Jerusalem

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:


“Jerusalem” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

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)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jerusalem .

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 51:35

This verse contains the prayer of the people of Jerusalem for the LORD to take revenge against Babylonia for what was done to their holy city. In the two verses that follow we have the LORD’s response to the prayer.

It is more natural in many languages to move let the inhabitant of Zion say to the beginning of the verse, as in Good News Translation. Note that the singular inhabitant stands for all the people there. Zion is here used in parallel with Jerusalem. They refer to the same place. See verse 10 and 3.14.

The violence done to me and to my kinsmen be upon Babylon is literally “my violence and my flesh be upon Babylon.” The form of the Hebrew, which connects “violence” and “flesh” by the conjunction “and,” is misleading for English readers. The meaning of the construction is rather “violence done to my flesh be upon Babylon.” Revised Standard Version is probably correct in understanding “flesh” to have the meaning of my kinsmen, that is “my people.” This is the basis for Good News Translation “… for the violence done to us.”

The expression be upon Babylon … be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea means “May Babylonia and the Babylonian people be held responsible for,” as in Good News Translation. Thus the first and third lines can be expressed as “May the people of Babylonia be held responsible for the violent acts committed against my relatives [or, my people], and for our blood which they shed.”

My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea: Blood is used in the sense of “suffering” or “death.” Good News Translation has “May Babylonia be held responsible for what we have suffered,” while Bible en français courant has “May the Babylonians pay for the crime of shedding my blood.”

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 .