vision

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin and Greek that is translated as “vision” in English is translated in a variety in the following languages:

  • Chol: “as if in a dream” (source: Robert Bascom)
  • Obolo: ilaak ọkpọchieen̄ or “dreaming awake” (source: Enene Enene)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “a showing like dreams”
  • Desano: “see in a dream what God will send”
  • Rincón Zapotec: “see what God shows”
  • Mayo: “see things from God as in a dream”
  • Lalana Chinantec: “dream how it is going to be”
  • Chuj: “like dreaming they see”
  • San Mateo del Mar Huave: “understand what they see as if in a dream”
  • Ayutla Mixtec: “see that which will happen” (source for this and seven above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Tagbanwa: “being caused to dream by God” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Chichewa: azidzaona zinthu m’masomphenya: “they will see things as if face-to-face” (interconfessional translation, publ. 1999) (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 69)
  • Mandarin Chinese: yì xiàng (异象 / 異象), lit. “different (or: strange) appearance.” (Source: Zetzsche)

The Greek in the books of Revelation and Acts is translated as obq-rmwible: “look-dream” in Natügu. Brenda Boerger (in Beerle-Moor / Voinov, p. 162ff.) tells the story of that translation: “In the book of Revelation, the author, John, talks about having visions. Mr. Simon [the native language translator] and I discussed what this meant and he invented the compound verb obq-rmwible ‘look-dream’ to express it. Interestingly, during village testing no one ever had to ask what this neologism meant.”

See also see a vision.

Daniel

The term that is transliterated as “Daniel” in English means “judge of God (i.e., one who delivers judgment in the name of God,” “my judge is God.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In American Sign Language it is translated with the sign for the letter D and for “lion,” referring to the story in Daniel 6. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Daniel” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign that refers to Daniel being cast into the lions’ den. (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)


“Daniel” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )

In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with the sign for “prayer” that illustrates Daniel’s close relationship with God.


“Daniel” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

The following is a stained glass window depicting Daniel by Endre Odon Hevezi and Gyula Bajo from 1965 for the Debre Libanos Monastery, Oromia, Ethiopia:

Photo by Timothy A. Gonsalves, hosted by Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

See also Daniel.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Daniel in the Lions’ Den and Daniel .

complete verse (Daniel 7:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Daniel 7:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “He wrote that, ‘In a vision at night, I saw a great wind that blew from all directions of the earth and it churned up the great sea.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Daniel said, "The vision that I saw that night was like this — The wind, which came from all directions was moving the ocean’s water.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘One night, I saw in my vision a wide/great sea being-tossed by a strong wind to the four directions of the world.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I, Daniel, had a vision last night. In the vision I saw that strong winds were blowing from all four directions, stirring up the water in the ocean.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Daniel 7:2

Daniel said: literally, “answered and said.” This begins the direct quotation from Daniel in the original. However, if first person pronouns have been used from the beginning of this chapter, as in Good News Translation, these words will be redundant and should be omitted. On the other hand, if it is natural to do so, the form of the original may be followed, retaining the third person up to this point.

Behold: this particle is frequently used where visions are involved. See comments on 2.31; 4.10, 13.

The four winds of heaven: a literal rendering of this expression will probably be unnatural in most languages. The figure four is a reference to the cardinal points of a compass: north, south, east, and west. In some cases the number four will be meaningless or will distract from the real meaning. In those cases it may be better to speak of “all directions” as in Good News Translation.

Stirring up: other versions use verbs like “churning up” or “agitated.” In some languages it will be more natural to use a causative form of a verb meaning “to mix up.” New Century Version offers another possible model using a separate sentence: “these winds made the sea very rough.”

The great sea: while the expression “Great Sea” is sometimes used in the Old Testament to refer to the Mediterranean (see, for example, Num 34.6), this is not the case here. The definite article may therefore be misleading. Probably no particular body of water is intended, since this is a vision. It is more likely a reference to the ocean that covered the earth at the time of creation. What is important in translation is to convey the notion of the vastness of this sea.

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 .