untranslatable verses

The Swedish Bibel 2000 declared the 69 Old Testament verses referenced herein as “untranslatable.” Typically, other Bible translations translate those verses and mention in footnotes that the translation is uncertain or give alternate readings. Christer Åsberg, the Translation Secretary with the Swedish Bible Society at that time, explains why the Swedish Bible Society decided to not translate these verses at all (in The Bible Translator 2007, p. 1ff. ):

“In the new Swedish translation (SB) of 2000, [some verses are] not translated at all; [they are] indicated with three hyphens inside square brackets [- - -] [with a] reference to the appendix, where in the article ‘Text’ one will find a paragraph with roughly the following content:

In some cases the text is unintelligible and the variant readings differing to such an extent, that it is quite impossible to attain a reasonable certainty of what is meant, although some isolated word may occur, whose meaning it is possible to understand.

“If Bible translators find the Hebrew text untranslatable, what kind of text is it that they have produced in the translation into their own language? When a footnote says ‘The Hebrew is not understandable,’ what then is the printed text a translation of? And if the translators prefer to do without footnotes, are they then really released from the responsibility of informing their readers that the text they read is just mere guesswork?

“To leave a blank space in a Bible text seems to be an offensive act for many. (. . . ) To admit that a piece of Holy Scripture makes no sense at all may have been unimaginable in times past. In our enlightened era, an overprotective concern for the readers’ trust in the word of God is apparently a decisive factor when a translator tries to translate against all odds. The verdict ‘untranslatable’ is much more frequent in scholarly commentaries on different Bible books written by and for experts than in the translations or footnotes of the same books designed for common readers.

“Another reason (. . .) is a professional, and very human, reluctance to admit a failure. Also, many Bible translators lack translational experience of other literary genres and other classical texts where this kind of capitulation is a part of the daily run of things. They may have an innate or subconscious feeling that the Bible has unique qualities not only as a religious document but also as a linguistic and literary artifact. Completeness is felt to be proof of perfection. Some translators, and not so few of their clients, are unfamiliar with a scholarly approach to philological and exegetical matters. In some cases their background have made them immune to a kind of interpretative approximation common in older translations, confessional commentaries, and sermons. Therefore, their tolerance towards lexical, grammatical, and syntactical anomalies tends to be comparatively great.

“It is very hard to discern and to define the boundary between something that is extremely difficult and something that is quite impossible. I am convinced that all Bible translators in their heart of hearts will admit that there actually are some definitely untranslatable passages in the Bible, but are there a dozen of them or a score? Are there fifty or a hundred? Not even a group of recognized experts would probably pick out the same ten most obvious cases. (. . .)

“Conclusions:

  1. There are untranslatable passages in the Bible.
  2. How many they are is impossible to say—except for the translation team that decides which passages are untranslatable.
  3. An untranslatable passage cannot and should therefore not be translated.
  4. The lacuna should be marked in a consistent way.
  5. The translating team should stipulate their criteria for untranslatability as early as possible.
  6. It is an ethical imperative that the readers be comprehensively informed.
  7. Untranslatability has been and can be displayed in many different ways.
  8. An explanatory note should not confuse linguistic untranslatability with other kinds of textual or translational difficulties.
  9. The information given should make it clear that the translators’ recognition of untranslatability is a token of respect for the Bible, not a proof of depreciation.
  10. You shall not fear the void, but the fear of the void.”

With thanks to Mikael Winninge, Director of Translation, Swedish Bible Society

mulberry

The references to mulberry in the Scriptures are all controversial. However, Zohary (Plants of the Bible. Cambridge University Press, 1982) on the basis of cognate words in Sumerian (messikanu, sukannu) confidently associates the Hebrew word mesukan in Isaiah 40:20 with the mulberry tree, as did Thompson before him. Further, they take the Greek word sucaminos in Luke 17:6 as also cognate with Sumerian sukannu. Like the apple, the pomegranate, the fig and the pistachio, the Black Mulberry Morus nigra may have been introduced into the Holy Land from one of the neighboring countries like Persia (now Iran).

The black mulberry is a large, broad tree (6 meters [20 feet] high) that produces flowers and leaves in spring and loses its leaves every year in winter. The crown is broad and low. The trunk gets twisted as it grows old and may rot away, only to be replaced by another one from the same root. People pile stones up in order to support the low branches of old trees. The leaves are stiff, rough, and hairy. The flowers are pollinated by the wind, and the fruit is a rather tart, black berry about the size of a large cashew nut. In Europe and North America, people use mulberries mostly to make pies and wine. A different species, the white mulberry, has a whitish fruit.

The black mulberry tree is similar in size and shape to the sycomore fig. In fact, the translators of the Greek Septuagint introduced considerable confusion by translating the Hebrew word shiqmah as sucaminos (1 Kings 10:27 et al.)

There are at least eighteen subspecies of mulberry in the world, distributed from China to North America. In the Middle East area two have been cultivated, the black mulberry and the white mulberry. The black mulberry grows well in what is now Iran, and it may have been introduced into Canaan from there. In areas where the mulberry tree is found, the local name should be used in Luke 17:6. Where it is not found (for example, most of Africa), transliteration from a major language is advised, for example, muluberi or sikamayin. (French mûrier, Spanish mora, Portuguese amoreira, Arabic tut).

Black mulberry, Wikimedia Commons

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

See also mulberry tree.

complete verse (Isaiah 40:20)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 40:20:

  • Kupsabiny: “(He) is not like a piece of wood that has been shaped,
    that a person has chosen/picked, wood that does not rot
    and then he looks for a good craftsman
    so he can from an idol that does not fall.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “A person who is not able to make an idol of gold and silver will choose not rot wood,
    [and] so that the idol will not fall down he chooses a very skilled craftsman.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Or to the wooden little-god which is hard which does not easily rot, which is-being-made by a poor man as offering? He have- this -made by a skilled/[lit. good] carpenter so-that (it) will- not -fall.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “You people who are still alive after experiencing great disasters,
    should come and gather together and listen to this:
    The people who carry around their wooden idols
    and pray to them are foolish, because those idols cannot rescue them!” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 40:20

In this verse the prophet describes an idol made out of wood.

He who is impoverished chooses for an offering wood that will not rot: The Hebrew participle rendered He who is impoverished refers to someone who is poor. This person can only afford wood for his idol, in contrast to the wealthy mentioned in the previous verse who use gold and silver (so Good News Translation, Bible en français courant). However, the word rendered He who is impoverished occurs only here, so its meaning is uncertain. New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, and New American Bible translate it “mulberry wood” (similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). For these two lines New Revised Standard Version has “As a gift one chooses mulberry wood—wood that will not rot.” The mulberry tree has hard wood that does not rot easily. For languages that do not have “mulberry wood,” it may be rendered “a fine piece of [hard] wood.” Whichever interpretation translators follow here, they should add a footnote to indicate that the meaning of the Hebrew is unclear, as in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation.

The Hebrew word rendered offering is literally “that which is lifted up.” It may be rendered “gift” (New Revised Standard Version) in this context. It is unclear what the offering is in this context. The wooden idol may be offered to the god it represents, or the wood may be offered to the artisan to make an idol out of it. Good News Translation and Revised English Bible omit the idea of offering, but translators should keep it. Wood that will not rot refers to hard wood that will last. It requires a lot of effort to carve.

He seeks out a skilful craftsman: Since the person who chooses the wood is unable to make the idol himself, he looks for someone who is skilled in carving wood. The Hebrew word for craftsman is the same one rendered “workman” in the previous verse (see the comments there). The Hebrew adjective translated skilful is often rendered “wise” (see 19.11-12), but “skillful” (Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “skilled” (New Revised Standard Version, New International Version) fits better in this context. Wisdom has very practical applications.

To set up an image that will not move: The first task of the craftsman is probably to make the statue, and then to fix it firmly in place. Good News Translation makes this clear with “to make an image that won’t fall down.” Bible en français courant is similar by rendering the last two lines as “Then he looks for a good craftsman, capable of making an idol that will hold firm.” Image renders the same Hebrew word translated “idol” in the previous verse (see the comments there). Since an idol cannot move by itself, this line must mean the craftsman puts it in place firmly, so that it doesn’t topple (see 1 Sam 5.3-4 for an example of an idol that toppled). New Revised Standard Version says “to set up an image that will not topple” (similarly New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

Revised English Bible and New American Bible move 41.6-7 after this verse. They believe that the two verses are out of place in chapter 41 but link closely with the satire on idols here. Some scholars (for example, Blenkinsopp) believe there are good exegetical reasons for this reordering. However, in the absence of any textual evidence to support it, we advise translators to retain the Masoretic Text order.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• For his offering a poor person chooses wood that will not rot,
then he finds a skilled craftsman to make an image with it
and to put it [firmly] in place so that it cannot fall over.

• He chooses for an offering mulberry wood that will not rot,
then he seeks out a skilled craftsman to carve the image
and to set it up so that it will not be unsteady.

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 .