The Hebrew in Daniel 9:21 that is translated as “(swift) flight” in English is translated in Dan with a word that can mean either “jump” or “fly.” (Source: Don Slager)
Gabriel
The name that is transliterated as “Gabriel” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “angel announce” (according to Luke 1:19) (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )
“Gabriel” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
Following is a Greek Orthodox icon of the archangel Gabriel from the 13th century (found in Sinai Monastery).
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
More information on Gabriel .
offering
The Hebrew that is translated as “offering” in English is translated in Venda as nduvho. J. A. van Rooy (in The Bible Translator 1974, p. 439ff. ) explains: “It is derived from the verb u luvha (‘to pay homage to; to acknowledge the superiority of; at the same time usually asking for a favour’). It is sometimes used as a synonym for ‘asking something from a chief. The noun nduvho means ‘a gift of allegiance,’ which corresponds closely with minchah (מִנְחָה) as ‘offering of allegiance.’ This term nduvho has in it the elements of subjugation, of reciprocity (asking for a favor), of being taken up into the same community as the chief in allegiance to him. Only the element of expiation is missing.”
In Northern Emberá, it is translated as “given to God freely.” (Source: Loewen 1980, p. 108)
See also offering (qorban).
pray / prayer
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “pray” (or “prayer”) in English is often translated as “talking with God” (Central Pame, Tzeltal, Chol, Chimborazo Highland Quichua, Shipibo-Conibo, Kaqchikel, Tepeuxila Cuicatec, Copainalá Zoque, Central Tarahumara).
Other solutions include:
- “beg” or “ask,” (full expression: “ask with one’s heart coming out,” which leaves out selfish praying, for asking with the heart out leaves no place for self to hide) (Tzotzil)
- “cause God to know” (Huichol)
- “raise up one’s words to God” (implying an element of worship, as well as communication) (Miskito, Lacandon) (source of this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
- “speak to God” (Shilluk) (source: Nida 1964, p. 237)
- “talk together with Great Above One (=God)” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter, 2004)
- “call to one’s Father” (San Blas Kuna) (source: Claudio and Marvel Iglesias in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 85ff. )
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“beg” (waan) (Ik). Terrill Schrock (in Wycliffe Bible Translators 2016, p. 93) explains (click or tap here to read more):
What do begging and praying have to do with each other? Do you beg when you pray? Do I?
“The Ik word for ‘visitor’ is waanam, which means ‘begging person.’ Do you beg when you go visiting? The Ik do. Maybe you don’t beg, but maybe when you visit someone, you are looking for something. Maybe it’s just a listening ear.
When the Ik hear that [my wife] Amber and I are planning trip to this or that place for a certain amount of time, the letters and lists start coming. As the days dwindle before our departure, the little stack of guests grows. ‘Please, sir, remember me for the allowing: shoes, jacket (rainproof), watch, box, trousers, pens, and money for the children. Thank you, sir, for your assistance.’
“A few people come by just to greet us or spend bit of time with us. Another precious few will occasionally confide in us about their problems without asking for anything more than a listening ear. I love that.
“The other day I was in our spare bedroom praying my list of requests to God — a nice list covering most areas of my life, certainly all the points of anxiety. Then it hit me: Does God want my list, or does he want my relationship?
“I decided to try something. Instead of reading off my list of requests to God, I just talk to him about my issues without any expectation of how he should respond. I make it more about our relationship than my list, because if our personhood is like God’s personhood, then maybe God prefers our confidence and time to our lists, letters, and enumerations.”
In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning (click or tap here to read more):
- For Acts 1:14, 20:36, 21:5: kola ttieru-yawur nehla — “hold the waist and hug the neck.” (“This is the more general term for prayer and often refers to worship in prayer as opposed to petition. The Luang people spend the majority of their prayers worshiping rather than petitioning, which explains why this term often is used generically for prayer.”)
- For Acts 28:9: sumbiani — “pray.” (“This term is also used generically for ‘prayer’. When praying is referred to several times in close proximity, it serves as a variation for kola ttieru-yawur nehla, in keeping with Luang discourse style. It is also used when a prayer is made up of many requests.”)
- For Acts 8:15, 12:5: polu-waka — “call-ask.” (“This is a term for petition that is used especially when the need is very intense.”)
Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.
See also Nehemiah’s prayer (image).
complete verse (Daniel 9:21)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Daniel 9:21:
- Kupsabiny: “I continued to pray to God humbling myself on account of my own sins and those of my people of Israel. While I still cried to him to have mercy on the house of God in/on his holy mountain, then Gabriel whom I had seen in the first vision came in swiftly. He came where I was when it was time for the evening sacrifice.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
- Newari: “While I was praying, Gabriel, the person I had seen in my first vision, came quickly flying to me at the time of the evening sacrifice.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
- Hiligaynon: “And while I was-praying, Gabriel whom I saw previously in my vision quickly flew to me. That (was) the time of evening sacrifice.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- English: “While I was praying, Gabriel, the angel/one whom I had seen in the vision previously, came flying rapidly to me, at the time in the evening when the priests offered sacrifices.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Translation commentary on Daniel 9:21
While I was speaking in prayer: this is only slightly different from the initial clause in the previous verse, but here it sets the stage for the appearance of Gabriel.
The man Gabriel: the writer does not intend to deny that Gabriel is an angel, but he focuses on the fact that Gabriel looked like a man. When Gabriel is first introduced it was said that he was “one having the appearance of a man” (see 8.15). Consequently, Anchor Bible translates “the manlike Gabriel.” It is also possible to say “the angel Gabriel, who looked like a man.” Perhaps because of the danger of misunderstanding a literal rendering, Good News Translation has chosen to leave this information out.
Had seen … at the first: the idea here is simply “had seen previously.” Some other ways of translating this are “had originally seen” (New Jerusalem Bible) and “had already seen” (Revised English Bible).
In swift flight: according to some interpreters, the traditional Hebrew text here can only mean “wearied in weariness,” but this is not very meaningful in the present context. Most others read it as “flying in flight,” and this is taken to mean “in rapid flight.”
The time of the evening sacrifice: this is a reference to the daily schedule of sacrifices in the Temple, which consisted of one in the morning and one in the late afternoon (see Exo 29.38-41; Num 28.4; 1 Kgs 18.29, 36). If the word evening is understood as referring to the period after dark, it will be necessary to select a different word indicating the time just before the sun sets.
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 .
3rd person pronoun with high register (Japanese)
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 third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used.
In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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