The Hebrew and Aramaic that is translated as “gods” in English is translated into Pass Valley Yali as ap enehime fanowon — “the good spirits (of the deceased one).” (Source: Daud Soesilo)
The Greek in 1 Corinthians is translated in Quetzaltepec Mixe similarly with a term that makes clear that these are good or bad spirits, not gods which can be compared to God. (Source: Robert Bascom)
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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
The concept of “desire” or “ask for” is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-motome (お求め), combining “seek” (motome) with the respectful prefix o-. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, s-are-ru (される) or “do/make” is used.
The king: twice again in this verse Nebuchadnezzar is referred to by the words “the king,” although he is being addressed directly. As usual, it will probably be more natural to use the second person singular pronouns: “Sir, what you ask is difficult, and no one can show it to you….”
Difficult, and none can show it …: the conjunction “and” may be misleading. What this really means is that the request of the king was so difficult to fulfill that no one could do it. Compare Anchor Bible‘s rendering: “so difficult that no one but divine beings can reveal it.” In some languages it may be more common to say “it is not possible for anyone to reveal it…” or “no one could ever declare it….”
Except the gods: the power of celestial beings that was hinted at in the previous verse is stated directly here. Instead of gods, some translators may prefer “divine beings,” “spirits,” or “heavenly creatures.” And in some cases we may have to resort to “creatures that are appealed to as God.”
Whose dwelling is not with flesh: here the word flesh, as often in Scripture, is used to refer to human beings and emphasizes their frailty and weakness. This is brought out in Moffatt‘s rendering “mortal men.” Because of the remoteness of the gods, human beings are not able to consult with them and know their secrets. It will probably be important in some cases to translate the idea of not with as “very distant from.” Compare Revised English Bible: “who dwell remote from mortals.”
Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René & Ellington, John. A Handbook on Daniel. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.