The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “enemy” or “foe” in English is translated in the HausaCommon 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 ).
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Amos 9:4:
Kupsabiny: “And/or if their enemies took/caught (them) and went with them to another country, I would cause (them) to be killed in that place. I shall keep my eye on (them) well so that I can destroy them and not save (them).’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Even if enemies capture them and take them away into exile, I will command that they be killed. "I am determined to bring disaster upon them and not to help them."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Even if their enemies will-take- them -captives, I will- still -cause- them -to-be-killed. For I am very determined to destroy them and not to help-(them).’ ’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “If their enemies capture them and force them to go to other countries, I will command that they be killed there with swords. I am determined to get rid of them, not to help them.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
And though they go into captivity before their enemies/If they are taken away into captivity by their enemies. The idea is that even if enemies capture them and drive whole groups of them away like herds of cattle to another country, under their protection and under the protection of the god of that country, there will be no escape from the LORD. If there is a specific term for herding or driving cattle or other animals, the translation might be “if they are driven into captivity (like cattle) by their enemies” (compare The Translator’s Old Testament) or “if their enemies drive them into captivity (like cattle).” If there is no such word for herding animals, then a more general word like “lead” or “take away” can be used.
There I will command the sword, and it shall slay them/I will order them to be put to death. It is clear that the sword is the means used to kill the people, but it is not clear who will do the killing. Almost certainly it is not the enemies who captured the people. For English and many other languages the Good News Translation translation is good: I will order them to be put to death; other possibilities: “I will order people to kill them with the sword” or perhaps “I will make/cause that they perish through the sword (or: through violence/war).”
And I will set my eyes upon them for evil and not for good/I am determined to destroy them, not to help them. In Hebrew “to set the eye upon someone” normally means “to look after somebody” or “to take care of someone” so that for good is part of the normal meaning. Here the expression “set the eye upon” has just the opposite meaning. I will set my eyes indicates a determination of the LORD; good means “help” and evil means “destruction” in this particular context. It is very unlikely that a literal translation will make sense. It will be necessary to use some kind of equivalent picture or to remove the metaphor and translate the meaning directly as in Good News Translation.
Quoted with permission from de Waard, Jan & Smalley, William A. A Handbook on Amos. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1979. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
9:4a Though they are driven by their enemies into captivity,
If they are driven into captivity ⌊like cattle⌋ by their enemies, -or-
And if those who hate them ⌊come and⌋ force them ⌊to go⌋ to live in their land as prisoners,
9:4b there I will command the sword to slay them.
in that place I will tell ⌊their captors⌋ to kill them with the sword. -or-
I will order ⌊people⌋ there to put them to death.
9:4c I will fix My eyes upon them for harm and not for good.”
I will keep watch over them but not for their good, I will ensure that they are killed.” -or-
I will look after them but not so that they live, no, I will make sure that they die.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.