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 5:38 - 5:38 - 5:39

Judas sent men to spy out the camp, and they reported to him: The camp refers to Timothy’s army camp. Judas sent scouts to spy on it from a distance. They did not enter the camp itself. In some languages these two clauses may be expressed as “Judas sent some men to spy on the place where Timothy and his men had set up their tents, and they returned and reported to him.”

What follows in this verse and the next one may be reported as direct speech (so Revised Standard Version) or as indirect speech (so Good News Bible).

All the Gentiles around us have gathered to him; it is a very large force. They also have hired Arabs to help them, and they are encamped across the stream, ready to come and fight against you: If this is translated as indirect discourse, Good News Bible may be used as a model. The model below uses direct speech.

And Judas went to meet them may be rendered “So Judas led his soldiers out to fight them.”

An alternative model for verses 38-39 is:

• 38 Judas sent out some scouts to spy on the enemy camp [or, on the place where Timothy and his men had set up their tents], and they came back and told him [or, reported to him]: “All the Gentiles in this whole region have joined Timothy. He has a very large army. 39 He has even hired some Arabs to help him. Their camp is just across the stream, and they are ready to attack us.” So Judas led his soldiers out to fight them.

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.