lusty stallions

The phrase in Jeremiah 5:8 that is rendered into English translations as “they were well-fed lusty stallions” is translated into Afar as Yessemeeqe rakuubuy alal radam faxaah muxahiyya yekken.: “they became well-fed male camels making rumbling sounds (in their throats) in their desire to mount a female camel.” (On “stallion,” see also the story here.)

In the Hausa Common Language Bible the “stallion” is a bunsuru or “he-goat,” since horses are not well-known. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

neighbor

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The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “neighbor” in English is rendered into Babatana as “different man,” i.e. someone who is not one of your relatives. (Source: David Clark)

In North Alaskan Inupiatun, it is rendered as “a person outside of your building,” in Tzeltal as “your back and side” (implying position of the dwellings), in Indonesian and in Tae’ as “your fellow-man,” in Toraja-Sa’dan it is “your fellow earth-dweller,” in Shona (translation of 1966) as “another person like you,” in Kekchí “younger-brother-older-brother” (a compound which means all one’s neighbors in a community) (sources: Bratcher / Nida and Reiling / Swellengrebel), in Mairasi “your people” (source: Enggavoter 2004), in Mezquital Otomi as “fellow being,” in Tzeltal as “companion,” in Isthmus Zapotec as “another,” in Teutila Cuicatec as “all people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), and in most modern German translations as Mitmensch or “fellow human being” (lit. “with + human being”).

In Matt 19:19, Matt 22:39, Mark 12:31, Mark 12:33, Luke 10:27, Luke 10:29 it is translated into Ixcatlán Mazatec with a term that refers to a person who is socially/physically near. Ixcatlán Mazatec also has a another term for “neighbor” that means “fellow humans-outsiders” which was not chosen for these passages. (Source: Robert Bascom)

In Noongar it is translated as moorta-boordak or “people nearby” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

complete verse (Jeremiah 5:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 5:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “Greed/lust pushed them like male young donkeys
    who chased around having been satisfied thinking to climb (the females).
    That is how everyone desired the wife of his neighbor.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They are like a strong male horse, well taken-care-of. Each one of them lust for the wife of others.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 5:8

Though there is considerable doubt regarding the meaning of each of the two adjectives well-fed and lusty, this is the area of meaning represented by most translations. One scholar notes that the two adjectives taken together definitely mean “insane for mares,” which is also the interpretation of the Septuagint. Stallions are male horses.

In place of the equivalent statement (They were … stallions), it may be preferable to change the figure of speech to a simile and render it “They were like … stallions” (Good News Translation). Bassa in Liberia renders the first line “You are like very healthy male horses that are anxious for sex with female horses.”

It may not be possible to use neighing (the sound of a horse) of people in some languages; Good News Translation expresses the meaning as “lusting for.” Translators could also say “neighing with lust for his neighbor’s wife.”

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 .