The Greek and Hebrew phrases that are often translated as “birds of the air” in English “refer to the undomesticated song birds or wild birds, to be distinguished in a number of languages from domesticated fowl. In Tzeltal these former are ‘field birds’.” (source: Bratcher / Nida)
Q’anjob’al also uses an established term for non-domesticated birds. Newberry and Kittie Cox (in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 91ff. ) explain: “Qʼanjobʼal has two distinct terms, one to identify domesticated birds and the other non-domesticated birds. The additional descriptive phrase ‘of the air’ seemed entirely misleading, for Qʼanjobʼal speakers had never heard of such creatures. Actually, of course, all that was necessary was the term for non-domesticated birds, for that is precisely the meaning of the Biblical expression.”
In Elhomwe they are just translated as “birds” or “birds of the bush” (i.e., wild birds) to “not give the impression that these are special type of birds.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).
Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).
In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 31:6:
Kupsabiny: “Birds built their houses in its branches and animals gave birth at the foot of this tree and it was a shade for many communities.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “All kinds of birds nested in its branches, and all kinds of wild animals gave-birth under its branches. All famous nations have-shaded in it.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Birds built their nests in the branches, and wild animals gave birth to their babies under those branches. And it was as though people of all the great nations lived in the shade of that tree.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The cedar tree grew so large that birds, animals, and people were able to live safely in or under it.
All the birds of the air made their nests in its boughs: For the birds of the air, see 29.5. Made their nests in its boughs shows how safe and secure the birds were in the protection of the tree. Good News Translation provides a good model for this sentence, saying “Every kind of bird built nests in its branches.”
Under its branches all the beasts of the field brought forth their young: The wild animals were also protected by the tree. For the beasts of the field, see 29.5. Brought forth their young may be rendered simply “gave birth” (New International Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version). In some languages it will be more natural to reverse the order of this sentence by saying “Wild animals gave birth to their young under its branches.”
And under its shadow dwelt all great nations: Even people from nations around the world lived under its shadow, that is, “in its shade” (New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, Revised English Bible), which means “under its protection.” The inclusion of great nations in this list shows that Ezekiel is speaking figuratively about this tree, although translators need to treat it as if it is literal. Translators may render this sentence as “People from every great country lived in its shade.”
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 .
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