shepherd

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “shepherd” in English is translated in Kouya as Bhlabhlɛɛ ‘yliyɔzʋnyɔ — ” tender of sheep.”

Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains:

“Then one day they tackled the thorny problem of ‘shepherd’. It was problematic because Kouyas don’t have herdsmen who stay with the sheep all the time. Sheep wander freely round the village and its outskirts, and often a young lad will be detailed to drive sheep to another feeding spot. So the usual Kouya expression meant a ‘driver of sheep’, which would miss the idea of a ‘nurturing’ shepherd. ‘A sheep nurturer’ was possible to say, but it was unnatural in most contexts. The group came up with Bhlabhlɛɛ ‘yliyɔzʋnyɔ which meant ‘a tender of sheep’, that is one who keeps an eye on the sheep to make sure they are all right. All, including the translators, agreed that this was a most satisfactory solution.”

In Chuj, the translation is “carer” since there was no single word for “shepherd” (source: Ronald Ross), in Muna, it is dhagano dhumba: “sheep guard” since there was no immediate lexical equivalent (source: René van den Berg), in Mairasi it is translated with “people who took care of domesticated animals” (source: Enggavoter 2004), in Noongar as kookendjeriyang-yakina or “sheep worker” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), and Kwakum as “those-who-monitor-the-livestock” (source: Stacey Hare in this post ).

See also I am the good shepherd.

Translation commentary on Isaiah 13:20

Verses 20-22 spell out the extent of Babylon’s destruction. Like Sodom and Gomorrah, It will never be inhabited or dwelt in for all generations. The words never and for all generations indicate the devastation will be permanent. Good News Translation combines these two clauses. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch keeps both by translating “Never again will anyone settle there, it remains uninhabited for all times.”

No Arab will pitch his tent there: This is another example of the barrenness of the city after its destruction. Not even nomads will bother to camp there with their flocks since there will be nothing for them to eat or drink. The word Arab refers to “nomads” (Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), not the people known as Arabs today. Shepherds in the next line is parallel to this word. In many languages Arab and shepherds may be combined as “shepherds wandering about with their flocks.” Pitch his tent there means “set up his tent to reside there for a while.” A tent was a portable dwelling of cloth and/or animal skins, held up by poles and secured to the ground by cords tied to stakes.

No shepherds will make their flocks lie down there: This is parallel with the previous line. Shepherds will not pasture their flocks near the destroyed city. This is the opposite of the description presented in 17.2, where the destroyed city of Damascus becomes merely a place where flocks will graze (compare also 7.25). In the case of Babylon, not even sheep or goats will bother with the ruined city.

Some translation examples for this verse are:

• It will never again be inhabited, future generations will not live there; nomads will not pitch their tents nor rest their flocks there.

• Babylon will not be inhabited again, no future generation will live there; even nomadic people will not camp there nor lead their flocks there.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .