dry / arid

In Gbaya, the notion of something very (unnaturally) dry or arid is emphasized in the referenced verses with kútú-kútú, an ideophone that refers to a head covered with scabs, a crusty head, or something scaly.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation). Likewise, in Toposa all the different bodies of water are all called by one term as well: nya-name̥ (source: Schröder 2026, p. 101).

In Malagasy culture, the sea is perceived as sacred because it was a path taken by the ancestors. That is why the Malagasy word for the “sea” is ranomasina, which literally means “the sacred water.” The word masina actually has two different meanings: “salted” and “sacred/holy.” Salt is used for the conservation of some foods, such as meat or fish, that are to be set aside for later use. In this sense, the Malagasy phrase for “Holy Spirit” has the literal meaning of “Salted Spirit.” (Source: Brigitte Rabarijaona in The Bible Translator 2022, p. 103ff.)

“Sea” (or: “ocean”) is translated in Tepeuxila Cuicatec as “water land” and in Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac as “very big lake.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

complete verse (Isaiah 19:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 19:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “The river of Nile shall dry up,
    and continue to be dried up.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The water of the river will dry up.
    Then, the water of the Nile River will become slowly dry land.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The Nile River will-evaporate until it will-be-dried-up.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Some day the water in the Nile River will dry up,
    and the riverbed will become very dry.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 19:5

And the waters of the Nile will be dried up is literally “And they will be dried up, the waters from the sea” (compare 18.2). New Jerusalem Bible has “The waters will ebb from the sea,” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “Water shall fail from the seas,” and New American Bible translates “The waters shall be drained from the sea.” These translations are more accurate in terms of the Hebrew text. This opening clause is a general statement about the sea drying up. The parallel line that follows it is a more specific reference to the Nile River. The passive verb will be dried up implies some agent, whether a natural event such as a hot wind, or divine intervention. If an active form is needed, we recommend “will dry up” since the text does not specifically mention Yahweh as the cause.

And the river will be parched and dry: Here the river is certainly the Nile, so translators may make this clear. Be parched and be dry render the two key Hebrew verbs (charav and yavesh) in this subsection. They are introduced together here for emphasis. For Good News Translation this verbal repetition indicates a gradual process of drying. The verses that follow express this more openly.

Translation examples for this verse are:

• The waters of the sea will dry up, the river will become completely parched and dry.

• The sea will evaporate, and the Nile River become completely parched and dry.

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 .