even (around the head)

In Gbaya, the notion of trimming the hair evenly around the head in Ezekiel 44:20 is emphasized with yiɗiɗi, an ideophone that describes a state of evenness, as of height, or equality, sameness of length or of circumference.

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

complete verse (Ezekiel 44:20)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 44:20:

  • Kupsabiny: “The priests shall not shave their hair to make their heads smooth nor leave (it) to become long, but (they) must trim (it).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘They need not shave their head or let- their hair -grow-long, but-instead they will- just always -cut/trim it.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The priests must not shave their heads or allow their hair to become long; but they must regularly trim the edges of their hair.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 44:20

They shall not shave their heads means the priests must not cut all the hair off their heads, so that their heads are bald. They must not “shave it off completely” (New Living Translation [1996]). The word shall has the force of a rule or regulation here, not a future tense, so Good News Translation uses the word “must” for naturalness.

Or let their locks grow long: They also must not allow their hair to grow very long.

Instead, they shall only trim the hair of their heads, that is, cut the ends of the hair so that it stays fairly short. God does not say how short the hair must be, so it is likely that he is more concerned about the neatness of the priests’ hair. New Living Translation says “Instead, they must trim it regularly,” and Contemporary English Version has “But they must keep their hair properly trimmed” (similarly New King James Version , Complete Jewish Bible).

The rules in this verse are similar to those in Lev 21.5 and 10, where they are related to the rituals of mourning for the dead, so Contemporary English Version begins this verse with “Priests must never shave their heads when they are mourning.” However, here they seem to be general rules, not restricted to times of mourning. Translators should not follow Contemporary English Version here. A model for this verse is:

• They must not shave their heads or let their hair get too long. But they should trim their hair.

Although this verse refers mainly to the hair on top of the head, it can also include the trimming of the beard.

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 .