wine

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Greek that are translated as “wine” in English is translated into Pass Valley Yali as “grape juice pressed long ago (= fermented)” or “strong water” (source: Daud Soesilo). In Guhu-Samane it is also translated as “strong water” (source: Ernest L. Richert in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. ), in Noongar as “liquor” (verbatim: “strong water”) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), in Hausa as ruwan inabi or “water of grapes” (with no indication whether it’s alcoholic or not — source: Mark A. Gaddis), in sar as kasə nduú or “grape drink” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin), or in Papantla Totonac and Coyutla Totonac as “a drink like Pulque” (for “Pulque,” see here ) (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ).

In Swahili, Bible translations try to avoid local words for alcoholic drinks, because “drinking of any alcohol at all was one of the sins most denounced by early missionaries. Hence translators are uncomfortable by the occurrences of wine in the Bible. Some of the established churches which use wine prefer to see church wine as holy, and would not refer to it by the local names used for alcoholic drinks. Instead church wine is often referred to by terms borrowed from other languages, divai (from German, der Wein) or vini/mvinyo (from ltalian/Latin vino/vinum). Several translations done by Protestants have adapted the Swahili divai for ‘wine,’ while those done by Catholics use vini or mvinyo.” (Source: Rachel Konyoro in The Bible Translator 1985, p. 221ff. )

The Swahili divai was in turn borrowed by Sabaot and was turned into tifaayiik and is used as such in the Bible. Kupsabiny, on the other hand, borrowed mvinyo from Swahili and turned it into Finyonik. (Source: Iver Larsen)

In Nyamwezi, two terms are used. Malwa ga muzabibu is a kind of alcohol that people specifically use to get drunk (such as in Genesis 9:21) and ki’neneko is used for a wine made from grapes (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext).

In some Hindi translations (such as the Common Language version, publ. 2015 ), one term (dākharasa दाखरस — grape juice) is used when that particular drink is in the focus (such as in John 2) and another term (madirā मदिरा — “alcohol” or “liquor”) when drunkenness is in the focus (such as in Eph. 5:18).

In Mandarin Chinese, the generic term jiǔ (酒) or “alcohol(ic drink)” is typically used. Exceptions are Leviticus 10:9, Numbers 6:3, Deuteronomy 29:6, Judges 13:4 et al., 1 Samuel 1:15, and Luke 1:15 where a differentiation between weak and strong alcohol is needed. The Mandarin Chinese Union Version (2010) translates that as qīngjiǔ lièjiǔ (清酒烈酒) and dànjiǔ lièjiǔ (淡酒烈酒), both in the form of a Chinese proverb and meaning “light alcohol and strong drink.” (Source: Zetzsche)

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about wine in biblical times (source: Bible Lands 2012)

See also proceeds from the vine / anything that comes from the grapevine, wine (Japanese honorifics), filled with new wine, and wine (Gen 27:28).

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Isa 56:12)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai translation uses the inclusive pronoun, including everyone.

complete verse (Isaiah 56:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 56:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “Those people are saying,
    ‘Let us get some wine,
    let us drink bitter beer as much as we want.
    Let us continue to drink tomorrow
    like this day!’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “They all speak like this,
    "Come, have [some] grape wine brought!
    [Some]alcoholic beverage too, drink a lot!
    Tomorrow will also be like today
    or [even] much better than today."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They still say, ‘Come, let us (incl.) get some drink and be-drunk! This(meaning-drink) (will be) much more tomorrow than now/today.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 56:12

“Come,” they say, “let us get wine: The plural imperative Come also occurred near the beginning of the section, so it forms an inclusio. Here it introduces a quote that summarizes the attitude of Israel’s leaders. The quote frame they say is not in the Hebrew text. Revised Standard Version adds it to indicate that the prophet is quoting the leaders at this point. Most other versions also add a quote frame; for example, New International Version has “each one cries,” Revised English Bible uses “says each of them,” and Good News Translation chooses “these drunkards say.” Instead of let us get wine, the Hebrew has “let me get wine” (see RSV footnote). Like Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, several other versions change the singular expression in Hebrew to plural in order to agree with the surrounding verb forms. However, it may be possible to use the singular, especially if an appropriate quote frame is used (so New International Version, Revised English Bible). For wine see the comments on 1.22.

Let us fill ourselves with strong drink is literally “let us drink a lot of strong drink.” The leaders are not content to enjoy a small amount of wine but want to get drunk. The plural expression here indicates that one of the leaders invites the others to join him in getting drunk. The Hebrew word for strong drink is better rendered “beer” (see the comments on 5.11). For this whole line translators may use a common local idiom for getting drunk, without referring specifically to strong drink. But they should not choose an expression that is vulgar. Good News Translation has “and drink all we can hold!” It may also be rendered simply “Let’s get drunk!”

And tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure is literally “and it will be like this day tomorrow [with] exceedingly great abundance.” Tomorrow is a figure for the future. In these two lines the leaders are saying the future will be even better than what they are enjoying in the present. This is the spirited brawling of drunk people. Revised Standard Version‘s translation of these lines is somewhat awkward in English since it follows the Hebrew closely. Good News Translation is more natural with “Tomorrow will be even better than today!”

Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates this verse in the form of a rhyming song produced by happy drunks, which may be possible in other languages. New International Version provides the following helpful model: “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.”

Translation examples for this verse are:

• They say to each other, “Come on, let me get some wine
and let’s get really drunk!
Tomorrow will be even better than today!”

• They shout, “Come on, let us get some wine
and we will get completely drunk!
Tomorrow will be even greater than today!”

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 .