14And Jeremiah said, “That is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him and arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials.
The name that is transliterated as “Chaldean” in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with the sign that combines “Mesopotamia” (see here) and “spreading out,” since the Chaldeans originated in southern Mesopotamia and spread out from there. (Source: Missão Kophós )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 37:14:
Kupsabiny: “I said to (him), ‘I am not fleeing to join the Babylonians.’ But that guard did not accept my words. So, (he) took me and led me to the leaders.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Jeremias replied, ‘That is not true! I do not defend those whose-from-Babilonia.’ But Iria would never believe, therefore he arrested Jeremias and brought to the officials.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “But I protested and said, ‘That is not true! I was not intending to do that!’ But Irijah would not pay attention to what I said. He took me to the king’s officials.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
It is false: Good News Translation has “That’s not so!” and New International Version “That’s not true!” We may also render “You’re wrong,” though to translate “That’s a lie” probably goes beyond Jeremiah’s meaning.
Princes refers to “officials” (see 1.18); they are probably the same people called “servants” in verse 2.
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 .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.