Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Habakkuk 2:17:
Kupsabiny: “The evil you did to the forest of Lebanon shall return to (haunt) you. You killed animals, so the animals will terrify you also. It is like that because you destroyed many countries and cities and you have spilled the blood of people.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “You destroyed the forests of Lebanon, now you will be felled and killed. And because you destroyed the wild animals there you will live in great fear. For you have shed human blood; You have destroyed countries and cities and all its population.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) cut-down the trees in Lebanon, and because of this the animals died there. Therefore you (plur.) also will-be-harmed and will-tremble in fear. This will-happen to you (plur.) because of/in your (plur.) killing people and in your (plur.) harming their lands and cities/towns.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
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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. )
This verse gives the reason for the punishment pictured in verses 15 and 16. This is first of all the destruction carried out on the forests of Lebanon and on the wild animals that lived in them.
The violence done to Lebanon: Lebanon is probably best understood as referring to the area more or less the same as that occupied by the modern country of Lebanon. In particular, it refers to the Lebanon mountain range which in ancient times was covered with thick forest (see comments on Nahum 1.4). The trees, especially the cedars, were highly valued as timber for building. Ancient inscriptions agree with the Old Testament in recording that both the Assyrians (Isa 37.24) and the Babylonians (Isa 14.8) carried out large scale logging operations there. Cutting down forests means that the soil is eroded and the land becomes barren. These results justify the description of the Babylonian activities as violence done to Lebanon.
Will overwhelm you: in keeping with the theme of the taunts that the punishment of the Babylonians will fit their crime, Good News Translation translates “You have cut down the forests of Lebanon: now you will be cut down.” One may also say “You have cut down (or, destroyed) … now people will cut you down (or, destroy you).” If some similar word link can be found in other languages, it will be good to use it.
The destruction of the beasts will terrify you: the forests of Lebanon were a favorite place for hunting parties. When the forests were cut down, the wild animals were robbed of their homes and sources of food, and so diminished in number. This kind of thoughtless behavior by men was hateful to God, and the Babylonians were to be punished for it. Good News Translation expresses this in a manner roughly parallel to the first part of the verse: “You killed its animals; now animals will terrify you.”
The Revised Standard Version footnote indicates that the words terrify you follow the ancient Greek and Syriac translations. Good News Translation and almost all modern versions do the same, and translators into other languages should do so as well (compare Hebrew Old Testament Text Project).
The rest of the verse speaks of a further reason for the punishment of the Babylonians: they had killed people and destroyed cities. The words used are the same as in the second half of verse 8. See comments on verse 8.
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on the Book of Habakkuk. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1989. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
2:17a For your violence against Lebanon will overwhelm you,
You (sing.) will pay for your violent acts against Lebanon. -or-
You (plur.) acted violently against ⌊the lands of⌋ Lebanon.⌊⌋ Now you will be cut down. -or-
The Babylonians destroyed ⌊the beautiful forests on the⌋ Lebanon ⌊mountains⌋ with cruelty, and now ⌊people⌋ will destroy the Babylonians ⌊with cruelty⌋ .
2:17b and the destruction of animals will terrify you,
You destroyed the wild animals, so now their terror will be yours. (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
You (plur.) hunted many animals there, ⌊and they were afraid of you⌋ . Now you will be afraid of them. -or-
They killed the animals ⌊of those forests⌋ , and now ⌊animals⌋ will frighten them.
2:17c because of your bloodshed against men and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers.
That is because you (sing.) killed people and acted violently against lands, cities and all their residents. -or-
⌊This will happen to you (plur.)⌋ because you killed people and acted violently against the people and their lands and cities. -or-
This is the punishment for all the people they killed, and for all the lands and cities they destroyed.
Le prophète répète les raisons de la punition des Babyloniens en insistant sur leur violence. Ce verset parle de la destruction des forêts et des animaux du pays, que cela soit figuré ou littéral. Le verset se termine sur la répétition du refrain déjà apparu en Habaquq 2.8.
Oui rend la conjonction כִּי kî, traduite dans certaines versions par « car » (Nouvelle Bible Segond, Bible de Jérusalem). La Bible en français courant l’omet. Voir aussi Habaquq 2.3.
la violence faite au Liban te submergera : le terme violence est très fréquent dans ce livre. Voir Habaquq 1.2. Dans certaines langues, il faudra dire explicitement « la violence que vous avez proférée contre Liban », « le mal que vous avez commis contre le pays du Liban ».
Liban, un nom qui veut dire « blanc » en hébreu, se réfère ici à la région correspondant plus ou moins à celle occupée par le pays actuel du même nom. Le terme évoque en particulier la chaîne de montagnes, à l’époque couverte de neige et de forêts denses. Les arbres, surtout les cèdres, avaient une grande valeur. D’anciennes inscriptions confirment les propos de l’AT (voir És 14.8 ; 37.24) et montrent que les Babyloniens ou les Assyriens ont beaucoup exploité ces bois. L’abattage des arbres a pour conséquence l’érosion du sol au point que la terre devient infertile. Ainsi la destruction des forêts du Liban constitue une violence faite à cette région.
te submergera rend un verbe qui veut dire aussi « couvrir ». Voir Habaquq 2.14. Conformément au thème des malheurs infligés par Babylone et retournés contre eux, les crimes proférés par Babylone « se retourneront contre » eux (Bible en français courant). On pourra dire, par exemple, « Vous avez abattu les arbres du Liban. Maintenant c’est vous qui serez abattus » ou « Vous avez détruit les forêts du Liban, maintenant vous serez détruits ».
les bêtes qui ravageaient seront écrasées est la traduction dans la Traduction œcuménique de la Bible d’un vers qui pose des problèmes d’interprétation et de traduction. En hébreu le texte dit « Le ravage des bêtes les écrasera », mais la Septante, la Syriaque et le Targoum ont « t’effrayera ». La Bible en français courant semble suivre ce texte en disant « vous avez massacré des animaux, eh bien, des animaux vous terrifieront ! » La Traduction œcuménique de la Bible semble prendre le mot bêtes comme une allusion figurée aux Babyloniens qui ravageaient les autres, mais qui seront finalement écrasés.
bêtes rend le mot hébreu générique pour « animal ». Désignant parfois le bétail, le mot peut désigner l’ensemble des animaux. Les forêts du Liban étaient un endroit rempli d’animaux, mais quand les arbres sont coupés, les animaux sauvages deviennent des proies faciles pour les chasseurs. De plus, ils étaient souvent privés de leur source de nourriture. La La Bible du Semeur propose « Le massacre des animaux retombera sur toi ». Il est difficile de savoir si le message concerne uniquement ces atteintes à la nature ou si le prophète vise un autre but en citant ces abus.
Le refrain de Habaquq 2.8 revient. En hébreu, ces vers sont identiques et les traducteurs devraient les rendre comme en Habaquq 2.8.
Source: Ellington, John; Margot, Jean-Claude & Zogbo, Lynell. Habaquq – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2013.
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