fresh water

In Gbaya, the notion of fresh water in Psalm 47:8 is emphasized with the ideophone ŋgululu, which designates something clear and pure, such as water, a liquid, or eyes.

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 47:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 47:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “After that, the man said to me, ‘This river flows towards the East passing through the desert land and the valley of Jordan and goes like that until it pours into the Lake of Salt, which makes the water of the lake become clean so that it is possible to drink it.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Then he said to me, ‘This water is-flowing to the land (in the) east going-down to the Plains/Valleys of Jordan towards the Dead Sea. And the Dead Sea had-become good/fresh now, and it was not salty anymore.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “He said to me, ‘This water flows east and down into the Dead Sea. And when it flows into the Dead Sea, its salty water becomes fresh.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

sea / lake

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)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 47:8

And he said to me: In verses 8-12 the angelic guide explains to Ezekiel what he had seen.

This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah means the river flows eastward between the city of Jerusalem and the Jordan River. Nowadays, the Arabah usually refers to the depression south of the Dead Sea down to the Gulf of Aqabah, but in Biblical times it also referred to the rift valley through which the Jordan flows from the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias) into the Dead Sea. This is what it refers to here, as the water that flows out from the Temple joins the Jordan River before it empties into the Dead Sea. Good News Translation and New Century Version have “the Jordan Valley,” and Contemporary English Version is similar with “the Jordan River valley.”

And when it enters the stagnant waters of the sea is literally “and they [that is, the waters] enter the sea, to the sea which have been brought out.” Why is “the sea,” which refers to the Dead Sea, repeated? What does the verb “have been brought out” refer to? Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives three alternative interpretations of the Hebrew text here as follows:

1. “The waters enter the sea, and when they empty out into the sea.” This suggestion takes the Hebrew verb for “have been brought out” in its basic meaning of “being caused to go out,” referring to the river causing these waters to go out into the Dead Sea, that is, the water flowing out of the river into the sea.
2. “The waters enter the sea, that is, the sea of the polluted waters.” This suggestion takes the uncertain verb from a different root that means “polluted,” “filthy,” or “stagnant.” This is a perfect description of the Dead Sea, where nothing grows because it is too salty. The terms “polluted” and “stagnant” refer to water that is bad and no one can drink it.
3. “The waters enter the sea, that is, the sea of those who have been brought out.” This suggestion is a reference to Lot and his family, who were brought out of Sodom before God destroyed it (see Gen 18). The Dead Sea now covers the place where Sodom used to be.

The third suggestion seems to us to be very strained and unlikely, and we do not recommend it. But both the first and the second suggestions are possible. Good News Translation, New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, King James Version, and New King James Version follow the first alternative, while Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Christian Community Bible, Complete Jewish Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, and Moffatt follow the second one. Whichever rendering is chosen, one thing is clear—the water ends up in the Dead Sea. Contemporary English Version says simply “and [it] empties into the Dead Sea” (similarly New Living Translation, New Century Version), which is also acceptable, because it is short and the meaning is very clear.

When the water that originally flowed out of the Temple reaches the Dead Sea, the water will become fresh, that is, the salty water of the Dead Sea will turn into “fresh water” (Good News Translation). Will become fresh is literally “shall be healed” (King James Version). Most languages will have a way of speaking about bad and good water.

Models for the two alternative interpretations of the last half of this verse are:

• Finally the water enters the Dead Sea. When the water flows out into the Dead Sea, it will make the bad water good.

• Finally the water enters the Dead Sea, the stagnant waters of the Dead Sea, and it will make the bad water good.

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 .