Translation commentary on Baruch 3:13

If you had walked in the way of God: The unstated sense of this is that Israel did not walk in the way of God, that is, live according to God’s commandments. Instead, they abandoned that way. Contemporary English Version says “If you had followed the ways of God.”

You would be dwelling in peace for ever: The choice was Israel’s to make. They chose to leave God’s way and finished up exiled in a foreign country. But if they had followed God’s Law, they could have lived in their own land for all time, in peace. Peace represents the Hebrew word shalom, which means not only peace as opposed to conflict, but also prosperity, health, and general well-being. In some languages it will be necessary to use more than one expression; for example, “health and prosperity [or, happiness].” There is no conflict between Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation in the use of the tenses you would be dwelling and “you would have lived.” The idea here is that if the people had obeyed God they would have lived in peace in the past and would still be living in peace.

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 4:8

You forgot the everlasting God: Forgot is the opposite of “remember” as used in Bar 2.32 (see the comments there). It has the meaning of “put out of mind,” “ignored,” or even “rejected,” so Contemporary English Version has “You rejected the eternal God.” The everlasting God may be rendered “the God who lives forever” or “the God who never dies.”

Who brought you up … who reared you: These two clauses have the same meaning. In this verse Israel is being compared to a child, with both God and Jerusalem compared to the child’s parents. In fact, both are compared to the child’s mother. The Greek verb translated brought … up actually refers to nursing a baby at the breast. The only other time it is used in the Greek Bible is at Exo 2.7. The translator will have to decide the extent to which this clearly feminine imagery will be expressed. Similes are often easier than metaphors, so the following rendering of the first line with a simile is suggested: “You forgot the everlasting God, who was like a mother to you.” Good News Translation uses this simile for Jerusalem in the next line. New Jerusalem Bible also transfers the imagery of a mother to Jerusalem by saying “… Jerusalem who nursed you” (similarly Moore). The Greek term rendered reared refers to the bringing up of a child. The term that means breast-feeding is unmistakably used only of God. (Compare Deut 32.18, where God is compared to a mother who gives birth to the child.) Notice that the two lines in this verse are parallel in meaning:

You forgot — the everlasting God — who brought you up
you grieved — Jerusalem — who reared you

Since who brought you up is parallel to who reared you, Good News Translation uses two clauses with similar meaning: “who had nourished you as a child” and “who had been like a mother to you.”

And you grieved Jerusalem: Good News Translation renders the connector and as “and so.” However, the Greek text does not say that Jerusalem’s grief is the result of the people forgetting God. “You also brought grief to Jerusalem” or “You also caused Jerusalem to grieve” is really all it says.

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 5:3

The Greek for this verse is literally “For God will show to every under heaven your splendor.” Whether a word has dropped out of the text or not, “every under heaven” clearly means “every nation on earth” (Good News Translation). An alternative way to express this verse is “because God will let every nation on earth see your brightness [or, splendor].” The connector For expresses a logical relationship with the previous verse, so it should be translated.

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 Letter of Jeremiah 1:26

Those who serve them are ashamed: The clause, those who serve them, is perhaps better expressed as “those [or, the people] who worship them” rather than “those who take care of them” (Good News Translation). The Greek refers to those who are in attendance on the idols. Ashamed is not quite the right shade of meaning here. If an idol falls over, those in attendance are “embarrassed” (Good News Translation) or made uncomfortable. New Jerusalem Bible says “It is humiliating for their worshippers,” but this may be too strong. From the viewpoint of someone who does not take images seriously, it may be humiliating, but for the worshipers it is probably no more than an embarrassment.

Because through them these gods are made to stand, lest they fall to the ground: Note that these gods is literally “they” (Revised Standard Version footnote), but Revised Standard Version spells out the pronoun for clarity. Good News Translation expresses the clauses here as “when one of their gods falls to the ground and has to be picked up again.” The Greek can also be understood as follows: “because they have to prop their gods up, to keep them from falling to the ground.” Good News Translation “picked up” is appropriate for images that were small enough to handle. Some were. Others, however, were life-size, and this seems to be in mind here, since we are talking about idols that have been set up within a temple. Verse 33 certainly suggests life-size images. The verb Good News Translation has translated “picked up” could as easily be rendered “set upright.”

If it is tipped over, it cannot straighten itself: This line may have a bit of irony: “It can’t even straighten itself up if it’s only leaning a bit.” Contemporary English Version says “Even if an idol starts to lean, it cannot straighten itself up.”

But gifts are placed before them just as before the dead: The connector but expresses a contrast between the fact that the idols cannot even move and the fact that people bring gifts to them. The interpretation of Revised Standard Version (not much different in New Revised Standard Version) here is difficult to understand. It seems to be saying that even though idols can’t walk or get up if they fall, people bring them gifts, just like they do to the dead—in which giving gifts to the dead seems a good thing to do. But making gifts to the dead was condemned in Israel; compare Deut 26.14; Sir 30.18. (On the other hand, see Tob 4.17.) However, the point the writer is making seems to have nothing to do with the question of whether making offerings to the dead was proper. He is just saying it was useless. We may express this as “Bringing gifts to idols is like bringing them to dead people” (similarly Good News Translation) or “But people bring gifts to idols, which is as useless as bringing them to dead people.”

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 Letter of Jeremiah 1:58

So it is better to be a king who shows courage … than to be these false gods …: Would you rather be a courageous king or a block of wood? The wording of Revised Standard Version is misleading, since it suggests that it is better for a person to be a king than a false god, but this is not the point. No one was in any danger of becoming a false god. The writer is talking about usefulness as opposed to uselessness: kings show courage, pots hold things, doors protect things, pillars support palaces—but false gods are good for nothing. Good News Translation has a clever and effective restructuring that makes the point without laying out a distracting comparison. Careful comparison will show that Good News Translation has covered every point.

For household utensil, Good News Translation has “piece of pottery” and Contemporary English Version “household pot.”

False gods may be rendered “idols [or, images] of false gods.”

For protects its contents, Good News Translation has “protects the things in the house” (similarly Contemporary English Version).

In some languages wooden pillar may be translated “wooden post” or “pole.”

Palace may be rendered “house of the king.”

In the series, king, household utensil, door, and pillar, which term does not belong? Obviously, king. A change has been proposed for the text because of this. In Hebrew either the word for “stick” or “crutch” could have been mistaken for the word “king.” So the beginning of this verse could be translated “Better a stick/crutch that has proved its strength….” This is appealing, but the Greek word chosen for “strength/courage” applies better to a person than an object. It refers to “manly courage.” If there was an error in transmission, it must have involved this word as well. The Greek is awkward, to be sure, but what it says is clear enough. Translators should stay with the term king.

Contemporary English Version skillfully restructures the verse as follows:

• Anything is better than an idol, including a brave king, a household pot, a door that protects things in a house, or a wooden column in a palace. All these are more useful than false gods.

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 Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men 1:18 - 1:19

If integrated into the book of Daniel: 3.41 – 42

It is hard to find a reason for Good News Translation combining verses 18 and 19 in its numbering. Clearly verse 19 begins with “Treat us….”

With all our heart: See the comments on the previous verse. As noted there, this expression may be rendered “completely” in some languages.

We follow thee, we fear thee and seek thy face: The Greek verbs here are present tense, as in Revised Standard Version, but the statement amounts to a pledge of allegiance, a statement of commitment. For this reason Good News Translation introduces these verbs with “we promise to…” and New English Bible expresses them in future tense. New Jerusalem Bible has found a forceful way of expressing this pledge of loyalty by beginning verse 18 as follows: “And now we put our whole heart into following you….” Good News Translation‘s equivalent to follow is “obey” (also Contemporary English Version), fear is “worship” (also Contemporary English Version), and seek thy face is “come to you in prayer,” but we may also translate the last expression as “come and pray to you” or even “continue praying to you.”

Do not put us to shame: As in verse 17, the meaning of shame here is “disappointment, disillusionment,” but if someone says to God “Do not disappoint us” or “Do not let us down,” this sounds in English as if the speaker has some claim on God that God is duty bound to carry out. Even a positive restructuring like “Vindicate our faith” sounds a bit like the speaker is challenging God rather than entreating him. So it will be necessary to begin with an entreaty here; for example, “We trust in you, so please don’t let us be disgraced.”

Deal with us in thy forbearance and in thy abundant mercy: Good News Translation places this positive entreaty (“Treat us with kindness and mercy”) before the negative one of the previous line (“let us never be put to shame”). Forbearance means “patience.” An idea missing in Good News Translation is abundant in the phrase in thy abundant mercy. The Greek is literally “according to the fullness of your mercy.”

An alternative translation model for verse 19 is:

• We trust you, so please don’t let us be disgraced. Rather, be patient with us and show us your great mercy.

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 Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men 1:53

If integrated into the book of Daniel: 3.75

In areas where mountains and hills are unknown, we may combine these two terms and say “all high places.”

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 1:20

If integrated into the book of Daniel: 13.20.

Good News Translation does not translate the Greek word rendered Look (which is equivalent to the Hebrew word often rendered “Behold” in the Old Testament). It is often better untranslated, but here the translator should consider some term appropriate to the situation. Two men have burst in on this woman and are about to make a lewd proposition. If they begin with a short utterance, what is it? “Look” is all right in English, although “Look here now” might be more realistic.

No one sees us: The Greek verb in this clause is present tense. An alternative rendering is “no one is looking at us.” Good News Translation‘s future tense (“no one will see us”) is also possible in this context. Translators will have to decide which is more fitting in their own situation.

We are in love with you; so give your consent, and lie with us: We are in love with you completely misses the meaning in Greek. New Revised Standard Version and New English Bible are better with “We are burning with desire for you.” Good News Translation, however, skillfully restructures this clause and the following two clauses to get the crudeness of the proposition in without being obscene. “We are burning” translates the first clause. “To have sex with you” corresponds to lie with us. Literally this clause is “be with us”; the same expression “be with” will be used in the next verse. “Give us what we want” is an especially good rendering; rather than allowing Susanna any room or initiative (give your consent), it focuses completely on what the two men want.

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.