solid / inflexible

In Gbaya, the notion of something solid or in an inflexible position (including the “plaster” in Sirach 22:17) is emphasized with ngeraa, an ideophone that expresses something solid, compact; in an inflexible position.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

unmovable

In Gbaya, the notion of “unmovable” is emphasized with mitak, an ideophone used to describe the act of standing firmly, with support and energy.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

gentiles / nations

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).

Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).

In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also nations.

Translation commentary on 1 Maccabees 4:6-7

The scene now changes to Judas and his men, so translators may begin a new paragraph here (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Bible).

At daybreak may be expressed as “At dawn” (Good News Bible) or “As the sun was rising.”

Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men may be rendered “Judas and his 3,000 [or, three thousand] men came onto the plain [or, flat area] near Emmaus.”

But they did not have armor and swords such as they desired: The writer wants us to know that Judas’ men were not only outnumbered (see verse 1 and 1Macc 3.39), but also not as well armed. The Greek speaks of both armor and swords; Good News Bible says simply “well armed.” This is adequate, but not as complete as we would like. Contemporary English Version is similar to Revised Standard Version for the last half of verse 6 with “They did not have enough swords or armor for the battle.”

And they saw the camp of the Gentiles may be rendered “They saw the place where the Gentiles [or, foreigners] had set up their tents.”

Strong and fortified, with cavalry round about it: It is not clear what fortified refers to. It may be taken to refer to the armor of the individual soldiers (so Good News Bible, New American Bible, Goldstein) or to fortifications around the camp itself (so New English Bible, An American Translation, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, La Bible Pléiade, and Abel). We recommend the latter understanding. These fortifications would have been “breastworks” (New English Bible), a temporary wall of earth and stones about chest-high, surrounding the camp, so strong and fortified may be rendered “the camp had strong walls around it.” With cavalry round about it may be translated “cavalry [or, soldiers on horseback] patrolled all around the camp.”

And these men were trained in war: It is not clear whether this clause refers to all the soldiers (so Good News Bible and most others), or only the cavalry (so New English Bible, Revised English Bible). We recommend the former understanding, so verse 7 may be rendered “There they saw a well-fortified camp filled with well-trained soldiers, and patrolled by men on horseback” or “There they saw a camp with strong walls around it, filled with well-trained soldiers. Men on horseback patrolled it on all sides.”

A model that combines verses 6 and 7 by placing the last half of verse 6 at the end is:

• At daybreak, Judas and his 3,000 [or, three thousand] men came onto the plain near Emmaus. There they saw the camp of the Gentiles with strong walls around it, and filled with well-trained soldiers. Men on horseback patrolled the camp on every side. The Jews realized how inferior their own armor and swords were.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.