The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “joy” or “happiness” is translated in the HausaCommon 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)
Description: The drum consisted of a membrane, usually of animal skin, which was stretched over a shallow circular, triangular, or square frame.
Usage: The drum was struck sharply with one or two hands, depending on where it was situated. It could be held in the left hand, under the left arm, or against the chest and struck with the right hand, or it could be held on the knees or the ground and struck with one or two hands. The fingers of the left hand could be used to tighten or loosen the tension on the membrane as it was struck with the palm of the right hand.
Translation: The use of the Hebrew word tof is usually associated with singing, processions, and festivals. Archaeological evidence indicates that drums with metal circlets on the frame (“tambourines” or “timbrels”) were not known in biblical times. As a general rule, the best translation for this word will be “hand drum” or simply “drum.”
Lyre (source: Knowles, revised by Bass (c) British and Foreign Bible Society 1994)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 31:4:
Kupsabiny: “I will restore you again, be strong oh my beloved (plur.) of Israel. You shall again take your lyres and meet with those happy ones and sing with joy.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I will-build- you -up/[lit. cause-to-stand] again, O people of Israel who are like a virgin woman. Again you will-dance in gladness playing your tambourines.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “And now I tell you, my Israeli people whom I love , that I will cause you to be a nation again. You will joyfully dance as you play your tambourines.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
A note in Traduction œcuménique de la Bible indicates that build here has a double meaning: (1) as God originally “built” a woman (Gen 2.22), so now he will build the virgin Israel into a complete individual; (2) it also refers to the reconstruction of the nation. “Restore,” “reestablish” or “rebuild” are the most common expressions of this sense.
The verse goes on with and you shall be built, an example of parallelism that Good News Translation finds redundant and drops. For the first two lines New Jerusalem Bible has “I shall build you once more, yes, you will be rebuilt, Virgin of Israel!” Another possibility is “I will establish you again. Yes, beloved Israel, once more you will be established.”
Virgin: See our discussion of “virgin daughter of my people” in 14.17. For virgin Israel, both Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and Bible en français courant render with the equivalent of “beloved Israel.” Good News Translation simply uses the second person pronoun “you,” but this loses the note of endearment.
Again you shall adorn yourself with timbrels: A literal rendering of this may be misleading, since timbrels (“tambourines”) were not actually worn as a part of a woman’s clothing or ornamentation, though the rendering of New English Bible “Again you shall adorn yourself with jingles” may seem to suggest this. Note, however, that Revised English Bible has “Again you will provide yourself with tambourines.” New Jerusalem Bible has “Once more in your best attire, and with your tambourines.” Perhaps the best model, however, is Good News Translation “Once again you will take up your tambourines.”
Timbrels or “tambourines” are musical instruments that can be used for joyful dancing. They were a frame with skin stretched across them much like a small drum. There were jingles attached also. If there is no instrument similar in their culture, translators can consider using a more general term such as “musical instruments [for dancing].”
Merrymakers translates the same participle used in 30.19. Good News Translation renders the last part of this verse as “and dance joyfully.”
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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