blaspheme, blasphemy

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is translated as “blasphemy” or “blaspheme” is translated in various forms:

anger

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The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated as “anger” or similar in English in this verse is translated with a variety of solutions (Bratcher / Nida says: “Since anger has so many manifestations and seems to affect so many aspects of personality, it is not strange that expressions used to describe this emotional response are so varied”).

  • Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “be warm inside”
  • Mende: “have a cut heart”
  • Mískito: “have a split heart”
  • Tzotzil: “have a hot heart”
  • Mossi: “a swollen heart”
  • Western Kanjobal: “fire of the viscera”
  • San Blas Kuna: “pain in the heart”
  • Chimborazo Highland Quichua: “not with good eye”
  • Citak: two different terms, one meaning “angry” and one meaning “offended,” both are actually descriptions of facial expressions. The former can be represented by an angry stretching of the eyes or by an angry frown. The latter is similarly expressed by an offended type of frown with one’s head lowered. (Source: Graham Ogden)
  • Chichewa: “have a burning heart” (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation) (see also anger burned in him)

In Akan, a number of metaphors are used, most importantly abufuo, lit. “weedy chest” (the chest is seen as a container that contains the heart but can also metaphorically be filled with other fluids etc.), but also abufuhyeε lit. “hot/burning weedy chest” and anibereε, lit. “reddened eyes.” (Source: Gladys Nyarko Ansah in Kövecses / Benczes / Szelid 2024, p. 21ff.)

See also God’s anger and angry.

army

The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin that is translated as “army” in English is translated in Chichewa as “group of warriors.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 2 Maccabees 10:35

But at dawn of the fifth day, twenty young men in the army of Maccabeus: The connector But doesn’t fit here. The Greek connector here is better rendered “Finally.” The beginning of this verse may be translated “Finally, when the sun rose on the fifth day, twenty of Judas’ young men.”

Fired with anger because of the blasphemies: Good News Bible has “burning with anger at these insults,” but a better model is “burning with anger when they heard the enemy shouting such evil things about God.”

Bravely stormed the wall: Good News Bible says “bravely climbed the wall,” but this rendering leaves out a component of meaning in the verb stormed. A better model is “bravely climbed the wall, fighting the enemy the whole way.”

And with savage fury cut down every one they met: With savage fury repeats the idea in fired with anger, so these two expressions may be combined (see the model below).

Here is an alternative model for this verse:

• Finally, the evil things that the enemy was shouting about God made twenty of Judas’ young men very angry. So, when the sun rose on the fifth day, they bravely climbed the walls of the fort, fighting the enemy the whole way, and killed everyone they met.

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.