cubit

The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek that is translated as “cubit” or into a metric or imperial measurement in English is translated in Kutu, Kwere, and Nyamwezi as makono or “armlength.” Since a cubit is the measurement from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, one armlength (measured from the center of the chest to the fingertips) equals two cubits or roughly 1 meter. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Similarly, in Akoose, the translation is “arm distance.” (Source: Joseph Nkwelle Ngome and Marlie van Rooyen & Jacobus A. Naudé in Communicatio 2009, p. 251ff.)

In Klao it is converted into “hand spans” (app. 6 inches or 12 cm) and “finger spans” (app. 1 inch or 2 cm) (source: Don Slager) and in Bariai into leoa or “fathom,” which comprises the distance from a person’s fingertip to fingertip with arms outstretched, app. 6 feet (source: Bariai Back Translation).

complete verse (Ezekiel 43:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 43:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “It was built from down/ground going up three and a half feet, pushed in twenty inches and it climbed up again seven feet and then pushed in twenty inches.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The altar had three stories. The lowest story was 27 feet square, and three feet high. The middle story was 24 feet square, and seven feet high. It had somewhat-like-a-canal around which was 20 inches deep and had a hangings/border around which was ten inches high. The upper story was 20 feet square, and seven feet high, and here the offerings were-being-burned. The four corners of it were-as-if-like horns of an animal. There were stairs going-up to the altar at the east side of it.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The lower part of the gutter is 3-1/2 feet/1.1 meters high to the lower ledge/rim that surrounds the altar. The lower ledge is 21 in./53 cm. wide. The upper part of the altar is 7 feet/2.1 meters high, up to the upper ledge. That ledge is also 21 in./53 cm. wide.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 43:14

From the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits, with a breadth of one cubit: Revised Standard Version follows the Septuagint again by saying the base on the ground, but it is better to follow the Hebrew text by referring to “the gutter” (New International Version, New Living Translation) that was dug into the ground around the base of the altar. From that gutter up to the lower ledge refers to “the lowest section” (Good News Translation) of the altar. It was two cubits, that is, 1 meter (3 feet) high, and the ledge itself was a breadth of one cubit, that is, 50 centimeters (20 inches) wide. It is not clear whether the height of this section was measured from the bottom of the gutter or from ground level.

And from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits, with a breadth of one cubit: From the smaller ledge to the larger ledge refers to the next section of the altar’s pedestal (so Good News Translation), the part from the lower (that is, smaller in terms of height) ledge up to the higher (that is, larger in terms of height) ledge. This section was four cubits, that is, 2 meters (7 feet) high. Like the lower ledge, the ledge at the top of this section was a breadth of one cubit, that is, 50 centimeters (20 inches) wide.

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 .