57And the priests stood arrayed in their vestments, with musical instruments and trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, praising the Lord and blessing him, according to the directions of King David of Israel;
Description: Cymbals were a percussion instrument consisting of two metal discs that were struck together in order to make a shrill, clashing sound. There were two types of cymbals: (1) flat metal plates that were struck together, and (2) metal cones, one of which was brought down on top of the other, on the open end.
Translation: The equivalent of “cymbal” in many languages is a phrase such as “loud metal.”
Cymbals (source: Susan Mitford (c) British and Foreign Bible Society 1986)
The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin that is transliterated “Levites” in English (only the Contemporary English Version translates it as “temple helpers”) is translated in Ojitlán Chinantec as “temple caretakers,” Yatzachi Zapotec as “people born in the family line of Levi, people whose responsibility it was to do the work in the important church of the Israelites,” in Alekano as “servants in the sacrifice house from Jerusalem place,” and in Tenango Otomi as “helpers of priests.” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
In American Sign Language with a sign that combines “temple” + “servant.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Levite” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
Verse 57 contains much material that simply repeats what has been said in verse 56, so we suggest combining these two verses as in Good News Bible and Contemporary English Version.
In the second year after their coming to the temple of God in Jerusalem, in the second month … on the new moon of the second month in the second year after they came to Judea and Jerusalem: Contemporary English Version combines these phrases well by saying “On the first day of the second month of the second year after the people had returned to Judea and Jerusalem from Babylonia.” Contemporary English Version also adds the following helpful footnote on “second month”: “Ziv (also called Iyyar), the second month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-April to mid-May.” The new moon of the second month simply refers to the first day of the month, since the beginning of the months was determined by the new moon. Good News Bible lacks the idea of the new moon, that is, “the first day” of the month.
Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with their brethren and the Levitical priests and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity: For Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, see the comments on verses 5-6. Contemporary English Version says simply “Zerubbabel and Joshua” (similarly Good News Bible), since the fathers of these two men have been identified twice already in this chapter. Other languages may find this a helpful model. Made a beginning refers to beginning the work of rebuilding the Temple, which began with laying its foundation. Their brethren probably refers to men who assisted Zerubbabel, just as the Levitical priests refers to those helped Joshua (compare verse 48). The Greek expression for the Levitical priests is better rendered as two groups of people, for example, Good News Bible says “the priests, and the Levites.” All who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity refers to all the other Jews who had returned to Judah from exile in Babylonia.
And they laid the foundation of the temple of God means they began laying the Temple’s foundation. In some cultures foundations may be unknown because they are not required for dwellings or other types of buildings. However, only the most temporary shelters require no base or no fixture into the ground. Some languages therefore speak of the “foot of the house” or the central post that is placed in a hole dug into the ground. The foundation of the temple consisted of large rocks.
Here are alternative models for combining verses 56 and 57:
• Work began on God’s Temple [or, They began to work on God’s Temple] on the first day of the second month, the year after the people returned to Judah and Jerusalem from their exile. Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, with his assistants, and Joshua, son of Jozadak, along with all the other priests and Levites, and the rest of the returning exiles, began [the work] by laying the foundation.
• … All the people who returned from exile were involved in this work, including Zerubbabel and his assistants, and Joshua and the other priests and Levites. Their first job was to lay the foundation of the Temple.
Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Esdras. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.
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