long as I live” or “Then I will praise you every hour of every day” (Contemporary English Version).

For all the host of heaven sings thy praise: Now the speaker has returned to the point where he started, with God as the God of the universe. All the host of heaven could refer to the stars (Psa 33.6; Dan 8.10) or to angels (1 Kgs 22.19), if the author even made a distinction. Good News Translation‘s translation “All the heavenly powers” allows for either. Technically Good News Translation is even a bit more literal than Revised Standard Version here. The text reads “all the power of heaven”; this is not the expression used for the heavenly host of Luke 2.13. Sings thy praise will need to be expressed in some languages as “sing praises to you” or even “sing songs telling you how great you are.”

And thine is the glory for ever: The prayer ends with a short doxology, an ascription of glory (compare 1 Chr 29.11). This form is of course reminiscent of the doxology to the Lord’s Prayer found in late manuscripts of Matt 6.13. Glory here refers to “honor” that God receives. So we may also express this clause as “And you will be honored forever” (Contemporary English Version). In languages that do not have the passive voice, we may say “and they [the heavenly powers] will honor you forever.”

Amen is an expression of affirmation used in closing prayers.

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

Translation commentary on Baruch 2:2

Under the whole heaven there has not been done …: This says the same as “Nowhere else on earth have such things happened…” (Good News Translation). Note that Good News Translation has perceptively inserted the word “else”; otherwise it would be an absurd statement, saying that what has happened has happened nowhere—including Jerusalem.

Has not been done … what he has done makes use of two forms of the same verb. Good News Translation uses “happened” as an effective equivalent, although it omits from the statement that it was God who did these things. “The Lord carried out the threats” picks up the idea, however.

“The threats” (Good News Translation) are not mentioned in the Greek text, but in accordance with what is written in the law of Moses surely refers to the threats of Bar 1.20 and 2.1. For the content of the threats, see Lev 26.14-39 and Deut 28.15-68. For the law of Moses, we may also say “the Law that Moses gave.”

It is possible to reorder the clauses in this verse in the following way:

• The Lord severely punished the city of Jerusalem, just as he threatened [or, warned] in the Law of Moses [or, the Law that Moses gave to Israel]. Nowhere else on earth have such things happened as happened there.

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.

Translation commentary on Baruch 2:34

The land which I swore to give to their fathers: Good News Translation customarily renders swore as “solemnly promised,” since in English usage the word “swear” can mean “use profanity.” Another way to express the clause here is “the land that I made a strong promise to give to your ancestors.”

They will rule over it essentially means, as Good News Translation puts it, that the land will belong to them again; it will be theirs once more. Israelite territory will again be under Israelite rule.

I will increase them, and they will not be diminished: Increase them means to increase them in numbers, as Good News Translation makes clear with “increase your population” (Contemporary English Version “increase in numbers”). If the third person is used to refer to the people of Israel, this last part of the verse could be rendered “There I will make their population grow, and it will never again decrease.” At this point an introductory “There” may help provide an effective contrast with “There” opening verse 32, if it has been used at that point.

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.

Translation commentary on Baruch 3:31

No one … is concerned about the path to her: Revised Standard Version is closer than Good News Translation to the meaning of the Greek verb rendered is concerned. The second line is not simply repeating the thought of the first one, but adding to it: not only does no one know the way to Wisdom, but no one even cares much about finding Wisdom.

The phrases the way to her and the path to her are literally “her way” and “her path” (compare Job 28.23). It should be noted that it is possible to understand both of these as “the path Wisdom takes.” New Jerusalem Bible has taken the second of these phrases (but not the first one) in that sense, saying “the path she treads.” However, “the path that leads to Wisdom” is more probable, and is the suggested interpretation for translators.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• No one knows how to gain Wisdom. There’s no one who really cares about finding the path that leads to her [or, Wisdom].

In languages that cannot personify Wisdom, an alternative is:

• No one knows how to find true wisdom; there’s no one who really even cares about finding the path that leads to this kind of wisdom.

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.

Translation commentary on Baruch 4:26

My tender sons: In this verse the discourse suddenly shifts from second person references to the exiles into third person. Most readers will find Good News Translation less jarring with its change of the verse into the second person. My … sons becomes the direct address, “My children.” Tender is better translated “pampered,” as in New Revised Standard Version and other versions. There is a danger, however, that this could present an image of a soft, weak laziness. Good News Translation avoids this by establishing that the pampering was because of the mother’s love, not because of any weakness in the children’s character: “I spoiled you with love.” “Spoiled” is of course an English expression meaning “pampered,” and is not to be taken in the sense of “turned you bad [or, rotten].”

Traveled rough roads means that the people suffered a hard fate, experienced great difficulty. Good News Translation accepts the figure as understandable and says “you have had to follow rugged paths.” Good News Translation “you have had to follow…” is made necessary by its clause “I spoiled you with love.” To follow that with “but you followed rugged paths” would sound like the children were ungrateful and rebellious. But “you have had to follow…” also helps make clear the meaning of the figure of speech. The “rugged paths” were not paths they chose to travel. Contemporary English Version makes it clear that the rough roads refers to suffering in foreign countries: “you are suffering now in a foreign nation.” This also is possible.

They were taken away like a flock carried off by the enemy: The Greek word rendered flock does not necessarily refer to sheep only, but it probably does here (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). The picture in this line is that of an invading army stealing local livestock for their own use. “Enemy raid” (Good News Translation) helps fill in that picture. Contemporary English Version is more dramatic with “like sheep that have been dragged off by an enemy.” We may also express it in the active voice: “like sheep that enemies have dragged away.”

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.