cardinal directions

The cardinal directions “east” and “west” are easy to translate into Maan here since the language uses “where the sun comes up” and “where the sun goes down.” For “north” the translator had “facing toward the sun rising to the left,” and for “south” she had “facing toward the sun rising to the right.” So the listener had to think hard before knowing what direction was in view when translating “to the north and south, to the east and west.” So, in case all four directions are mentioned, it was shortened by saying simply “all directions.” Manya uses a similar nomenclature for the cardinal directions. (Source: Don Slager)

Likewise, Yakan has “from the four corners of the earth” (source: Yakan back-translation) or Western Bukidnon Manobo “from the four directions here on the earth” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo back-translation).

Kankanaey is “from the coming-out and the going-away of the sun and the north and the south” (source: Kankanaey back-translation), Northern Emberá “from where the sun comes up, from where it falls, from the looking [left] hand, from the real [right] hand” (source: Charles Mortensen), Amele “from the direction of the sun going up, from the direction of the sun going down, from the north and from the south” (source: John Roberts), Ejamat “look up to see the side where the sun comes from, and the side where it sets, and look on your right side, and on your left” (source: David Frank in this blog post ).

In Lamba, only umutulesuŵa, “where the sun rises” and imbonsi, “where the sun sets” were available as cardinal directions that were not tied to the local area of language speakers (“north” is kumausi — “to the Aushi country” — and “south” kumalenje — “to the Lenje country”). So “north” and “south” were introduced as loanwords, nofu and saufu respectively. The whole phrase is kunofu nakusaufu nakumutulesuŵa nakumbonsi. (Source C. M. Doke in The Bible Translator 1958, p. 57ff. )

“West” is translated in Tzeltal as “where the sun pours-out” and in Kele as “down-river” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel).

In Morelos Nahuatl, “north” is translated as “from above” and “south” as “from below.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

In Matumbi cardinal directions are defined as in relation to another place. “East” for instance typically is “toward the beach” since the coast is in the eastern direction in Matumbi-speaking areas. “North” and “south” can be defined as above or below another place. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

The Hebrew text that gives instructions where to place items in the tabernacle with the help of cardinal directions (north and south) had to be approached in the Bambam translation specific to spacial concepts of that culture.

Phil Campbell explains: “There are no words in Bambam for north and south. In Exodus 26:35, God instructs that the table is to be placed on the north side and the lamp on the south side inside the tabernacle. The team wants to use right and left to tell where the lamp and table are located. In many languages we would say that the table is on the right and the lampstand is on the left based on the view of someone entering the tabernacle. However, that is not how Bambam people view it. They view the placement of things and rooms in a building according to the orientation of someone standing inside the building facing the front of the building. So that means the table is on the left side and the lampstand is on the right side.”

See also cardinal directions / left and right and people of the East.

complete verse (Isaiah 49:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 49:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “My people shall come from faraway countries,
    from North and West
    and others shall come from Aswan in the South.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Look, they will come from far away,
    some from the north, some from the west
    and some from the land of Aswan in the south."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “My people will-arrive from a far — others from the north, others from the west, and still others from Sinim. ’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “My people will return from far away;
    some will come from the north, some from the west,
    some from southern Egypt.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

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)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 49:12

In Hebrew this verse is literally “Behold, these from afar will come, and behold these from the north and the west, and these from the land of Sinim.” The three occurrences of “these from” indicate that three groups of people will come from distant places. All three are linked to the verb “come.” The demonstrative pronoun “these” refers to the “prisoners” of verse 9, that is, the exiled Israelites who will return home. So the main point of verse 12 is that God will bring Israelites back to Jerusalem from wherever they had been taken or had fled. There will be a new beginning for all these people as God leads them home. The repetition of “behold” and “these” should be kept in translation if possible since they emphasize the full extent of the people’s return.

Lo, these shall come from afar is the main clause. It is expanded in the next two lines to indicate the location of the far places. The word Lo calls special attention to the fact that the people will come from distant lands. Many translations ignore it, but New International Version renders it “See,” while New Jerusalem Bible and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh have “Look!” From afar repeats the phrase used in verse 1, so it establishes a literary link to the first section of this chapter. “Peoples from afar” in verse 1 referred to other nations, but these … from afar points to the Israelites returning home from faraway places.

And lo, these from the north and from the west: The word lo is used again to call attention to what follows. New Jerusalem Bible renders it “look.” In the historical setting of these chapters, north and west were the two main directions to which captives from Judah were taken. Babylonia lay to the north of Judah. The west refers to the areas around the Mediterranean Sea. These from the north and the west is probably a general statement regarding Israelites returning home from all over the world, not just those exiled in Babylonia. But it could also refer to non-Israelite people, converging on Judah, but this is less likely. We recommend a fairly literal translation, implying that it points to people of Judah returning home (so Good News Translation).

And these from the land of Syene: Masoretic Text has “Sinim,” but Dead Sea Scrolls reads “the Syenians” (NJPSV footnote|prj:NJPS.Isa 49.12). Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends Syene, which we support. Syene was almost certainly an area in Upper Egypt, known today as Aswan (so Good News Translation, New International Version). Jer 44.1 refers to Jews who were living in Egypt, many of them having fled there at the time of the Babylonian invasion (see 19.18). Other Jews may have migrated there for different reasons. So Syene refers to those who will come from the south, in addition to those coming from the north and the west. Translators should provide a footnote to indicate that Syene was located in Egypt.

Translation examples for this verse are:

• Look, these will come from distant lands,
look, these will come from the north and from the west,
and these will come from the land of Syene [in Egypt].”

• See, people will come from afar,
see, people will come from the north and the west,
people will come from the land of “swan.”

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 .