3It came also in the days of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah until the end of the eleventh year of King Zedekiah son of Josiah of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 1:3:
Kupsabiny: “That message again came to him while Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling the land of Judah. Jeremiah continued to receive the word of God until the eleventh year when Zedekiah son of Josiah was ruling Judah. It was the fifth month in that year when the people of Jerusalem were captured to become slaves in another country.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The LORD continued to give Jeremias a message until the time of the reign of Jehoyakim the child of Josia, until even the 11th year of the reign of Zedekia also the child of Josia. In the fifth month of this year the people of Jerusalem were-taken-captive.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Yahweh continued to give me more messages when Josiah’s son Jehoiakim was the king, and he continued to do that until Zedekiah had been the king of Judah for almost eleven years. It was in August of that year that the people of Jerusalem were exiled/taken as prisoners to Babylonia.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
It refers to the message from the LORD in verse 2. Some translators will render this “The LORD spoke to Jeremiah” or “Jeremiah also received a message from the LORD in the days….” It came also … until the end of is expressed in Good News Translation by “After that, the LORD spoke to him many times, until….”
Jehoiakim the son of Josiah reigned 609-598 B.C. He was succeeded by Zedekiah who reigned 598-587 B.C. In the eleventh year of his reign (587 B.C.) Jerusalem and the entire country of Judah fell to the Babylonian army. Although Jeremiah indicates that this was the end of his prophetic ministry, he did exercise his calling during the years immediately following the fall of Jerusalem (40.7–44.30). However, it was this event that really was the climax of his ministry.
The captivity of Jerusalem refers to when the people of Jerusalem were defeated and led away to exile in another country. This reflects the custom of transporting the people of captured nations into foreign lands where they would be less likely to rebel against their conquerors. The expression is rendered as a complete statement by both Good News Translation (“the people of Jerusalem were taken into exile”) and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (“when the inhabitants of Jerusalem were led into exile”). In some languages the fact that they were defeated has to be made clear, as in “conquered and forced to go into exile.”
In the fifth month does not mean that Jeremiah continued to receive messages from the LORD until the people had been held in captivity five months. It means that the people were carried away in the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign.
Having until twice in this verse may not be very natural. One way to render the verse would be:
• Jeremiah also received messages from the LORD during the time when Josiah’s son Jehoiakim was king of Judah and when his son Zedekiah ruled, up to the eleventh year that he was king and the time when in the fifth month of that year the people of Jerusalem were taken into exile.
In order to make a link between verses 1-3, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates: “1 In this book is written what Jeremiah said and did … 2 The Lord spoke to him for the first time … 3 But this book also contains what the Lord later said to Jeremiah….” Many translators will find this approach helpful in their translations.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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