desert / wilderness

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The Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “desert” or “wilderness” in English is translated in a number of ways:

  • Mairasi: “a place where noisiness is cut off (or: stops)” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Muna: pandaso bhalano pr “big barren-field” (source: René van den Berg)
  • Balinese: “barren field” (source: J.L. Swellengrebel in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 75ff. )
  • Wantoat: “uninhabited place” (source: Holzhausen 1991, p. 38)
  • Umiray Dumaget Agta: “where no people dwell” (source: Larson 1998, p. 98)
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “where no house is” (source: James Lauriault in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 32ff. )
  • Amri Karbi: “waterless region/place” (source: Philippova 2021, p. 368)
  • Ocotlán Zapotec: “large empty place” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Pa’o Karen: “jungle” (denoting a place without any towns, villages and tilled fields) (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. )
  • Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006: “steppe”
  • Yakan: “the lonely place” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “a land where no people lived” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “the place with no inhabitants” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Matumbi uses various term: lubele (desert, sandy place without water) — used in John 11:54, lupu’ngu’ti (a place where no people live, can be a scrub land, a forest, or a savanna) — used in Mark 1:3 et al.), and mwitu (a forest, a place where wild animals live) — used in Mark 1:13 et al.) (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
  • Chichewa Contemporary translation (2002/2016): chipululu: a place uninhabited by people with thick forest and bush (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Note that in Luke 15:4, usually a term is used that denotes pastoral land, such as “eating/grazing-place,” in Tagbanwa (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).

See also wilderness and desolate wilderness.

village

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “village” or “town” in English is translated in Noongar as karlamaya or “fire (used for “home“) + houses” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

In Elhomwe it is typically translated as “place.” “Here in Malawi, villages very small, so changed to ‘places,’ since not sure whether biblical reference just to small villages or also to bigger towns. (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

happiness / joy

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “joy” or “happiness” is translated in the Hausa Common Language Bible idiomatically as farin ciki or “white stomach.” In some cases, such as in Genesis 29:11, it is also added for emphatic purposes.

Other languages that use the same expression include Southern Birifor (pʋpɛl), Dera (popolok awo), Reshe (ɾipo ɾipuhã). (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

See also Seat of the Mind / Seat of Emotions, rejoiced greatly / celebrated, the Mossi translation of “righteous”, and joy.

complete verse (Isaiah 42:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 42:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “Let the wilderness sing to (him)
    and the cities of that place,
    and let the villages of the people of Kedar sing.
    Let the people of Sela sing with joy,
    singing from the top of the mountains.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Let the wilderness and the cities that are praise God!
    Praise Him, O people who live in Kedar!
    Let the people who live in Sela
    sing songs of rejoicing with loud voices from the mountain peaks!” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) praise him, you (plur.) who are in the towns of the desolate-place and you (plur.) who are residents of Kedar. You (plur.) sing for joy, you (plur.) people of Sela. You (plur.) rejoice on the peak of the mountains.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 42:11

Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice: The prophet also invites those who live in deserts to praise Yahweh. For desert see the comments on 14.17. This word is singular in Hebrew, but it has a collective sense, so it may be rendered “deserts.” As elsewhere, but especially here, the word cities should not be rendered by a term that is used for large, modern cities. It is better rendered “towns.” Lift up their voice is literally “lift up,” but “their voices” is implied (similarly in verse 2). Here this verb may be rendered “sing out loud.” The last line of verse 10 as well as this verse focus on people rather than the inanimate places where they live. Unlike Good News Translation, Bible en français courant reflects this here by saying “Let the people sing songs in the cities of the desert” (similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

The villages that Kedar inhabits is parallel to the previous line. It refers specifically to the Kedar people who lived in the Arabian Desert (see the comments on 21.16-17). The verb phrase lift up their voice is implied here. The Hebrew word rendered villages refers to an open area enclosed by walls (see 1.12, where it is translated “courts”). In this context it may be rendered “small villages” or “compounds.”

Let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the top of the mountains: In these two parallel lines the prophet also invites the people of Sela to praise Yahweh. The inhabitants of Sela refers to the Edomites who lived in the city of Sela, which is also called Petra (probably different from the “Sela” mentioned in 16.1). It was located on the high mountains that border the eastern side of the Dead Sea, which explains the reference to the top of the mountains. The verbs sing for joy and shout both refer to loud joyous praise (see the comments on 12.6, where the Hebrew verb for “sing for joy” is the same, but the verb for “shout” is slightly different). For many languages it will be necessary to add an object to the verbs, for example, they may be rendered “sing joyful songs” and “call out his praise.”

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• May the people of the towns in the deserts raise their voices [in praise],
together with those in the villages of Kedar.
May the inhabitants of the city of Sela sing joyous songs,
calling out in praise from the mountain tops.

• Let those in the towns of the deserts praise Yahweh loudly,
let Kedar’s villagers sing his praises.
Let those in Sela sing joyous songs to him,
let them shout praise to him from the mountain heights.

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 .