pray / prayer

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “pray” (or “prayer”) in English is often translated as “talking with God” (Central Pame, Tzeltal, Chol, Chimborazo Highland Quichua, Shipibo-Conibo, Kaqchikel, Tepeuxila Cuicatec, Copainalá Zoque, Central Tarahumara).

Other solutions include:

  • “beg” or “ask,” (full expression: “ask with one’s heart coming out,” which leaves out selfish praying, for asking with the heart out leaves no place for self to hide) (Tzotzil)
  • “cause God to know” (Huichol)
  • “raise up one’s words to God” (implying an element of worship, as well as communication) (Miskito, Lacandon) (source of this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • “speak to God” (Shilluk) (source: Nida 1964, p. 237)
  • “talk together with Great Above One (=God)” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter, 2004)
  • “call to one’s Father” (San Blas Kuna) (source: Claudio and Marvel Iglesias in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 85ff. )
  • “beg” (waan) (Ik). Terrill Schrock (in Wycliffe Bible Translators 2016, p. 93) explains (click or tap here to read more):

    What do begging and praying have to do with each other? Do you beg when you pray? Do I?

    “The Ik word for ‘visitor’ is waanam, which means ‘begging person.’ Do you beg when you go visiting? The Ik do. Maybe you don’t beg, but maybe when you visit someone, you are looking for something. Maybe it’s just a listening ear.

    When the Ik hear that [my wife] Amber and I are planning trip to this or that place for a certain amount of time, the letters and lists start coming. As the days dwindle before our departure, the little stack of guests grows. ‘Please, sir, remember me for the allowing: shoes, jacket (rainproof), watch, box, trousers, pens, and money for the children. Thank you, sir, for your assistance.’

    “A few people come by just to greet us or spend bit of time with us. Another precious few will occasionally confide in us about their problems without asking for anything more than a listening ear. I love that.

    “The other day I was in our spare bedroom praying my list of requests to God — a nice list covering most areas of my life, certainly all the points of anxiety. Then it hit me: Does God want my list, or does he want my relationship?

    “I decided to try something. Instead of reading off my list of requests to God, I just talk to him about my issues without any expectation of how he should respond. I make it more about our relationship than my list, because if our personhood is like God’s personhood, then maybe God prefers our confidence and time to our lists, letters, and enumerations.”

In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning (click or tap here to read more):

  • For Acts 1:14, 20:36, 21:5: kola ttieru-yawur nehla — “hold the waist and hug the neck.” (“This is the more general term for prayer and often refers to worship in prayer as opposed to petition. The Luang people spend the majority of their prayers worshiping rather than petitioning, which explains why this term often is used generically for prayer.”)
  • For Acts 28:9: sumbiani — “pray.” (“This term is also used generically for ‘prayer’. When praying is referred to several times in close proximity, it serves as a variation for kola ttieru-yawur nehla, in keeping with Luang discourse style. It is also used when a prayer is made up of many requests.”)
  • For Acts 8:15, 12:5: polu-waka — “call-ask.” (“This is a term for petition that is used especially when the need is very intense.”)

Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.

See also Nehemiah’s prayer (image).

sanctuary

The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “sanctuary” in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) with opatulika or “separated place.” This is understood in a religious setup as a place designated for worship. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

complete verse (Isaiah 16:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 16:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “The people of Moab prepared themselves
    to go and pray to their idols on top of the hill.
    But there is nothing good
    that they can get/find.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “In order to pray, the people of Moab
    going up to their puja place
    from useless praying they will become tired
    but from that no good will happen to them.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Those of/from-Moab will- only -grow-tire of their going-back-and-forth to their places-of-worship in the high places. There is no value of their going to the temple to pray.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The people of Moab will go and pray at their sacred shrines,
    but that will not help them.
    They will cry out to their gods in their temples,
    but none of them will be able to rescue the people.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 16:12

Translators may insert a paragraph break (so Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or a stanza break (Bible en français courant) here since the topic shifts slightly. The prophet begins with three synonymous temporal clauses to emphasize the main clause at the end, which notes that Moab will not succeed. He often uses three or four synonymous expressions to make a point. In the three temporal clauses here he clarifies his meaning as he goes from the first clause to the last one. The first two Hebrew verbs, rendered presents and wearies, are very similar in sound (nirʾah and nilʾah). This adds another dimension to these clauses that are piled up.

We begin with the main clause, he will not prevail, since many languages will need to place it at the beginning of the verse. He will not prevail is literally “he will not be able.” Here it means Moab’s prayers will fail or be in vain. New International Version says “it is to no avail” (similarly Revised English Bible, New American Bible). Good News Translation has “but it will do them no good,” Contemporary English Version “It’s useless,” and Bible en français courant “but without success.”

When Moab presents himself: The Hebrew verb rendered presents himself comes from a root meaning “see.” Here it refers to appearing before God for worship. Revised English Bible translates “Though the Moabites come to worship.” Some versions leave this clause implied in the action of going to the temple; for example, Bible en français courant translates this whole verse as follows: “One will see Moab exert itself going up to the sacred place, to go to its temple and beg its god, but without success.”

When he wearies himself upon the high place: Some versions render this clause as the result of Moab’s appearance in the previous clause (so New International Version, Revised English Bible), but according to the Hebrew syntax, these two clauses are parallel (so Revised Standard Version). Wearies may not mean that the Moabites grow tired but that they spend a great deal of time doing something that proves fruitless, which in this case is praying. For high place, see the comments on 15.2.

When he comes to his sanctuary to pray: This third temporal clause also refers to coming for worship. Sanctuary (literally “holy place”) is parallel to high place. It refers to a sacred place. New International Version uses “shrine,” but this could be an ambiguous word in many languages. A sanctuary is a more important place of worship than high place. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh suggests this by rendering the whole verse as follows: “And when it has become apparent that Moab has gained nothing in the outdoor shrine, he shall come to pray in his temple—but to no avail.”

Some translation examples for this verse are:

• Whenever the Moabites come to worship, whenever they spend long hours at their shrine, whenever they come to their sanctuary to pray, they will achieve nothing.

• Even though Moab comes to worship, spending long hours at the shrine, praying at their sanctuary, it will not be of any use.

• Though the people of Moab go to worship, spending long hours at the shrine, going to their sanctuary to pray, they will not be able to gain/achieve anything.

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 .