2Chr 34:7 – TIPs

altar

The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that is translated as “altar” in English is translated in a number of ways:

Obolo: ntook or “raised structure for keeping utensils (esp. sacrifice)” (source: Enene Enene)
Muna: medha kaefoampe’a or “offering table” (source: René van den Berg)
Luchazi: muytula or “the place where one sets the burden down”/”the place where the life is laid down” (source: E. Pearson in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 160ff. )
Tzotzil: “where they place God’s gifts” (source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation, March 1965, p. 2ff.)
Tsafiki: “table for giving to God” (source: Bruce Moore in Notes on Translation 1/1992, p. 1ff.)
Noongar: karla-kooranyi or “sacred fire” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “offering-burning table” (source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “place for sacrificing” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “burning-place” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tibetan: mchod khri (མཆོད་ཁྲི།) or “offering throne” (source: gSungrab website )
Bura-Pabir: “sacrifice mound” (source: Andy Warrren-Rothlin)
Kalanga: “fireplace of sacrifice” (source: project-specific notes in Paratext)

The Ignaciano translators decided to translate the difficult term in that language according to the focus of each New Testament passage in which the word appears (click or tap here to see the rest of this insight

Willis Ott (in Notes on Translation 88/1982, p. 18ff.) explains:

Matt. 5:23,24: “When you take your offering to God, and arriving, you remember…, do not offer your gift yet. First go to your brother…Then it is fitting to return and offer your offering to God.” (The focus is on improving relationships with people before attempting to improve a relationship with God, so the means of offering, the altar, is not focal.)
Matt. 23:18 (19,20): “You also teach erroneously: ‘If someone makes a promise, swearing by the offering-place/table, he is not guilty if he should break the promise. But if he swears by the gift that he put on the offering-place/table, he will be guilty if he breaks the promise.'”
Luke 1:11: “…to the right side of the table where they burn incense.”
Luke 11.51. “…the one they killed in front of the temple (or the temple enclosure).” (The focus is on location, with overtones on: “their crime was all the more heinous for killing him there”.)
Rom. 11:3: “Lord, they have killed all my fellow prophets that spoke for you. They do not want anyone to give offerings to you in worship.” (The focus is on the people’s rejection of religion, with God as the object of worship.)
1Cor. 9:13 (10:18): “Remember that those that attend the temple have rights to eat the foods that people bring as offerings to God. They have rights to the meat that the people offer.” (The focus is on the right of priests to the offered food.)
Heb. 7:13: “This one of whom we are talking is from another clan. No one from that clan was ever a priest.” (The focus in on the legitimacy of this priest’s vocation.)
Jas. 2:21: “Remember our ancestor Abraham, when God tested him by asking him to give him his son by death. Abraham was to the point of stabbing/killing his son, thus proving his obedience.” (The focus is on the sacrifice as a demonstration of faith/obedience.)
Rev. 6:9 (8:3,5; 9:13; 14:18; 16:7): “I saw the souls of them that…They were under the table that holds God’s fire/coals.” (This keeps the concepts of: furniture, receptacle for keeping fire, and location near God.)
Rev. 11:1: “Go to the temple, Measure the building and the inside enclosure (the outside is contrasted in v. 2). Measure the burning place for offered animals. Then count the people who are worshiping there.” (This altar is probably the brazen altar in a temple on earth, since people are worshiping there and since outside this area conquerors are allowed to subjugate for a certain time.)

sacred pole

The Hebrew that is typically translated as “sacred pole” in English is translated in Elhomwe with mafanwiiwa a Asherimu or “idol of Asherah” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext) and in the English translation by Goldingay (2018) as totem pole.

broken up

In Gbaya, the notion of being broken up into small pieces is emphasized with the ideophone ndúkú-ndúkú.

In Habakkuk 3:16 “rottenness enters into my bones” is translated as “my bones have decomposed and broken up,” emphasized by ndúkú-ndúkú.

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

Jerusalem

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:

“Jerusalem” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

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)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jerusalem .

complete verse (2 Chronicles 34:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 34:7:

Kupsabiny: “Josiah demolished the things of sacrifices and crushed those idols that resembled Asherah and others to become dust. They also destroyed all the things where things that smell sweet were burned in the whole land of Israel. After that, they returned to Jerusalem.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Then, pulverizing the cast metal idols, he turned them into dust. He destroyed the altars for burning incense throughout Israel. After that he came back to Jerusalem.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “He had-destroyed the altars and poles that symbolize the goddess Ashera, and smashed the gods and the altars in which the incense is-being-burned. After he had-done this throughout Israel, he went-home to Jerusalem.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Josiah’s workers tore down the pagan altars and the poles to honor the goddess Asherah, and crushed the idols to powder. They also smashed to pieces all the altars for burning incense throughout Israel. Then Josiah returned to Jerusalem.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 2 Chronicles 34:7

He broke down the altars …: As in the previous verses, it is unlikely that Josiah alone did the actual breaking down of all the altars and performed all the other actions described in this verse. So it may be better to translate “he had the altars destroyed…” or “he supervised the smashing of the altars….”

And beat the Asherim and the images into powder: See verse 4. To say that these idols were ground into powder is a way of emphasizing the thoroughness with which the destruction was carried out.

And hewed down all the incense altars: See verse 4.

Throughout all the land of Israel clearly refers to the northern kingdom of Israel. Good News Translation makes this clear with “Throughout the territory of the Northern Kingdom.” Contemporary English Version is similar with “Everywhere in the northern kingdom of Israel,” and so are Bible en français courant and Parole de Vie with “within all the tribes of the north.”

Then he returned to Jerusalem: After Josiah destroyed all the idols and their altars in the northern kingdom, he went back to Jerusalem.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 Chronicles 34:7

34:7a He tore down the altars and Asherah poles,

He ordered people to demolish the altars and the poles ⌊that were images of the goddess⌋ Asherah.
-or-
He gave orders to destroy the sacrifice platforms and the wooden poles ⌊where people worshiped the goddess⌋ Asherah.

34:7b crushed the idols to powder,

They smashed the idols until they were dust
-or-
They ground the statues of the gods into powder

34:7c and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel.

and cut the incense altars into pieces in all the land of Israel.
-or-
and destroyed the platforms where they burned sweet-smelling spices. They did that all over Israel.

34:7d Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Then Josiah returned to Jerusalem.
-or-
When King Josiah ⌊finished doing that⌋ he went back to Jerusalem.

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Verse: 2 Chronicles 34:7