worship

The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek terms that are often translated as “worship” (also, “kneel down” or “bow down”) are likewise translated in other languages in certain categories, including those based on physical activity, those which incorporate some element of “speaking” or “declaring,” and those which specify some type of mental activity.

Following is a list of (back-) translations (click or tap for details):

  • Javanese: “prostrate oneself before”
  • Malay: “kneel and bow the head”
  • Kaqchikel: “kneel before”
  • Loma (Liberia): “drop oneself beneath God’s foot”
  • Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “wag the tail before God” (using a verb which with an animal subject means “to wag the tail,” but with a human subject)
  • Tzotzil: “join to”
  • Kpelle: “raise up a blessing to God”
  • Kekchí: “praise as your God”
  • Cashibo-Cacataibo: “say one is important”
  • San Blas Kuna: “think of God with the heart”
  • Rincón Zapotec: “have one’s heart go out to God”
  • Tabasco Chontal: “holy-remember” (source of this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Bariai: “lift up God’s name” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Q’anjob’al: “humble oneself before” (source: Newberry and Kittie Cox in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 91ff. )
  • Alur: rwo: “complete submission, adoration, consecration” (source: F. G. Lasse in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 22ff. )
  • Obolo: itọtọbọ ebum: “express reverence and devotion” (source: Enene Enene)
  • Ngäbere: “cut oneself down before” (“This figure of speech comes from the picture of towering mahoganies in the forest which, under the woodman’s ax, quiver, waver, and then in solemn, thunderous crashing bury their lofty heads in the upstretched arms of the surrounding forest. This is the experience of every true worshiper who sees ‘the Lord, high and lifted up.’ Our own unworthiness brings us low. As the Valientes say, ‘we cut ourselves down before’ His presence. Our heads, which have been carried high in self-confidence, sink lower and lower in worship.)
  • Tzeltal: “end oneself before God.” (“Only by coming to the end of oneself can one truly worship. The animist worships his deities in the hope of receiving corresponding benefits, and some pagans in Christendom think that church attendance is a guarantee of success in this life and good luck in the future. But God has never set a price on worship except the price that we must pay, namely, ‘coming to the end of ourselves.'”) (Source of this and the one above: Nida 1952, p. 163)
  • Folopa: “die under God” (“an idiom that roughly back-translates “dying under God” which means lifting up his name and praising him and to acknowledge by everything one does and thanks that God is superior.”) (Source: Anderson / Moore, p. 202)
  • Chokwe: kuivayila — “rub something on” (“When anyone goes into the presence of a king or other superior, according to native law and custom the inferior gets down on the ground, takes a little earth in the fingers of his right hand, rubs it on his own body, and then claps his hands in homage and the greeting of friendship. It is a token of veneration, of homage, of extreme gratitude for some favor received. It is also a recognition of kingship, lordship, and a prostrating of oneself in its presence. Yet it simply is the applicative form of ‘to rub something on oneself’, this form of the verb giving the value of ‘because of.’ Thus in God’s presence as king and Lord we metaphorically rub dirt on ourselves, thus acknowledging Him for what He really is and what He has done for us.”) (Source: D. B. Long in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 87ff. )
  • In the German New Testament translation Fridolin Stier (1989) it is consistently translated as “bow (to someone) deeply” (tief verneigen)

In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning:

Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.

complete verse (2 Kings 10:22)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 10:22:

  • Kupsabiny: “Jehu had earlier told the person in charge of the holy clothes to bring those clothes to those people to wear.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “And he said to the keeper of the wardrobe, "Bring robes for all who do puja to Baal." So he brought robes for them to put on.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Jehu told the one-who-takes-care of the garments which are for-worship, ‘Have- these garments -to-be-worn by all who serve Baal.’ So he obeyed this.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Jehu told the priest who took care of the sacred robes to bring them out and give them to the people who worshiped Baal. So the priest did that.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 2 Kings 10:22

Him who was in charge of the wardrobe: The Hebrew word translated wardrobe occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament. Its meaning is, therefore, the subject of some discussion. But it is generally agreed that the phrase here refers to a person who was responsible for the special clothing that the admirers of Baal wore during their worship services. A legitimate translation, therefore, might be “the person who took care of the special clothes for the worship of Baal.” New Century Version has “the man who kept the robes.”

Bring out the vestments for all the worshipers of Baal: The word vestments, which occurs twice in this verse, refers to the special clothing that the guardian of the wardrobe kept in reserve for such occasions. New Living Translation translates the words of Jehu as “Be sure that every worshiper of Baal wears one of these robes.” The direct quotation of the text may be rendered indirectly if this is more natural in the receptor language. Good News Translation provides a good model for this approach.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 Kings 10:22

10:22a And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe,

Then Jehu commanded the one who looked after the sacred robes,

-or-

Jehu spoke to the man who took care of the special clothes ⌊for the worship of Baal⌋ .

10:22b “Bring out garments for all the servants of Baal.”

“Make sure that every worshiper of Baal wears one of these robes.”

-or-

He told him to bring out the clothes/robes for all the servants of Baal ⌊to wear⌋ .

10:22c So he brought out garments for them.

So he gave out the robes to each of them.

-or-

So the man provided the worshipers with the special clothing/robes.

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