The word play in the Hebrew original between “shaqed” (translated in most English versions as “almond tree”) of Jeremiah 1:11 and “shoqed” (translated in most English versions as “watching”) in Jeremiah 1:12 is reproduced in the German Good News translation (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) of 1982 with Wacholderzweig (“juniper branch”) and wache (“watch”). Accompanying the translation is a note, indicating that the literal translation would be Mandelbaum (“almond tree”), which they point out is the first to bloom in the spring, giving the appearance not to have slept. Then they explain that just as Hebrew has a play on words between “shaqed” and “shoqed,” so also they have made a play on words between Wacholder and wachen in their translation.
Das Wortspiel im hebräischen Oiginal zwischen "shaqed" (zu deutsch "Mandelbaum") in Jer. 1.11 und "shoqed" (zu deutsch "sehen", "schauen") in Jer 1.12 wird von der Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch von 1982 mit "Wacholderzweig" and "wache" nachgebildet. Die Übersetzung wird von folgender Fußnote begleitet: "Der Mandelbaum blüht im Frühjahr als erster und scheint im Winter sozusagen gar nicht 'geschlafen' zu haben." Dann wird erklärt, dass das hebräische Wortspiel dem deutschen Wortspiel zwischen "Wacholder" und "wachen" Vorbild war.
The Hebrew in Jeremiah 10:5 that is translated as “scarecrow” in English is translated in Bassa in Liberia as “a stick that a person decorates with clothes and sets in a farm.”
The Hebrew in Jeremiah 4:3 that is translated as “break up your fallow ground” in some English versions is translated as “prepare your hard hearts like a person prepares a garden spot” in Bassa.
The musical instrument that is most often translated as “flute” or “pipe” in English is more or less universally used, so it’s typically translated directly with the applicable term.
Since its cultural significance is sometimes different it might be translated with a different instruments is some cases (see also below). When in Matthew 11:17 and Luke 7:32 the flute is mentioned as an instrument played at a wedding, the Chichewa (interconfessional translation, 1999) translates it as “we played the wedding drum for you” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 74), the Yakan and Kankanaey translations use “gongs” (source: Yakan and Kankanaey Back Translations), in Western Bukidnon Manobo “drumming” is used (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation), and in Tagbanwa “stringed-instruments” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).
Or in Jeremiah 48:36 where the flute is used for mourning, Bassa uses “funeral drum” (source: Newman / Stine) or Hiligaynon, while using “flute,” makes the meaning explicit: “like a lonely music of a flute for the dead” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation).
Description: The flute was a wind instrument consisting of a tube with a series of finger holes used to alter the tone. Some flutes were made of reed and could take several forms: the tube could be a cylinder or it could be more in the shape of a cone. There were instruments made of a single tube, while others had two tubes side by side. Often ancient double flutes or double pipes were arranged in a V-shape, with two separate reeds. One of these pipes had several holes while the other had only one hole and acted as a kind of drone, providing an unchanging tone to accompany the varying tones coming from the first pipe. Some pipes or flutes were made of other materials, such as wood, ivory, bone, or metal.
Usage: Sound was produced with the flute by blowing across an opening leading into a hole running inside the length of the instrument; in some cases the opening hole was in the end of the instrument while in others this hole was in the side of the instrument toward one end. With the reed pipe, on the other hand, a column of air was set in motion by blowing over a reed device, causing it to vibrate.
Translation: If there is no wind instrument available to translate “flute,” a different kind of wind instrument may be used.
The Hebrew word ‘ugav is usually understood to refer to a wind instrument. It is possible, however, that it is a generic term for “instrument” or even refers to a particular stringed instrument. In Job 21:12 and Job 30:31 it is identified as an instrument that expressed joy and contentment.
Psalms 5:1: The Hebrew word nchiloth appears only here in the Old Testament, and its meaning is uncertain. It may mean “wind instruments” in general or “flutes” in particular. Extra-biblical evidence indicates that it may have been an instrument played for funeral laments.
Matthew 9:23: Here New Revised Standard Version, updated edition has “flute players”: According to Jewish tradition, even the poorest people were expected to have two flute players and a wailing woman for a funeral. In order to clarify the role of the flute players Good News Translation adds “for the funeral.” This information was immediately evident to a Jewish reader who was familiar with the funeral customs, but it will not be clear to other readers. Many cultures are familiar with the flute or other instruments that are played by blowing through a wooden tube. If no such instrument exists, then translators can say “those who played musical instruments for a funeral” or, as in Good News Translation, “musicians for the funeral.” See also flute players.
Men playing flutes (source: Louise Bass (c) British and Foreign Bible Society 1994)
See (so also New International Version) is translated “Look” by New Jerusalem Bible; in function this word is an attention-getter, similar to “Behold” in verse 9, and it is left out as unnecessary by a number of translations (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, New English Bible, An American Translation [An American Translation]).
The Hebrew verb translated set … over is translated “made … overseer” by Revised Standard Version in Gen 39.4. That is also the rendering given the text by Bright (Anchor Bible) here; both Good News Translation and New English Bible have “give … authority over.” In Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch the first part of verse 10 is rendered “From today on you have power over people and kingdoms.” New International Version and Bible en français courant interpret the word to mean “appoint” or “entrust” with similar meaning to the word in verse 5. So New International Version has “today I appoint you over nations…” and Bible en français courant “today I entrust [or, assign] you with a task that concerns nations….”
Kingdoms are, of course, themselves nations with kings. The usage of two or more words with essentially the same meaning is a typical feature of the Hebrew language. Therefore, it is not really necessary to attempt to distinguish between these two terms, particularly if that would result in an awkward sentence. “Countries and chiefdoms” might be tried, but the function of the combination is perhaps here intended to be inclusive: “all peoples,” “all nations,” or “all countries.”
The way in which Jeremiah’s authority over nations and kingdoms would reveal itself is defined by six verbs, four of which are negative (pluck up … break down … destroy … overthrow) and two of which are positive (build … plant). This reflects Jeremiah’s preaching, the major portion of which concerns God’s judgment upon the people because of their sin.
The portrayal of Jeremiah’s prophetic task in six verbs is not intended to describe events in sequence, as though Jeremiah’s message of judgment (the first four verbs) would then be followed by that of salvation (the last two verbs). Throughout the course of his ministry Jeremiah emphasized both aspects, though his proclamation was weighted in the direction of judgment. Some scholars assume that the phrase to destroy and to overthrow was not an original part of the text. They believe it was brought in from such passages as 18.7; 24.6; 31.28. If these two verbs were omitted, then a construction would result in which pluck up would balance with plant and break down would balance with build. Although this suggestion is attractive, it is without textual support, and so cannot be followed in translation.
The six verbs that Jeremiah uses are taken from everyday life in his part of the world. Pluck up (Good News Translation “uproot”) and plant come from agricultural life, and a play on words is probably intended between the words pluck up and break down, which sound very much alike in Hebrew. Break down is used of houses in 33.4 and of the walls of Jerusalem in 39.8 and 52.14. Israel and Judah, together with their people and animals, are the object of this verb in 31.28, while in 18.7 it has the same objects as it does here.
The verb destroy appears also in 18.7 and 31.28. In 46.8 it is used of cities and their inhabitants and in 49.38 of a king and his princes. In 25.10, where its objects are “voice,” “grinding,” and “light,” Revised Standard Version translates the verb as “banish.”
Overthrow also is used together with break down and destroy in 31.28, while in three other passages it is used in parallel to pluck up (24.6, where Revised Standard Version translates it “uproot”; 42.10; 45.4). Thus all four of these verbs convey essentially the same meaning, and they were perhaps used by Jeremiah with no real distinction between them.
Pluck up is often translated with a word that means to pull up by the roots. Generally it is not necessary to make this a complete simile, as in “pull them up by their roots as if they were a plant” or “pull them up like a plant by its roots”; but this can be done if translators feel that otherwise readers would not follow the meaning. Similarly, it is sometimes helpful to render break down with “tear them down like a building” or “destroy them like tearing down a building.” And likewise with the other verbs. The problem with such comparisons is that some of the impact of the sharp poetic imagery is lost. But in languages where some object of these verbs is needed, translators can say “I have given you authority today over all countries, so that you will uproot them or break them down, destroy them or demolish them, build them up or make them grow like plants.”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
The sentence begun in verse 23 continues. Translators may continue that way as well, but it will be better in many languages to begin a new sentence here: “You are like a wild ass….”
A wild ass used to the wilderness (New International Version “a wild donkey accustomed to the desert”) represents the text of the Hebrew as we have it. However, some scholars believe this expression is senseless in the context because it disturbs the figure and does not fit grammatically. Thus they conclude that a scribe unintentionally repeated two letters of the Hebrew text when copying it. If these two letters are removed and another slight alteration is made in the Hebrew, it may then be made to say “rushing into the desert” (Good News Translation). Both Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible accept this modification of the Hebrew, though without a footnote; Revised English Bible also takes this approach, but it provides a footnote, as does Good News Translation. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project prefers that the Hebrew text be followed, as is the case with Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Luther 1984, and An American Translation.
A wild ass is an animal that is related to the horse, although it is smaller than a horse. If the animal is unknown, then translators can have simply “wild animal.”
For wilderness see verse 2.
Heat is literally “longing” or “desire” (compare the use of the noun in Deut 12.15); the related verb is translated “desire” by Revised Standard Version in 17.16. But here the noun is used in parallel with lust, which refers to that period when an animal is sexually excited and reproductively active.
Sniffing the wind describes the activity of the female animal in heat, as it goes about seeking the scent of a male animal.
It may make the line more natural to restructure, as in “sniffing the wind as she is in heat [or, is filled with desire.]” Or the first two lines could be dealt with together: “[You are like] a wild donkey in heat rushing into the desert sniffing the wind.”
Who can restrain her lust? may be expressed as “Who can restrain her in her heat [or, lust]?” or as a statement, “No one can hold her back when she is full of lust [or, in heat].”
None who seek refers to the male animal. Good News Translation makes this clear: “No male that wants her.”
The verb translated weary is found again in 51.58, 64. The weariness referred to here is that which results from running, which is similar to the usage of the verb in Isa 40.30-31, where Revised Standard Version renders it “faint.” In some cases a slight expansion has been necessary for this line: “No male that wants her needs wear himself out chasing her.”
In her month is used in parallel to in her heat and her lust. Some translators will use an expression from their language that refers to the time when a female animal is in heat, or a phrase such as “at that time when she is in heat.” Good News Translation translates in her heatsniffing the wind … her lust … in her month as “When she is in heat … she is always available in mating season.”
They will find refers back to the subject of None who seek.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
At the end of verse 20, “O house of Israel” makes it clear who is being addressed in this passage. Good News Translation and many other languages move this vocative to the beginning of the passage here in verse 19: “Israel….”
In Hebrew I is emphatic. New International Version therefore has “I myself said.” Since a new section heading is introduced, it may be helpful to identify the subject as “The LORD” (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). In order to reflect the emphasis, some have put “The LORD himself.”
Thought (New Jerusalem Bible “was thinking”) translates a verb that may be present tense (Good News Translation “says”) or past (Revised English Bible “said”). The nature of Hebrew is such that the time indicated by verbs (whether past, present, or future) must be determined from the context. This explains the reason for the variation between present and past tenses in the translations.
Set you among my sons is thought by some scholars to contrast the status of sons with that of daughters, who normally could not receive an inheritance. But the meaning is rather that the LORD, the creator of all people, wished to give Israel the place of honor among all nations; so Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “I had decided to give you a place of honor among the peoples,” and Bible en français courant is similar with “how I loved to make you the first [that is, most important] among my sons.” New International Version “How gladly would I treat you like sons” does not convey the idea of giving a prominent place to, and nor does Good News Translation “I wanted to accept you as my child.”
A pleasant land is translated “a desirable land” by New International Version and “a delightful land” by Good News Translation. New Jerusalem Bible has “a country of delights.” The word translated pleasant is used also in 12.10 and 25.34 (Revised Standard Version “choice”). In some languages it will be necessary to add “to dwell in.”
Heritage (see 2.7) derives from the same stem as the verb “gave … for a heritage” in 3.18. Bible en français courant has “property.” The full meaning, although this might be too long to be natural, would be “promised property” or “land to possess permanently.” Most translators follow Good News Translation with “land.”
Most beauteous (Good News Translation “most beautiful”) is more literally “glory of the glorious,” a Hebrew construction used to express the highest degree of beauty. Lines 3 and 4 are translated by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch as “A glorious land, the most glorious land known among the nations, will be yours forever.”
My Father: See 2.27. Here translators may say “… you would say to me ‘You are our father’ ” or “… you would call me your father.”
Would not turn from following me once again takes up the play on words with turn/return/faithless (see verse 6); this will be continued in verse 22 with “faithless” and “faithlessness.” Good News Translation attempts to reflect the play on words: “and never again turn away from me … (22) Return, all of you who have turned away from the LORD.” “Turn away from following me” is also common.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
