chariot

The Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated into English as “chariot” is translated into Anuak as “canoe pulled by horse.” “Canoe” is the general term for “vehicle” (source: Loren Bliese). Similarly it is translated in Lokạạ as ukwaa wạ nyanyang ntuuli or “canoe that is driven by horses.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Other translations include:

  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “cart pulled by horses” (source: Larson 1998, p. 98)
  • Chichicapan Zapotec: “ox cart” (in Acts 8) (ox carts are common vehicles for travel) (source: Loren Bliese)
  • Chichimeca-Jonaz, it is translated as “little house with two feet pulled by two horses” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Hausa Common Language Bible as keken-doki or “cart of donkey” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Mairasi: “going-thing [vehicle]” (source: Enggavoter 2004)

It is illustrated for use in Bible translations in East Africa by Pioneer Bible Translators like this:

Image owned by PBT and Jonathan McDaniel and licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

See also cart.

complete verse (Isaiah 22:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 22:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “He shall finish you and twirl you,
    and then throw you aside like a ball,
    you shall fall in a far country to go and die there.
    Your chariots shall get lost there
    those that you boast about.
    Oh, this man!
    You have disgraced the house of your king.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He will take you like a ball
    and throw [you] into a great land.
    Then there you will die
    and your glorious chariots will be shaming your master’s household."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He will-make- you -round like a ball and throw into a wide place. You (sing.) will-die there, and your (sing.) chariots which you (sing.) boast-for will-be-destroyed there too. You (sing.) give shame to the household of your (sing.) master.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “and roll/crumple you into a ball
    and throw you away into a large distant land.
    You will die and be buried there,
    and your beautiful chariots will stay there in the hands of your enemies.
    And because of what happens to you, your master, the king, will be very ashamed/disgraced.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 22:18

And whirl you round and round, and throw you like a ball into a wide land: These two clauses complete the sentence begun in verse 17. They use a simile to express graphically that Yahweh will send Shebna into exile. The first clause in Hebrew has an alliteration with the “ts” sound: tsanof yitsnafeka tsenefah. This is an emphatic construction since it repeats the same Hebrew root three times. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh expresses this emphasis by beginning with “Indeed.” The Hebrew verb rendered whirl comes from a root meaning to wrap or tie on a turban. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh expresses this clearly by rendering these clauses as “Indeed, He will wind you about Him as a headdress, a turban. Off to a broad land!” However, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh emends the Hebrew text to read “as a headdress, a turban” instead of like a ball. It is better not to emend the text. The Revised Standard Version rendering suggests that Yahweh will whirl Shebna like someone whirling a slingshot before letting go of the stone. Contemporary English Version is better with “He will roll you into a ball and throw you into a wide open country” (similarly New International Version, Revised English Bible). A wide land is literally “a land broad two hands.” “Two hands” could mean “to the right and left.” In any case, this whole expression refers to a land that is vast and probably rather flat, so Contemporary English Version says “a wide open country.”

There you shall die: Shebna will die in a foreign country, so he will not be buried in his splendid rock tomb in Jerusalem.

And there shall be your splendid chariots, you shame of your master’s house means “and the chariots that gave you prestige here will become objects of shame for your master’s house there.” There is sarcasm here since Shebna will not be able to use his beautiful chariots in exile. The enemy will take them as booty, which will bring shame on the king of Judah. Some commentators understand this half of the verse to mean that Shebna will take his chariots with him into exile, but this is unlikely in the context. The adverb there is repeated in this verse to balance the repetition of the adverb “here” in verse 16. This contrast stresses the change from Shebna’s present situation to the one he is about to meet. Your splendid chariots is literally “chariots of your glory/honor.” Shebna’s chariots gave him glory in Jerusalem society. For chariots see the comments on 2.7. Your master’s house refers to the Davidic dynasty, not the palace.

Translation examples for this verse are:

• … and wrap you into a tight ball to be cast into a distant wide land.
There you will die;
there your prestige chariots will be objects of shame for your master’s household!’

• … he will wind you tightly like a ball and throw you into a broad land far away.
You will die there,
and there your glorious chariots will be the shame of your master’s household!’

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 .