widow

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “widow” in English is translated in West Kewa as ona wasa or “woman shadow” (source: Karl J. Franklin in Notes on Translation 70/1978, pp. 13ff.) and in Newari as “husband already died ones” or “ones who have no husband” (source: Newari Back Translation).

In Cherokee the term is gender neutral and translates to “one who has lost someone.” (Source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 100)

The etymological meaning of the Hebrew almanah (אַלְמָנָה) is likely “pain, ache,” the Greek chéra (χήρα) is likely “to leave behind,” “abandon,” and the English widow (as well as related terms in languages such as Dutch, German, Sanskrit, Welsh, or Persian) is “to separate,” “divide” (source: Wiktionary).

See also widows.

complete verse (Ezekiel 19:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 19:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “He tore down walls,
    and scattered cities.
    The land was shaking
    and people were trembling
    when that animal roared.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He broke-down the strong places of the enemies and destroyed their towns. The residents of it were-afraid when they heard his roaring.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “He destroyed forts,
    and he ruined cities.
    When he roared loudly,
    everyone was terrified.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 19:7

As in verse 4, Ezekiel mixes the parable and the historical situation here.

And he ravaged their strongholds, and laid waste their cities: These actions apply to a person, not a lion. He ravaged their strongholds means he destroyed the strong walls and other fortified places of cities that were supposed to protect the people who were being attacked. Good News Translation says “He wrecked forts,” and New Living Translation has “He demolished fortresses” (similarly Contemporary English Version). Their strongholds may be rendered “the strong places [or, walls] that protected people.” Laid waste their cities means he destroyed the buildings of the cities and killed all the people in them (see the comments on 6.6, where the Hebrew verb rendered laid waste is translated “be waste”). These are the actions of a strong and aggressive king. Although there is no specific indication in the text to whom the pronoun their refers, it probably refers to Judah’s enemies among the surrounding nations. Some translations omit this pronoun, which is acceptable; for example, Contemporary English Version renders these two lines as “He destroyed fortresses and ruined towns” (similarly Good News Translation).

And the land was appalled and all who were in it at the sound of his roaring: Everyone was terrified whenever the lion roared. Here Ezekiel returns to the parable of the lion. Contemporary English Version reverses the order of these two lines, saying “His mighty roar terrified everyone.” Another possible model is “When he roared, everyone in the land was terrified.”

For this verse most translations reflect the interpretation in Revised Standard Version, but to do so they must change the Hebrew text of the first line, as the footnotes in many of the translations show. The first line in the Hebrew text reads literally “And he knew his widows.” Since the Hebrew here is so difficult to understand, most translations have changed it to produce a text that has an easier meaning. But it is possible to make sense of the Hebrew in a way that fits the context, both of the parable of the lions and of the political historical situation that the parable represents. The Hebrew verb meaning “knew” is a frequent Biblical euphemism for sexual intercourse; “his widows” are the wives and concubines of the previous king who was now dead. In the ancient world it was the custom of kings who had defeated a rival to have sex with his rival’s wives and concubines to show that he was now in charge (compare Absalom’s actions in 2 Sam 16.22). Similarly, when a new lion becomes the dominant male in a pride, he mates with all the females to establish his status. So this line in Hebrew means the second lion cub became the dominant male, or the mother’s second son became king of Judah. A model of the verse that reflects this understanding is:

• He mated with the females and became dominant,
and he destroyed their towns.
The land and everyone in it were terrified
when they heard him roaring.

By following the Hebrew of the first line, the second line does not fit very well, because only a person, not a lion, can destroy towns. Yet this reading maintains the lion parable longer than the majority reading, and does so with subtlety and ambiguity. It is good to keep the ambiguity if possible.

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 .