drink

In Telugu different verbs for humans drinking (tāgu / తాగు) and animals drinking (cēḍu / చేడు) are required.

complete verse (Exodus 7:24)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 7:24:

  • Kupsabiny: “The people of Egypt began to dig besides the riverbanks because they could not be able to drink the water of the river.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “All the Egyptians dug right and left along the river Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water from the river.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The Egiptohanon dug around of Nile River so-that (they) could-get a drink (of) water, for they could- no-longer -drink the water in the river.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “And the Isip people weren’t able to drink the water [of] the Nail, therefore they were digging water holes at the edge of the Nail to get their water.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “And people of Egypt all, they dug well at side of river, because they not water of Nile be able to drink.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “The Egyptians dug into the ground near the Nile River to get water to drink, because they could not drink the water from the river.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Exod 7:24

And all the Egyptians is probably another example of hyperbole, or exaggeration for literary effect, for not all of the people of Egypt lived near the river, although most of them undoubtedly did. Most languages and cultures will understand this, so it should not be modified. More important is the implication that only the Egyptians, not the Israelites, were affected by this plague.

Dug around the Nile means that they “dug along the bank of the river” (Good News Translation). By digging holes in the sand and silt, they probably expected to find “drinking water” (Good News Translation) with the odor and impurity filtered out. The text does not say whether they were successful. They could not drink is literally “they were not able to drink,” as in Good News Translation. As in verse 18, it is not clear whether this was because of the blood or because of the bad smell.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .