Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 27:33:
Kupsabiny: “You brought/took your things out on the ocean, rescuing/made well many communities. You took your wealth and used it to make well/rescue kings of the world.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “You sailed bringing your merchandise, and this was-able-to-help the needs of many nations. The kings of the world became-wealthy because of your wealth and merchandise.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.
In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
In Malagasy culture, the sea is perceived as sacred because it was a path taken by the ancestors. That is why the Malagasy word for the “sea” is ranomasina, which literally means “the sacred water.” The word masina actually has two different meanings: “salted” and “sacred/holy.” Salt is used for the conservation of some foods, such as meat or fish, that are to be set aside for later use. In this sense, the Malagasy phrase for “Holy Spirit” has the literal meaning of “Salted Spirit.” (Source: Brigitte Rabarijaona in The Bible Translator 2022, p. 103ff.)
In this verse the sailors (that is, Tyre’s neighboring cities) who are watching the fall of Tyre look back to the time of Tyre’s greatness.
When your wares came from the seas: Some translations think this line refers to unloading goods from Tyre’s ships; for example, Jerusalem Bible and New Jerusalem Bible say “When you unloaded your goods” (similarly Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). However, it is better to take it as referring to the goods that Tyre exported to other countries; for example, Good News Translation has “When your merchandise went overseas” (similarly Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New International Reader’s Version). For wares see the introductory comments on verses 12-25a.
You satisfied many peoples means Tyre’s trade “supplied many nations with what they needed” (New International Reader’s Version).
With your abundant wealth and merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth: Because Tyre was so rich and it traded many goods, many kings and rulers also became very rich when they bought these goods from Tyre. For abundant wealth and merchandise, see the introductory comments on verses 12-25a.
A model for this verse is:
• When you sent your ships carrying goods to different countries, they took/carried things that many nations needed. You were so rich and you traded so many things with other countries, the kings of those countries became rich when they bought those goods from you.
This verse is an excellent example of the type of parallelism where the second half adds emphasis and meaning to the first half. In the first half ordinary people are satisfied. But in the second half kings are made rich. There is a definite progression from the first to the second. Many translators try to capture this by saying:
• When your ships brought goods [to many countries], you gave people what they needed.
With your great wealth and all you had to sell, you made kings everywhere rich.
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 .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.