enemy / foe

The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin that is translated as “enemy” or “foe” in English is translated in the Hausa Common Language Bible as “friends of front,” i.e., the person standing opposite you in a battle. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

In North Alaskan Inupiatun it is translated with a term that implies that it’s not just someone who hates you, but one who wants to do you harm (Source: Robert Bascom), in Tarok as ukpa ìkum or “companion in war/fighting,” and in Ikwere as nye irno m or “person who hates me” (source for this and one above: Chuck and Karen Tessaro in this newsletter ).

Translation commentary on 2 Maccabees 4:16

For this reason heavy disaster overtook them: For this reason may be expressed as “Because they loved the Greek way of life.” Disaster is a poor choice of words; it suggests a particular incident. “Troubles” (Good News Bible) is better. New American Bible offers a good model for the whole clause, saying “Precisely because of this, they found themselves in serious trouble.” It may also be rendered “As a result of this [or, their love of the Greek way of life], they were soon in serious trouble.”

And those whose ways of living they admired and wished to imitate completely refers to the Greeks (see the model below).

Became their enemies and punished them is literally “had them as enemies and avengers.” The verb punished does not work well here. It sounds like the Greeks were punishing the Jews for trying to act like Greeks. The point is that the Greeks became the instrument used by God to punish them. The Greek word for punished refers to taking vengeance, but it is God who took vengeance on the renegade Jews. The Greeks simply oppressed them. Good News Bible, aware of the problem, translates punished them as “oppressed them,” but this leaves out the idea that the Jews brought punishment on themselves; it sounds like they were being unjustly oppressed, when the point is the opposite. They were oppressed, but from our author’s viewpoint, they deserved it. The following model for this verse suggests how translators may try to capture the meaning without distorting it:

• Because of this they were soon in serious trouble. They admired the way the Greeks lived and wanted to be just like them, but the Greeks became their enemies and treated them as harshly as they deserved to be treated.

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.