mourn

The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “mourn” or similar in English is translated in Newari as “have one’s heart broken” or “have a bursting heart” (source: Newari Back Translation).

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Jeremiah 12:4)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the inclusive pronoun, including everyone.

complete verse (Jeremiah 12:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 12:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “For how long will the land stay dry,
    and how long will the grass be withered?
    Animals and birds are dying
    on account of the evil of the people of this land,
    people who are saying,
    ‘God will not see what we are doing.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Until when will-be the drying of the ground and withering of grass? The animals and birds are-dying because of the wickedness of the peoples who live in this land. They even say, ‘God does not interfere/meddle what will-be- our -destined-to.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 12:4

As previously indicated, a number of scholars believe that this verse is out of place, even though there is no textual basis for its removal.

Mourn (New Jerusalem Bible “be in mourning”) may be translated in a nonfigurative sense as “be dry” (Good News Translation) or “lie parched” (Revised English Bible). This usage has the advantage of being parallel with the verb wither in the next line.

The question How long … wither? is not looking for an answer of a certain amount of time. It has the effect of asking the LORD why he isn’t punishing the people whose wickedness is causing the land to dry up. Translators can say something like “LORD, the land is dry and the grass has withered because of the wickedness of these people. When will you put an end to this [or, Surely you will put an end to this]?”

For the wickedness of those who dwell in it explains the basis for the observation that the beasts and the birds are swept away as well the fact that the fields have dried up. In its meaning it relates to both statements but it can be tied grammatically to whichever one translators find easiest to express. That is why Good News Translation inverts the order of the two lines. Swept away is better expressed as “have perished” or “died.”

Because men said: Because is parallel with For two lines earlier. Good News Translation therefore finds it more natural in English to use “because” only once in the sentence. Men is to be equated with those who dwell in it.

He will not see our latter end is ambiguous both in terms of the construction will not see our latter end, and of the subject, whether He refers to God or Jeremiah. Thus several translations have the equivalent of “God doesn’t see what we are doing” (Good News Translation), which represents the Septuagint text. Jerusalem Bible and Revised English Bible have essentially this same rendering with a footnote, whereas Moffatt and An American Translation do not provide a note for their readers. Luther 1984 (“He does not know how it’s going to turn out with us”) and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (“What he says never happens”) each make sense out of the Hebrew text, and each apparently assumes that Jeremiah is the subject. Translators may follow either interpretation, but in the context, to understand God as the subject seems best.

Our latter end has been understood by some translators to mean “what we are doing” (Good News Translation), but by others as “how we end up finally.” In either case the people are showing contempt toward God and his ability to guide their lives.

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 .