3So they brought in the vessels of gold that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.
The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
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 (Dinė) 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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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.”
Then: the connection between the order (in verse 2) and its being obeyed is indicated by this transition word. Some versions take the relationship to be a logical one (“So” in New English Bible/Revised English Bible as well as New Revised Standard Version), while others make it a time relationship (Then in Revised Standard Version and others, or “At once” in Good News Translation). What is important is that the relationship be clear and natural in the translation.
They: it is not clear who this pronoun refers to, but probably something like “the king’s servants” should be in the mind of the reader.
Golden and silver vessels: while both gold and silver are mentioned in the order given in the previous verse, it is questionable whether both types of containers were actually brought in to the banquet. Although Revised Standard Version and a number of other English versions indicate that there were containers made of both gold and silver, the Aramaic text here has only “golden vessels.” The addition of silver vessels comes from the Greek translation of Theodotion. However, a number of modern versions (including Good News Translation, New International Version, and New Jerusalem Bible in English) prefer to retain the reading of the Aramaic text and omit the mention of “silver.” This is also the reading recommended by Hebrew Old Testament Text Project and Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament. Revised English Bible and certain other versions leave out any reference to gold or silver, saying only “those vessels.”
Temple: see verse 2 and comments.
Lords … wives … concubines: see comments on verse 2 above.
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.