The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “idol(s)” in English is translated in Central Subanen as ledawan or “images.” (Source: Robert Brichoux in OPTAT 1988/2, p. 80ff. )
In German, typically the term Götze is used. Originally this was used as a term of endearment for Gott (“God” — see here ), later for “icon” and “image, likeness.” Luther started to use it in the 16th century in the meaning of “false god, idol.”
Other terms that are used in German include Götzenbild(er) (“image[s] of idols”) or Bildnis (“image” — Protestant) / Kultbild (“cultish image” — Catholic) (used for instance in Exodus 20:4 and Deuteronomy 5:8). The latest revision of the Catholic Einheitsübersetzung (publ. 2016) also uses the neologism Nichtse (“nothings”) in 1 Chron. 16:26 and Psalm 96:5. (Source: Zetzsche)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Habakkuk 2:18:
Kupsabiny: “So what does a person get/receive from an idol that has been crafted/shaped? They are useless things that a man has prepared with his hands. Those things are of lies/deceit. A man trusts/relies on matters that he himself is making/producing even though those things are unable to speak.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “What value has an idol carved by men? Or what value has a metal idol that teaches only lies? The craftsman trusts in what he has made with his own hands. He makes a worthless idol that cannot speak. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “‘ ‘What is the value of false-gods? That was- just -made by man from a tree[lit. wood] or metal, and can- not also -tell the truth. And why the people who made them/it really believe on them/it? They/it can- not even -speak.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
In this fifth taunt the prophet mocks idols and those who make and worship them. This theme occurs in several other passages (compare Psa 115.4-8; 135.15-18; Isa 44.9-20; 46.6-7; Jer 10.2-16; Baruch 6 [also called the Letter of Jeremiah]). The Babylonians were a very idolatrous people, and in that respect the prophet is mocking them.
Each of the previous taunts began with the words “Woe to him” (verses 6, 9, 12, 15). In the case of this last taunt, these words do not occur until verse 19. It may be that in the final taunt of the series, the prophet reserves these words till later as a kind of climax. However, many scholars think that verses 18 and 19 have been reversed accidentally, and that verse 19 should come before verse 18. Some translations print verse 19 first, such as Moffatt, Bible de Jérusalem, Jerusalem Bible, and New American Bible. This has the advantage of giving the last taunt the same structure as the other four, as well as presenting the content of verses 18 and 19 in a more convincing order. However, if translators wish to do this in other languages, it will probably be better to put the verses together and number them 18-19 rather than print the numbers separately in the wrong order. In this Handbook comments will follow the traditional order.
The verse opens with a rhetorical question, What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it…? As in previous examples (verses 6, 7, 13) this is a way of making a strong statement. In languages which do not use rhetorical questions, the first clause may be rendered as “An idol is useless!” or “An idol is a useless object!” Good News Translation, however, keeps the question form with “What’s the use of an idol?” and then turns the rest of the sentence into an answer to the question. This makes it clear that “an idol” is no “use.”
The subordinate clause when its maker has shaped it can be taken to mean “that its maker should carve it” (New American Bible; compare Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). If taken in this way, the clause is better treated as part of the question, as in New American Bible. Good News Translation makes it the answer to the question: “It is only something that a man has made.”
The Hebrew text mentions two different kinds of image (idol and metal image in Revised Standard Version). For the distinction between them, see the comments on Nahum 1.14. Since English vocabulary does not offer a convenient way to make this distinction, Good News Translation drops it and translates both Hebrew words under the general term “idol.” In some languages translators will have various terms for different types of idol, but in others they will need to follow the example of Good News Translation or perhaps say “an idol made of wood or metal” (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).
The idol once completed is only a teacher of lies. Good News Translation turns this into a separate clause: “it tells you nothing but lies.” One may also say “it lies to you continually.”
In Hebrew the second half of the verse is a statement: For the workman trusts in his own creation when he makes dumb idols!Good News Translation makes it parallel with the first half by translating as another rhetorical question with the answer following: “What good does it do for its maker to trust it—a god that can’t even talk!” Some translators may wish to use a statement here rather than a rhetorical question. In such a case one may say “It is useless for its maker to trust it, because it is a false god that can’t even talk!” This sentence is ironic, and Good News Translation shows the irony in English by adding the word “even.” The irony is the prophet’s way of ridiculing the Babylonians. Translators should use irony in their own language if at all possible. Another way of introducing irony is to use a figurative expression and say something like this: “It is just like chasing the wind, for an idol’s maker to trust a false god that can’t even talk.”
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 .
2:18a What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it—
What is the use of an idol? It is only a thing made by man. -or-
Idols that a master makes from wood or stone are useless! -or-
“An idol made by man ⌊that people worship as if it were a god⌋ is worth nothing.
2:18b or an image, a teacher of lies?
Or of what value/use is a statue that teaches/predicts only lies? -or-
And idols from metal only deceive you (plur.) ! -or-
Everything it teaches/predicts is false.
2:18a-b (reordered)
What’s the use of an idol? It is only something that a human being has made, and it tells you nothing but lies. (Good News Translation) -or-
Any kind of idol that a maker/craftsman makes is useless. It teaches/predicts only lies.
2:18c For its maker trusts in his own creation;
That is because the man trusts in what he himself made. -or-
Because when people worship idols, they trust in the products that they themselves made. -or-
It is useless/foolish because the maker trusts in something that he himself made.
2:18d he makes idols that cannot speak.
He makes these worthless idols which cannot talk. -or-
They make these useless idols which cannot speak a word. -or-
It is a false god that cannot even talk.
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