וּמִ֨סְכְּנ֔וֹת לִתְבוּאַ֥ת דָּגָ֖ן וְתִיר֣וֹשׁ וְיִצְהָ֑ר וְאֻֽרָוֺת֙ לְכָל־בְּהֵמָ֣ה וּבְהֵמָ֔ה וַעֲדָרִ֖ים לָאֲוֵרֽוֹת׃
28storehouses also for the yield of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of cattle and sheepfolds.
The Hebrew that is translated in English as “livestock” (or “cattle”) is translated in Newari as “living beings brought up in a house” or “living beings cared for in a house” (source: Newari Back Translation). Specifically “cattle” is “cows and oxen.”
In Kwere it is “animals that are being kept.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “grain” (or: “corn”) is translated in Kui as “(unthreshed) rice.” Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) explains: “Padddy [unthreshed rice] is the main crop of the country and rice the staple diet of the people, besides which [grain] is unknown and there is no word for it, and it seemed to us that paddy and rice in the mind of the Kui people stood for all that corn meant to the Jews.” “Paddy” is also the translation in Pa’o Karen (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. ).
Other translations include: “wheat” (Teutila Cuicatec), “corn” (Lalana Chinantec), “things to eat” (Morelos Nahuatl), “grass corn” (wheat) (Chichimeca-Jonaz) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), “millet” (Lambya) (source: project-specific notes in Paratext), “food” (Nyamwezi) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)or ntimumma lujia / “seeds for food” (Lokạạ — “since Lokạạ does not have specific terms for maize and rice that can be described as grains”) (source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that are translated as “wine” in English is translated into Pass Valley Yali as “grape juice pressed long ago (= fermented)” or “strong water” (source: Daud Soesilo). In Guhu-Samane it is also translated as “strong water” (source: Ernest L. Richert in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. ), in Noongar as “liquor” (verbatim: “strong water”) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), in Hausa as ruwan inabi or “water of grapes” (with no indication whether it’s alcoholic or not — source: Mark A. Gaddis), in sar as kasə nduú or “grape drink” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin), or in Papantla Totonac and Coyutla Totonac as “a drink like Pulque” (for “Pulque,” see here ) (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ).
In Swahili, Bible translations try to avoid local words for alcoholic drinks, because “drinking of any alcohol at all was one of the sins most denounced by early missionaries. Hence translators are uncomfortable by the occurrences of wine in the Bible. Some of the established churches which use wine prefer to see church wine as holy, and would not refer to it by the local names used for alcoholic drinks. Instead church wine is often referred to by terms borrowed from other languages, divai (from German, der Wein) or vini/mvinyo (from ltalian/Latin vino/vinum). Several translations done by Protestants have adapted the Swahili divai for ‘wine,’ while those done by Catholics use vini or mvinyo.” (Source: Rachel Konyoro in The Bible Translator 1985, p. 221ff. )
The Swahili divai was in turn borrowed by Sabaot and was turned into tifaayiik and is used as such in the Bible. Kupsabiny, on the other hand, borrowed mvinyo from Swahili and turned it into Finyonik. (Source: Iver Larsen)
In Nyamwezi, two terms are used. Malwa ga muzabibu is a kind of alcohol that people specifically use to get drunk (such as in Genesis 9:21) and ki’neneko is used for a wine made from grapes (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
In some Hindi translations (such as the Common Language version, publ. 2015 ), one term (dākharasa दाखरस — grape juice) is used when that particular drink is in the focus (such as in John 2) and another term (madirā मदिरा — “alcohol” or “liquor”) when drunkenness is in the focus (such as in Eph. 5:18).
In Mandarin Chinese, the generic term jiǔ (酒) or “alcohol(ic drink)” is typically used. Exceptions are Leviticus 10:9, Numbers 6:3, Deuteronomy 29:6, Judges 13:4 et al., 1 Samuel 1:15, and Luke 1:15 where a differentiation between weak and strong alcohol is needed. The Mandarin Chinese Union Version (2010) translates that as qīngjiǔ lièjiǔ (清酒烈酒) and dànjiǔ lièjiǔ (淡酒烈酒), both in the form of a Chinese proverb and meaning “light alcohol and strong drink.” (Source: Zetzsche)
See also proceeds from the vine / anything that comes from the grapevine, wine (Japanese honorifics), filled with new wine, and wine (Gen 27:28).
The different Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “(olive) oil” and “(animal) fat” in English are translated in Kwere with only one term: mavuta. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 32:28:
Storehouses also for the yield of grain, wine, and oil: The storehouses were probably built in order to have emergency food available in time of war. Archaeological excavations have discovered more than 1,000 large storage containers stamped with the Hebrew words “belonging to the king.” The word yield refers to the “harvest” (New International Version) of the various food products mentioned, but this word is often left implied in English versions (so Good News Translation). For grain, wine and oil, see the comments on 2 Chr 31.5. The exact meaning of the Hebrew word translated wine is uncertain. It is not the usual Hebrew word for “wine.” It may refer to fresh wine, but not to unfermented grape juice. Some scholars suggest that the noun refers to “sweet wine.” Perhaps the best translation is “new wine” (New International Version, New Living Translation, Revised English Bible). Oil refers to “olive oil” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).
And stalls for all kinds of cattle: The Hebrew word translated stalls refers to stables where animals are fed and sheltered (see the comments on 2 Chr 9.25). They would have been more substantial constructions that included roofs over the heads of the cattle as opposed to the sheepfolds that had no roofs. All kinds of cattle is literally “all cattle and cattle.” This Hebrew idiom means “all different kinds of cattle.”
And sheepfolds: The Masoretic Text has “and sheep for the pens” (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Nouvelle Bible Segond). The Septuagint and Vulgate have “and pens for the sheep” (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, Moffatt, Bible en français courant), and the ancient Syriac omits these words completely. The rendering in the Septuagint and the Vulgate is parallel to the first part of the verse, that is, he had storehouses for his grain and pens for his sheep. But Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to “and sheep for the pens,” explaining the sense to be that Hezekiah had so many sheep that they filled up his sheep pens.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
32:28a He also made storehouses for the harvest of grain and new wine and oil,
He also built houses to hold his grain and to store the new wine and the olive oil.
-or-
He also had ⌊his workmen⌋ build barns to store the grain ⌊his people⌋ harvested, and the fresh wine and olive oil.
32:28b stalls for all kinds of livestock, and pens for the flocks.
He built barns to house all sorts of domestic animals and his sheep and goats.
-or-
He had ⌊his workmen⌋ build enclosures for his different kinds of livestock, sheep and goats.
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