In a Norwegian translation published in 2023, the translator Kjell Arild Pollestad translated the Greek that is translated as “The sow is washed only to wallow in the mud” or similar in English to “Newly washed sows roll over in the mud,” to “restore its poetical significance.” (See this article .)
complete verse (2 Peter 2:22)
Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Peter 2:22:
- Uma: “There is a parable that says like this: ‘The dog eats its vomit again, the pig that is bathed goes and wallows again in the mud.’ That parable is so very appropriate for those people earlier, for they have returned [emphatic] to the evil that they had left behind the other day [lit., yesterday].” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “Their doing is like this saying says, ‘The dog eats what he has vomited,’ and ‘The pig that has been bathed goes back to wallow/immerse in the mud.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “By means of them is fulfilled the saying which says, ‘The dog ate what he vomited, and the washed pig wallowed again.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “What has happened to him, it confirms the truth of two proverbs (proverbio) which say, ‘A dog eats again what he vomited’ and ‘Even though you (sing.) bathe a sow, it goes again to roll-in-the-mud.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “So surely if it’s like that, they are the ones to whom the saying applies (lit.hits) which says, ‘The dog is eating after all what he vomited already.’ And another, ‘A pig, even though it has just been bathed, will indeed go and wallow again.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- Tenango Otomi: “Thus have done these peole according to the proverb which says, ‘The dog again eats the vomit he has vomited. The pig which was washed again gets into the smelly mud.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Translation commentary on 2 Peter 2:22
Peter ends his indictment of the false teachers by applying to them two proverbs that were obviously popular during that time. These proverbs appropriately explain what really happened to the false teachers. While there are two proverbs mentioned, Peter simply describes these as the true proverb; it may be better in translation to talk of two proverbs rather than one.
A proverb is a popular saying drawn from the world of nature, or of animals, or of ordinary human relationships, and which is used to express a certain truth demonstrated in the life of people, both individually and in their relation with others. In Hebrew the proverb is usually a doublet; that is, it consists of two lines, with the second line reinforcing the first, either as a parallel or in contrast to it. The important thing for translators at this point is to recognize the literary form of the proverb in their own language, together with its function, and then to translate these proverbs according to the demands of their language. For example, if a proverb is usually poetic in form in a language, then these two sayings should, as far as possible, be translated according to that poetic form. If a proverb usually has two lines, then these proverbs should also consist of two lines in the translation.
The first proverb deals with a dog and his vomit. The quotation here is from Prov 26.11, although there are some variations. The point of the saying is that a dog may get rid of its filth (represented by the vomit) but cannot resist going back to it, to sniff at it or even to eat it. The second proverb is about a pig and mud. The message seems to be that no matter how clean a pig becomes, it always goes back to dirty itself in the mud, because part of the pig’s nature is to wallow in mud to keep cool. This second proverb is not found in the Bible, but there are similar proverbs that are common both in Greek and Rabbinic literature. Both proverbs use animals that were considered by Jews as dirty and ritually unclean. This reminds the readers of Peter’s description of the false teachers as “irrational animals” in verse 12 (and see also verse 16), which is now made worse by their being compared to unclean dirty animals. The message of both proverbs is clear: the false teachers had once become clean through the forgiveness of their sins, but they have now gone back to wallow in the immorality and wickedness that characterized their pagan past. See the similar statement in 1.9.
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Second Letter from Peter. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .