not resistant / falling into destruction

In Gbaya, the notion of something not being resistant or falling into destruction in the referenced verses is emphasized with mbulɛɛ, an ideophone used to designate something that is not resistant, that is falling into ruin, or someone who lives in poverty.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

See also complete verse (Wisdom 1:11).

complete verse (Ezekiel 15:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 15:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “If you cannot make anything before it is burned, what about when it has burned to destruction?” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Therefore this has no value before it is burnt and especially if it is now burnt-up!” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “No; if it was not useful for anything before it was burned, it certainly cannot bemade into something useful after the fire has burned and charred it.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 15:5

Behold, when it was whole, it was used for nothing; how much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it ever be used for anything!: Behold renders the same Hebrew term as “Lo” in the previous verse (see the comments there). This verse brings the discussion about the uselessness of the vine wood to a climax. If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, that is, before it was put into the fire, it will be even more useless after it has been burnt, even though it is not totally burnt away to ashes. Those languages that have difficulty with the expression how much less may be able to use Contemporary English Version as a model for this verse, which reads “The wood is useless before it is burned, and afterwards, it is completely worthless.” Another possible model is:

• The wood is useless before it goes in the fire. It is even more useless after the fire has burned part of it.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .