The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated in English as “wild animal” or similar is translated in Newari as “animal that lives in the jungle.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Translation commentary on 3 Maccabees 4:9 - 4:10
We suggest joining these two verses in order to arrange the clauses in a more logical order. In verse 10 we are told that the captives were put below the decks of the ships, and in verse 9 are told how they were fastened to the ships. Presumably they were put below the decks before being fastened.
They were brought on board like wild animals refers to the Jews being put onto the boats. Wild animals may be translated simply “animals” if adding “wild” detracts from the picture. In English “like animals” (Anderson) expresses the idea of the cruelty they were undergoing better than like wild animals, since the word “wild” may make the reader wonder why being led like wild animals is any worse than being led like domestic animals. But the reader must not be left with the impression that these people were herded like sheep; they were driven on as if they were bears or some other animal that is hard to control. We suggest that this clause be placed at the end of verses 9-10 (see our model below).
Driven under the constraint of iron bonds: Of iron bonds renders a Greek adjective modifying the noun for constraint (“restraint”). This clause means that as the Jews were put on board, they were chained. Contemporary English Version has a helpful translation of this clause, saying “The Jews were tied in chains and dragged on board the boats.” We may also say “The soldiers drove the Jews in chains onto the boats” or “The soldiers put chains on all the Jews and dragged them on board the boats.”
Some were fastened by the neck to the benches of the boats: The Greek word translated benches is a technical term in shipbuilding. It refers to wooden planks set across the hull of the ship, below decks. They served the double function of holding the hull together and of providing a place for the men rowing the ship to sit. The rowers, of course, would be seated near the sides of the ship. The captives, fastened to these planks or benches, probably were in between the rowers. Whether they were forced to stand, or sit, or lie down would depend on the depth of the ship’s hull. For translational purposes it is less necessary to convey the exact function of these benches than to convey the general idea that the captives were tied to the boat beneath the deck.
Others had their feet secured by unbreakable fetters may mean the captives who could not be tied to the wooden planks for lack of room were restrained by iron chains (fetters) on their feet. For fetters see 3 Macc 3.25. Contemporary English Version provides an excellent model for this clause and the previous one, saying “Some of them were tied to the benches with ropes around their necks, while others were held there with chains around their ankles.” We may also say “Some of them were fastened by the neck to the wooden planks in the bottom of the ships; others were chained at their feet” or “They fastened some of the Jews by their necks to the wooden planks at the bottom of the ships, but they held others there by means of chains on their feet.”
And in addition they were confined under a solid deck: Anderson renders and in addition as “Worse still,” which is good, but if translators rearrange the clauses as suggested above, this connector is unnecessary (see our model below). The solid deck is the outside floor of the ship, made of wood. Those in command of the ship would be there; the rowers and the captives would be beneath it. Contemporary English Version renders this clause as “and were put below deck.”
So that with their eyes in total darkness: Total darkness is an overstatement; some light would come in from the holes in the ships’ sides where the oars were placed.
They should undergo treatment befitting traitors during the whole voyage: The Jews were made to suffer all these indignities because that is what traitors deserved.
Here is an alternative model combining verses 9 and 10:
• The soldiers put chains on the Jews and drove them onto the ships. They then put the Jews below the deck, in the dark. There, they fastened some of them by their necks to the ships’ wooden planks, and they chained others there by their feet. The soldiers thought of the Jews as traitors, and so they treated them like animals for the whole trip.
Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 3-4 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2018. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.
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