complete verse (Jeremiah 46:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 46:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “This is the land of Egypt that overflows like the river Nile,
    like rivers that overflow until they flood the land.
    (It) says, ‘I swell up to cover the land,
    and I destroy cities and people who live there.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “That is Egipto; it becomes-powerful like a River of Nile that the water rises-up till the bank. Egipto said, ‘I am becoming-powerful and became like a flood that will-cover the earth. I will-destroy the cities and its people.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “It is the army of Egypt
    that will be covering the land like a surging/huge flood,
    and they will boast that they will cover the earth
    and will destroy cities and the people who live in them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 46:8

This verse answers the question raised in verse 7, repeating the same words used there. Egypt is pictured as a man who says to himself that he will rise up and conquer the world. And so the Egyptian forces are commanded (verse 9) to attack the surrounding nations.

Egypt: “It is Egypt” (Good News Translation) is the appropriate form for the answer in English. In other languages the appropriate form may be different; for example, “This one is Egypt” or “Only Egypt.”

He said: In some languages it may be more natural to say “The people of Egypt said, ‘We will….’ ”

For the whole verse, some translators can say, for example:

• It is Egypt who rises like the Nile [River], like a river flooding its banks. It is Egypt who said, “I will rise and cover the earth. I will destroy cities and the people who live in them.”

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 .