Hail

The Hebrew and Ge’ez that is translated as “hail” in English is translated in Tagakaulo as batu na ayis or “rocks of ice.” (Source: Scott and Becky Burton in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 73)

complete verse (Exodus 9:25)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 9:25:

  • Kupsabiny: “The hailstones struck the land of Egypt and destroyed everything. It hit the food in the field, people and all the animals that/who were outside. It beat down every tree.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “All over Egypt everyone that was in the fields – men and animals was struck by hail and died. The crops in the fields were destroyed and trees were brought down.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “All the people and animals that were-there outside were-harmed, including all the plants and trees.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “The rain which had hard raindrops destroyed all the humans and animals which were located outside. And it destroyed the food in the garden and was breaking up all the trees too.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “People and animal who be present outside all, hail struck them. And tree and grass which be present in Egypt all, it broke it down.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “The hail struck everything that was in the fields all over Egypt—every person and every animal. The hail destroyed the plants in the fields and stripped the leaves off the trees.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Exod 9:25

Struck down is the verb meaning to strike, hit, or beat. It is used twice in this verse, but some translations (New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version) use “beat down” for the second clause. In the first clause everything that was in the field includes all animal life that was not under shelter. Both man and beast should be understood as “including all the people and all the animals” (Good News Translation). Throughout all the land of Egypt is the same phrase used in verses 22 and 24. In some languages it will be possible to combine the striking down of humans, animals, and crops into one sentence and translate “All over Egypt the hail struck down all the humans and animals in the open and the crops in the fields.”

Every plant of the field includes all plant life except the trees. Thus all crops in the fields, whether vegetable or cereal, plus all flowers, grass, and weeds, were all struck down by the hail. A different verb, meaning to smash or shatter, is used for the “trees.” So the hail … shattered every tree of the field. New American Bible uses “splintered,” New International Version uses “stripped,” Contemporary English Version has “bark was stripped from,” and Good News Translation uses “broke.”

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 .