elder (of the community)

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated as “elders” in English is translated in the Danish Bibelen 2020 as folkets ledere or “leaders of the people.”

Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators, explains: “The term ‘elder’ turned out to pose a particularly thorny problem. In traditional bibles, you can find elders all of over the place and they never pose a problem for a translator, they are just always elders. But how to find a contemporary term for this semi-official, complex position? This may have been our longest-standing problem. A couple of times we thought we had the solution, and then implemented it throughout the texts, only to find out that it didn’t work. Like when we used city council or village council, depending on the context. In the end we felt that the texts didn’t work with such official terms, and throughout the years in the desert, these terms didn’t make much sense. Other suggestions were ‘the eldest and wisest’, ‘the respected citizens’, ‘the Israelites with a certain position in society’, ‘the elder council’ –- and let me point out that these terms sound better in Danish than in English (‘de fremtrædende borgere,’ ‘de mest fremtrædende israelitter,’ ‘alle israelitter med en vis position,’ ‘de ældste og de klogeste,’ ‘ældsterådet’). In the end we just said ‘leaders of the people.’ After a lot of hand-wringing, it turned out that we actually found a term that worked well. So, we had to give up conveying the fact that they were old, but the most important point is that they were community leaders.” (Source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )

The German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022) translates likewise as “leader of the people” (Anführer des Volkes).

See also elders of Israel (Judah).

Translation commentary on Baruch 1:4

Baruch read the words of this book in the hearing of Jeconiah …: Baruch not only wrote the book, but he read it aloud to a wide audience. He read it in the hearing of (literally “in the ears of”) the following people: (a) Jeconiah, (b) all the people who came to hear the book (literally “… came to the book”), (c) the mighty men and the princes, (d) the elders, and (e) all the people, small and great. Good News Translation breaks this long series up by placing (a) in one sentence, and placing (b), (c), (d), and (e) in a second sentence. In order for all these people to hear what Baruch was reading, he would have to use a very loud voice. This may need to be indicated in a number of languages; for example, “Baruch read the words of the book with a loud voice to let … hear [or, listen].”

Jeconiah was the king of Judah who was deposed and taken into exile by Nebuchadnezzar at the time of the first capture of Jerusalem. The exiled Jews considered him their legitimate king (see Ezek 1.2). Jeconiah is a variant form of “Jehoiachin,” which is favored by Good News Translation for consistency with its use elsewhere. In Hebrew and Revised Standard Version the form Jeconiah occurs in 1 Chr 3.16-17; Est 2.6; Jer 24.1; 27.20; 28.4; 29.2. The form “Jehoiachin” occurs in 2 Kgs 24.6, 8, 12, 15, 17; 25.27, 29; 2 Chr 36.8-9; Jer 52.31, 33; Ezek 1.2. Translators should be guided by their own practice in these books, particularly Jeremiah. If “Jehoiachin” has been favored for consistency (as in Good News Translation), it should be followed here. But if the two forms have been used in previous work, “Jeconiah” should be used here.

King in a number of languages will be expressed as “high [or, great] chief.” However, in some languages it will be more natural to use a verbal expression; for example, “Jeconiah … who [had] ruled Judah [or, the people of Judah].”

In the hearing of all the people who came to hear may be rendered “to everyone who came to listen” (Contemporary English Version).

Mighty men surely refers to “nobles,” as most recent translations agree. They were probably leaders with high political status, and in some languages this will be translated as “minor chiefs.”

Princes translates “sons of the kings.” The reference is to the males who were descended from David, not just to Jeconiah’s family. New English Bible has it right, saying “princes of the royal blood.” Good News Translation “children of royal families” is an attempt that fails on two points: “sons” are mentioned, not “children,” though the royal daughters might have been involved; and there was really only one royal family, that of King David. So better alternative translation models are “male children descended from King David” and “male children whose great ancestor was King David.” There is nothing wrong with the word “princes,” but for those translating into English it presents a peculiar problem, since the word sounds like “princess,” and Good News Translation may well have avoided it for that reason.

Elders in this context refers to respected elderly males. It is uncertain why Contemporary English Version refers to these as just “religious leaders.” Surely other elderly leaders beside priests were included!

People, small and great refers to people of whatever social status, as Good News Translation makes clear with “all the people, no matter what their status.”

All who dwelt in Babylon by the river Sud: The river Sud is otherwise unknown. It was probably actually an irrigation canal carrying water from the Euphrates River, like the “river Chebar” mentioned in Ezek 1.1.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Shorter Books of the Deuterocanon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2006. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.