shatter

In Gbaya, the notion of being shattered (or devour/strip/torture) is emphasized with ɗɛ́sɛ́-ɗɛ́sɛ, an ideophone that expresses the action of shattering, like a glass or pane of glass.

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

chariot

The Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated into English as “chariot” is translated into Anuak as “canoe pulled by horse.” “Canoe” is the general term for “vehicle” (source: Loren Bliese). Similarly it is translated in Lokạạ as ukwaa wạ nyanyang ntuuli or “canoe that is driven by horses.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Other translations include:

  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “cart pulled by horses” (source: Larson 1998, p. 98)
  • Chichicapan Zapotec: “ox cart” (in Acts 8) (ox carts are common vehicles for travel) (source: Loren Bliese)
  • Chichimeca-Jonaz, it is translated as “little house with two feet pulled by two horses” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Hausa Common Language Bible as keken-doki or “cart of donkey” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Mairasi: “going-thing [vehicle]” (source: Enggavoter 2004)

It is illustrated for use in Bible translations in East Africa by Pioneer Bible Translators like this:

Image owned by PBT and Jonathan McDaniel and licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

See also cart.

Translation commentary on 2 Maccabees 9:7

Yet he did not in any way stop his insolence, but was even more filled with arrogance: These two clauses say roughly the same thing, that his pain made Antiochus even more arrogant. Good News Bible‘s model here will be difficult to translate. Contemporary English Version is better with “But the pain just made Antiochus more arrogant than ever.”

Breathing fire in his rage against the Jews, and giving orders to hasten the journey: Breathing fire in his rage against the Jews means Antiochus shouted angry threats against the Jews. An alternative model for the first half of this verse is “But even this great pain did not stop him. It just made him more arrogant than ever. He shouted fiery threats [or, terrible curses] against the Jews, and yelled at his chariot driver, ‘Go even faster!’”

And so it came about that he fell out of his chariot as it was rushing along, and the fall was so hard as to torture every limb of his body: And so it came about that introduces the last half of this verse as a result. Good News Bible says simply “As a result.” Rushing along may be rendered “speeding along” (Contemporary English Version). The Greek is literally “whizzing” or “whistling,” which may work for some languages. For and the fall was so hard, Good News Bible and Contemporary English Version have “with such a thud.” Some translators, particularly in some African languages, will be able to use an ideophone here. The Greek verb rendered torture suggests that Antiochus’ body became disjointed. His experience may reflect the torture of Eleazar on the rack (2Macc 6.28) and the pain of the women who died after being thrown to the ground from the city wall (2Macc 6.10). This whole sentence may be rendered “So the chariot raced on, but Antiochus fell out and hit the ground so hard [or, with such a thud] that every bone in his body was thrown out of joint.”

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.