The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “soul” in English is translated in Chol with a term that refers to the invisible aspects of human beings (source: Robert Bascom), in Yagaria with oune or “shadow, reflection” (source: Renck, p. 81), and in Elhomwe as “heart” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
The Mandarin Chineselínghún (靈魂 / 灵魂), literally “spirit-soul,” is often used for “soul” (along with xīn [心] or “heart”). This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32, see also Clara Ho-yan Chan in this article )
In Chichewa, moyo means both “soul” and “life.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
The musical instrument that is most often translated as “lyre” or “lute” in English is translated in the following ways:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016: pangwe (a musical instrument that is made from a hollow tube filled with pellets or small stones to create a rain-like sound) or “five stringed instrument” (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “guitar” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Newari: “sitar ” (source: Newari Back Translation)
The lyre consisted of a sound box out of the ends or sides of which projected two arms. The arms supported a crosspiece. Strings descended from the crosspiece over the sound box. As with the nevel, the number of strings could vary. Their varying thickness and tension gave the instrument a range of notes. The lyre was normally made of wood. The strings were made of animal intestines (perhaps from sheep).
The strings were normally plucked with the fingers. The kinor in particular is frequently depicted as an instrument that accompanied singing.
Job 21:12: For the stringed instrument (kinor in Hebrew) accompanying the tambourine, French Common Language Version has “guitar” and the French La Bible de Jérusalem has “zither,” which seems to be an instrument used in 1 Samuel 10:5. The first line of this verse may also be rendered “The children sing as people play the tambourine and the lyre.” In some languages these instruments will be a local drum and a stringed instrument; the latter may be a guitar. If no instruments can be found to render any of the instruments in this verse, the translator may have to express the whole verse differently; for example, “The children dance and sing and make joyful sounds/music.”
The identity of the instrument called sabka’ in Aramaic in Daniel (Hebrew) is uncertain. New Revised Standard Version, updated edition renders it “trigon,” which is a small triangular lyre-type instrument with four strings. Probably trigon is technically correct, but it is unknown to the average English reader. Good News Translation has attempted to find a better-known equivalent with “zither,” but the zither has far too many strings (over thirty). Some translations use “lyre” for sabka’ and render the Aramaic word qathros before it as “zither”. Revised English Bible has “triangle,” but most readers will wrongly identify that as a percussion instrument. Common English Version avoids the problem by rendering only the first three instruments in the list and grouping the last three together, including sabka’ as follows: “Trumpets, flutes, harps, and all other kinds of musical instruments.”
Lyre (source: Knowles, revised by Bass (c) British and Foreign Bible Society 1994)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 16:11:
Kupsabiny: “I am crying until I repeat myself over the people of Moab, I am crying over the city of Kir-hareseth.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “So my heart is mourning for Moab and my heart is weeping like the voice of a lute for Kir-hareseth.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Therefore I (am) sad/lamenting over the end-result of Moab like the sad sound of harp. I (am) also sad/lamenting over the end-result of Kir Haseret.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “I cry inwardly for Moab; my groaning is like a sad song played on a harp. I am sad about Kir-Hareseth.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
This verse is a response to the situation described in the previous verse. It begins with the connector Therefore as does verse 9. It also reflects the same sentiment, namely, the prophet is deeply disturbed by the destruction in Moab.
My soul moans like a lyre for Moab: My soul is literally “my bowels.” Revised English Bible, New International Version, and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh say “my heart,” New Jerusalem Bible suggests “my whole being,” and New American Bible has “my breast.” Good News Translation simply uses the pronoun “I.” This is probably a useful model for many languages, but it does not convey the emotional depth of the Hebrew that speaks of the innermost feelings of a person. A better model in English is “my very being.” Moans like a lyre compares the prophet’s deeply felt response to the mournful sound made by the lyre, a harp-like stringed instrument (see 5.12). Bible en français courant uses a different instrument here by rendering this line as “That’s why my song rises with emotion for Moab, like a guitar tune.” However, for many cultures the guitar does not produce a mournful sound! Also, it does not fit the Old Testament cultural setting. If translators cannot find a suitable instrument, we recommend a nonfigurative rendering as in Good News Translation.
And my heart for Kir-heres: The verb moans applies to this line also. (The omission of the verb is called ellipsis.) My heart is literally “my inner parts,” so this is another description of the prophet’s deeply emotional response to the situation in Moab. Kir-heres is the same town as Kir-hareseth in verse 7; see the comments there.
Translation examples for this verse are:
• Therefore my whole being groans deeply for the people of Moab; I groan like the sound of a harp, my very self aches for the people of Kir-heres.
• So my deepest self sighs for Moab like the sad sound of a harp, my very being aches for Kir-heres.
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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