Translation commentary on Bel and the Dragon 1:40

If integrated into the book of Daniel: 14.40.

On the seventh day is clarified in Good News Translation: “Seven days after Daniel had been thrown to the lions.”

The king came to mourn for Daniel … he came to the den …: This is spoken from the viewpoint of someone at the pit. Good News Translation follows the king from his palace to the pit: “the king went to the pit … he got there….” Either is possible. To mourn for Daniel means “to show his sadness by weeping for Daniel.”

The English phrase, there sat Daniel, is so perfect for the occasion that almost all translations use it. It expresses, without describing it, the king’s absolute amazement at what he sees. New American Bible reads “there was Daniel, sitting there!” which is almost as good.

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 2:1

Compare this verse with Dan 9.12, which is similar.

So: Translators will help their readers by tying in this verse with the final verse of the previous chapter; for example, “Because we did evil, the Lord….”

The Lord confirmed his word, which he spoke against us: The meaning of confirmed his word is that God put his threat into effect. Good News Translation has “carried out the threat,” Contemporary English Version “did everything he threatened,” and New English Bible “made good the warning” (see the comments on Bar 1.20). The same expression is also used at verse 24.

Against our judges … kings … princes … the men of Israel and Judah: The list of officials here can be compared with the list at Bar 1.16. Judges has been added here, amplified by calling them our judges who judged Israel. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version omit the qualifying clause who judged Israel, probably considering it unnecessary. But it should be kept since it may be calling attention to a united Israel as opposed to the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The reference may be to ancient times when judges like Gideon and Sampson ruled in Israel, so a possible rendering is “our judges, who ruled in Israel long ago.” The men of Israel and Judah is better rendered “the other people of Israel and Judah.”

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 2:33

Will turn from their stubbornness and their wicked deeds is literally “they will return from their stiff back and from their wicked deeds.” The emphasis is really more on repenting of their stubbornness and evil deeds than on stopping being stubborn and wicked, as Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version express it. Effective repentance means stopping, of course, but the writer’s statement concerns the repentance. Good News Translation is not missing the point, but shifting the focus a bit. The particular wording of Good News Translation, “You will stop being so stubborn and wicked,” somehow suggests that it is all right if they are a little bit stubborn and wicked, which is certainly not right. “You will give up your stubborn attitude and evil behavior” is closer to the sense.

They will remember the ways of their fathers, who sinned before the Lord: At this point New Jerusalem Bible has an interesting restructuring, which can be recommended. For the whole verse it reads “they will stop being obstinate and, remembering what became of their ancestors who sinned before the Lord, will turn from their evil deeds.” New Jerusalem Bible moves forward the clause about remembering the ancestors, and makes the repentance from evil the logical consequence of it. This could be expressed as follows:

• They will give up their stubborn attitude. They will remember what happened to their ancestors when they sinned against me, and stop doing evil.

The first sentence could be included as part of the previous verse by saying “ There in the land of their exile they will praise me. Once again they will call upon me as their God, and give up their stubborn attitude….”

Here, as usual when Revised Standard Version has fathers, Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version have “ancestors.” This is one of those few places where the writer may actually be thinking particularly of the previous generation, whose sin finally provoked God to the decisive punishment of exile. “Ancestors” is probably the safest translation, particularly in view of the mention of the patriarchs in the next verse. Still, compare Bar 3.4, where the idea that the exiles are suffering for the misdeeds of the past generation is clearer.

Who sinned before the Lord may be translated “who did things that I considered evil.” Those who are following Good News Translation closely should note that in this clause, Good News Translation slips and refers to the Lord in the third person, even though he is speaking. Good News Translation carefully avoided this in verse 22. Since God so often uses the first person pronoun in this passage (verses 29-35), it is best to use it here, as Contemporary English Version does with “when they sinned against me.”

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 3:30

Good News Translation has the same problem again here as in the previous verse. It is not that no one has ever sailed across the sea in order to find Wisdom, but that no one has succeeded. No one has ever found Wisdom by looking for her overseas. Nor has anyone ever succeeded in buying Wisdom, not even with the finest gold.

Pure gold refers to the “finest gold,” that which has the fewest impurities. Compare Job 28.14-17.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• No one has ever sailed [a boat] across the sea [or, ocean] and succeeded in finding Wisdom. No one has ever been able to buy her [Wisdom], not even with pure gold.

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 4:25

My children, endure with patience the wrath that has come upon you from God: Good News Translation shortens this to “My children, endure God’s punishment with patience.” God’s wrath manifests itself as punishment, and it is obviously upon you (see the comments on verse 9). Contemporary English Version expresses this with “For now, my children, be patient. God has punished you in anger.” In some languages, however, this will need to be rendered as “My children, God is punishing you now. You must be patient as you endure this.”

Your enemy has overtaken you: “Persecuted” (Good News Translation) is much closer to the meaning of the Greek word rendered overtaken. Moore translates “hounded.” “Tormented” would also be a good choice. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version translate your enemy as plural (“Your enemies”) for consistency, since the plural will be needed in the next lines.

You will soon see their destruction: This may be rendered in the active voice as “you will soon see people destroy them.”

Will tread upon their necks: This quotes the Greek version of Deut 33.29. The idiom means exactly what Good News Translation says with “at your mercy,” or Contemporary English Version with “you will have power over them,” but it is more than a figure of speech. In Josh 10.22-26 treading on the neck is a ritual act performed by the victor in battle before executing the defeated enemy. However, in most languages translators will need to make the meaning clear as in Good News Translation or Contemporary English Version, and if necessary, include a footnote explaining this custom. Compare also Isa 51.23.

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 1:11

Which cannot save themselves from rust and corrosion: Which refers back to the idols, not to the materials of which they were made. Save themselves from means “keep [or, protect] themselves from.” Rust is not technically correct, since rust forms only on iron. “Tarnish” (so Good News Translation) is a better word; it can refer to discolored silver. The Greek word here also refers to the green coating that discolors copper. Some idols were cast in bronze and overlaid with gold or silver. Perhaps this is what the writer is referring to. The meaning of corrosion is discussed in the paragraph below.

When they have been dressed in purple robes is a clause ambiguously placed in Greek. It can be taken with the following sentence (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) or with what comes before it (Good News Translation, New American Bible, New English Bible, Moore). How we understand the Greek word that Revised Standard Version renders corrosion will determine which of these two connections is correct. Literally the word means “food.” A textual problem lurks behind this word, but basically the text is saying the idols cannot save themselves from being eaten. Revised Standard Version seems to take this term as referring to metal being eaten away by using corrosion (which is similar to the term it renders as rust), although how gold or silver can be described this way is not clear. Good News Translation “termites” assumes that the woodwork of the idols is being eaten away by termites. New English Bible and Moore translate “moth[s].” (This can partly be explained on the basis of the textual problem just mentioned; compare Matt 6.19-20.) But moths attack cloth, so both New English Bible and Moore, like Good News Translation, reorder the verse so that the purple robes clause comes before the rust and corrosion clause. This way the moths are seen as attacking the purple robes. New Jerusalem Bible says “woodworm” and New American Bible has “insects,” which may be the best solution of all.

The translator must understand that the Greek word used here does not literally mean “termite,” “insect,” “corrosion,” or “moth” (though it is possible the Hebrew original had “moth”). It means “food.” The various translations are interpreting it in somewhat different ways, but they all amount to saying that the idols cannot protect themselves from being eaten away by something or other. The translator will probably feel more comfortable and the readers less puzzled if the two clauses of this verse are reversed, as in Good News Translation, and the problematic noun is translated as “insects” or as some particular insect known to devour wood or cloth.

Purple goods were a sign of wealth or distinction. Compare Jdg 8.26; Est 8.15; 1 Macc 8.14. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark suggests ways for translating the color purple. In brief, translators are urged to take one of four possible approaches (in order of preference):
(1) select an indigenous term that is approximately the color of purple or red-blue;
(2) find an approximation of the color, employing other terms that identify colors that are quite close; for example, “dark red,” “burnt red,” and so on;
(3) identify the color purple through the color of some bird or flower; for example, “cloth dyed with the color of…”;
(4) use a phrase identifying the process of dyeing cloth, for example, “cloth like that dyed in…,” and then introduce the proper plant in the culture that is used for dyeing cloth or other materials with a purple color.

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 1:43

Whatever is done for them is false: The translation must make it clear that them refers to the idols, not the women referred to in verse 43. The Good News Translation rendering of this sentence, “Everything about these idols is false,” is an equally good translation of the Greek. New American Bible has an interesting approach: “All that takes place around these gods is a fraud.” This is not only a justifiable translation of the Greek text, but it also relates the verse to the verse just before it. Another way to say this is “Everything that happens around these idols is false.”

A more difficult problem for some translators may be finding an appropriate equivalent for the term false. The worship of these idols is useless, vain, without value. Contemporary English Version follows this interpretation with “Everything the Babylonians do to serve their idols is useless.” New English Bible attempts to round out the meaning with two descriptive nouns, “fraud and delusion,” where the fraud is on the part of the priests and the delusion is on the part of the worshipers.

Why then must any one think that they are gods, or call them gods?: This occurrence of the refrain is almost word for word the same as in verse 40. The difference in Greek is altogether too minor to be reflected in translation.

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 1:14

If integrated into the book of Daniel: 3.37

For: This introductory conjunction needs to be expressed in some manner, since a stark contrast is about to be drawn between the great promises to the Jewish ancestors and the reduced numbers of the current Jewish population. “But now” in Good News Translation does this quite well (also New English Bible).

We … have become fewer than any nation, and are brought low this day in all the world because of our sins: New English Bible interprets this well, saying “we have been made the smallest of all nations; for our sins we are today the most abject in the world.” The problem here is that “the smallest of all nations” sounds like territory is in view rather than population. The Greek rendered are brought low this day in all the world can be understood as meaning that “we Jews are now in disgrace anywhere in the world we may be” (so Good News Translation). Another understanding is “we are today the most abject [degraded] people in the world” (so New English Bible). The majority of versions seem to favor the first interpretation.

It is possible to reverse the order of the clauses in this verse, placing the final clause first as follows:

• But we sinned, Lord, and so now we have fewer people than any other nation, and we live in disgrace wherever we may be.

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.