הוּרַ֥ד שְׁא֛וֹל גְּאוֹנֶ֖ךָ הֶמְיַ֣ת נְבָלֶ֑יךָ תַּחְתֶּ֨יךָ֙ יֻצַּ֣ע רִמָּ֔ה וּמְכַסֶּ֖יךָ תּוֹלֵעָֽה׃
11Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
and the sound of your harps;
maggots are the bed beneath you,
and worms are your covering.
The musical instrument that is most often translated as “harp” or “large lyre” in English is translated in the following ways:
In the UBS Helps for Translators‘ Human-made Things in the Bible (original title: The Works of Their Hands: Man-made Things in the Bible) it says the following:
Description: The exact identification of the nevel is very problematic. Some take it to be a kind of harp. The harp consisted of a neck projecting out of a soundbox. Strings were stretched from the extremity of the neck down its length and into the sound box. The body of the harp was made of wood and its strings of animal intestines (perhaps from sheep). The number of strings varied.
Others place the nevel in the category of lyres, where the strings are stretched over top of and parallel to the soundbox. While this is the interpretation preferred here, we will discuss the harp-type of instrument, since the identification is problematic and many translations have preferred “harp” for nevel.
Usage: The strings were plucked either with the fingers or with a thin piece of ivory or metal to give a resonating sound, probably in a lower register than that made by the kinor.
Translation: In several Psalms (33.2; 92.3; 144.9), the nevel is linked to the Hebrew word ‘asor, which could indicate it was “ten-stringed.”
Some degree of cultural adaptation must be made in the translation of these stringed instruments since cultures differ from each other in the shape, the number of strings, and the function of their instruments. Translators will have to select an equivalent instrument in the receptor language. In most passages the most accurate translation for nevel will be “guitar” or some equivalent medium-sized stringed instrument on which the strings are stretched over a sound box and are plucked.
In those passages where nevel and kinor appear together it is recommended that the translator use an instrument that can vary in size and then render the two words as “large and small X,” for example, “large and small guitars.” Alternately, it may be possible to select two stringed instruments that are similar in construction but different in size, for example, “guitar and lute.” It is also possible to say “large and small stringed instruments” or to combine the two, saying “stringed instruments.”
Psalms 33:2: “Praise the LORD with the lyre” (NRSVue) contains two major translation problems. The first problem is that in many languages, the phrase “with the lyre” must be changed into a verb phrase or clause; for example, the whole line may be rendered “Praise the LORD by playing music on the lyre” or “Make music with the lyre, and praise the LORD.” The second problem, which applies also to the second line of this verse, is the terms to be used for the musical instruments here. In languages in which there are several stringed instruments, translators may use one of the smaller ones for kinor (“lyre”) and a larger one for nevel (“harp” in NRSVue). In languages where there is little or no choice, they should use the known local stringed instrument for the kinor, and a more generic expression for the nevel. Where there are no known stringed instruments, it will often be necessary to say “small instruments with strings” for kinor and “large instruments with strings” for nevel.
Harp (source: Knowles, revised by Bass (c) British and Foreign Bible Society 1994)
Quoted with permission.
In English, “worm” is a fairly general word, while “grub” refers to worms and insect larvae that eat fruit and some vegetables such as beans. “Maggot” refers to the worm-like larvae flies and beetles, which feed on decaying meat or flesh. The Hebrew words tole‘ah and tola‘ath are fairly general terms for worms of all kinds, regardless of what the worms eat.
In Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers there occurs the phrase tola‘ath shani, literally “worm of scarlet”. The Hebrew name indicates both a scarlet color and the dye producing this color. The dye is made from the kermes insect Coccus ilicis, which was found in the Ararat region. The dye was traded by the Phoenicians, who carried it to the Middle East, North Africa, southern Europe, Mesopotamia, and even further.
Unlike the more general words tole‘ah and tola‘ath, rimah and its Greek equivalent skōlēx refer exclusively in the Bible to flesh-eating worms, in other words, maggots. The use of “worm” and “vermin” in modern English versions is motivated by the fact that to say that one’s own body is covered with maggots is repulsive and impolite in English culture. It may not be in other cultures.
Worms, grubs, and maggots are small, soft, legless, tube-shaped creatures that have no bones or shells. They typically feed on overripe fruit, rotting meat, and similar things. Most are actually larvae that hatch from the eggs laid by flies or some beetles. Most of them mature into pupae and then into adult forms of the parent insects.
In the Bible worms and maggots are symbols of uncleanness, decay and insignificance. In Psalms 22:6 and Isaiah 41:14 the word tola‘ath signifies a very insignificant human being or even nation. Where comparing a person with a worm or maggot will not convey the same meaning, it may be possible to find some other insect which symbolizes insignificance. Where no such comparison exists, it will be necessary to follow something like “weak and helpless as a worm.”
Maggots were a symbol of uncleanness, decay, and death. In Job 25:6 the maggot is symbolic of a repulsive, insignificant person.
Worms and maggots are found universally, and finding equivalents should not be too hard. However, in many languages there are specific words for different kinds of worms or maggots, but no generic word that includes them all. In such cases the individual contexts should guide the translator. When the reference is to worms destroying grapes or olives, a suitable word for such a context should be found; when the reference is to maggots that feed on corpses, a suitable word for these contexts should be used. It is more important to translate appropriately for a given context than it is to translate one Hebrew or Greek word the same way every time.
The use of a word for a flesh-eating worm or maggot is appropriate for all contexts.
Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 14:11:
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. )
See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.
This verse graphically describes the Babylonian king rotting away in the grave. Maggots and worms surround him and replace his former glory.
Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps: These lines are highly ironic. Everything the king of Babylonia felt proud about has now been transferred to the world of the dead. Babylonia’s pomp or “pride” has been mentioned earlier in 13.19, where the same Hebrew word is used. The verb brought down reflects the theme of “rise up – go down.” The sound of your harps is parallel to Your pomp. Both are brought down to the world of the dead. The music associated with festivities and celebrations gave the king pride. Translators may need to make the link between his pride and music more obvious to convey the meaning (see the second example below). Good News Translation interprets pomp to be the honor that the music of harps would bring, but this seems to limit the sense too much. For harps see the comments on 5.12.
Maggots are the bed beneath you is a very graphic description of rotting flesh being eaten by maggots. The maggots are like a bed on which the king is lying. Perhaps this is an indication of their great number. This line may be rendered “maggots are so thick they form a bed under you.”
Worms are your covering extends the previous line’s imagery. The bedcovers are worms. It would be difficult to think of a more graphic way to describe the death of a person, especially such an important one. For maggots and worms, translators may use creatures that are usually associated with death and decay in the receptor language.
Translators can consider the following examples for this verse:
• Your pride and your celebrations have been brought down to Sheol; maggots form the bed you lie on and worms cover you.
• All that you were proud of, your festivities full of music, have come to the world of the dead; maggots and worms form your bed and blanket.
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 .
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