The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “thirst” or “thirsty” in English is translated in Kituba as “hungry for water.” (Source: Donald Deer in
See also thirst (figuratively).
Haec dicit Dominus omnipotens: In deserto cum essetis in flumine amaro sitientes et blasphemantes nomen meum,
22Thus says the Lord Almighty: When you were in the wilderness, at the bitter stream, thirsty and blaspheming my name,
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “thirst” or “thirsty” in English is translated in Kituba as “hungry for water.” (Source: Donald Deer in
See also thirst (figuratively).
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is translated as “blasphemy” or “blaspheme” is translated in various forms:
The Greek that is translated as “desert” or “wilderness” in English is translated in a number of ways:
Note that in Luke 15:4, usually a term is used that denotes pastoral land, such as “eating/grazing-place” in Tagbanwa (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).
See also wilderness and desolate wilderness.
The Greek and Latin that is translated as “Lord Almighty” in English is translated in Central Subanen as Kaunutan, su Tampusan Ginuungan Megbebayaꞌ or “Lord, the ultimate powerful God.” (Source: Robert Brichoux in OPTAT 1988/2, p. 80ff. )
See also LORD of hosts.
The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.
In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.
In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:
In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.
Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”
When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).
Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):
We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.
New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.
Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient Greek Septuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”
See also Father / Lord.
Thus says the Lord Almighty: See the comments on verses 12 and 15.
When you were in the wilderness, at the bitter stream, thirsty and blaspheming my name: See Exo 15.22-25 for this incident recalled in verses 22-23. The bitter stream may be rendered “that stream full of bitter water.” The word bitter describes the unpleasant taste of the water in a general sense. It was possibly caustic, with a sharp, biting taste, but was not necessarily sour as opposed to “sweet” in verse 23. Most languages will have an expression to describe liquid or food that has an unpleasant or bitter taste. Blaspheming my name may be translated “cursing me” or “saying evil things about me.”
Here is an alternative model for this verse:
• “ ‘The Lord Almighty [also] says, “When you were at that stream of bitter water in the wilderness, you were so thirsty that you were cursing me.
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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