as numerous as the sand on the seashore

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “as numerous as the sand on the seashore” or “as numerous as the sand by the sea” in English is translated in Bauzi as “as many like the tree flowers of the jungle” (source: David Briley in Kroneman 2004, p. 539), in Afar it’s translated as mari mangah arrooqih gide akkuk yeneeniih: “are as numerous as gravel” or loowo sinni: “not countable” (source: Loren Bliese), in Angal Heneng as “like the hairs on a dog” (Source: Deibler / Taylor 1977, p. 1077), and in Copainalá Zoque as “their number is like ants” (source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation, March 1965, p. 2ff.).

widow

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “widow” in English is translated in West Kewa as ona wasa or “woman shadow” (source: Karl J. Franklin in Notes on Translation 70/1978, pp. 13ff.) and in Newari as “husband already died ones” or “ones who have no husband” (source: Newari Back Translation).

In Cherokee the term is gender neutral and translates to “one who has lost someone.” (Source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 100)

The etymological meaning of the Hebrew almanah (אַלְמָנָה) is likely “pain, ache,” the Greek chéra (χήρα) is likely “to leave behind,” “abandon,” and the English widow (as well as related terms in languages such as Dutch, German, Sanskrit, Welsh, or Persian) is “to separate,” “divide” (source: Wiktionary).

See also widows.

destroyer

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated in English typically as “destroyer” or similar is translated in the German Luther Bible 2017 as Verderber or “spoiler / corrupter.” (Source: Jost Zetzsche)

complete verse (Jeremiah 15:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 15:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “Widows will be many
    more than the sand of the ocean.
    I shall send also to the mother of a young man
    suffering while it is (mid)day.
    I shall send them anxiety and fear
    and it will hit them by surprise.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “I will-increase-the-number of your (plur.) widows, which seems as numerous than the sand in the seashore. At noon-time I will-send a destroyer against the mothers of your (plur.) male children/(sons). At-once sadness and terror will-arrive to them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I will cause there to be more widows in Judah
    than there are grains of sand on the seashore.
    At noontime, when people will not be expecting it to happen, I will cause an enemy army to attack you,
    an army that will destroy your young men and cause their mothers to weep.
    I will cause you to suddenly experience great suffering/pain and become very terrified.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 15:8

I have made their widows more in number is more literally “Their widows are increased in number to me.” The causative force of the verb, as found in Revised Standard Version, is based upon the two causative verbs that follow (I have brought … I have made). Thus Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders “I allowed more women to become widows.” It is also possible to take the verb in an impersonal sense: “There are more widows in your land” (Good News Translation). Interestingly, unlike Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version also accepts this interpretation with “Their widows became more numerous.”

The sand of the seas and the stars in the sky were considered past counting by the ancient Hebrews, and were often used in comparisons. As in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, rather than counting sand, many languages are more likely to count the grains of sand along the shore of the sea.

I have brought against the mothers of young men a destroyer is the interpretation followed by most translations. According to this interpretation, the persons killed are the young warriors of Israel: “On the mother of young warriors I bring the destroyer…” (New Jerusalem Bible). Hebrew Old Testament Text Project suggests a second possible interpretation: “I will bring young warriors to kill [helpless] widows [whose sons have already been killed in battle].” We should note, however, that this interpretation is apparently not followed by any of the major translations. A common fault in translating this verse is to make it seem that a destroyer attacks the mothers, whereas the idea is that just as there are many women who become widows because their husbands are killed, so also there are women who lose their sons. Good News Translation handles this very well with “I killed your young men … and made their mothers suffer.” I have brought … a destroyer may need to be expressed as “I killed,” as in Good News Translation, or as “I sent an enemy to kill.”

At noonday is taken by the majority of translations to indicate an unexpected time (see 6.4). However, the phrase may mean “in their prime” (Good News Translation), with reference to the young warriors.

This is the only place in the Old Testament where the noun anguish is used for certain, though some assume it is also found in Hos 11.9.

The noun translated terror is found elsewhere in the Old Testament only in Lev 26.16; Psa 78.33; Isa 65.23. It is derived from the same Hebrew root as the verb rendered “are in panic” by Revised Standard Version in 51.32.

In many languages it is not natural to say that anguish and terror come down. Rather, translators might say something like “I made them to suddenly experience great anguish [or, suffering] and to be terrified” or “I caused them to suddenly be in great pain, and to be greatly afraid.” Terror is a universal experience, and many translators will be able to use idioms from their language which express it. Some Pacific languages, for example, would say “trouble [or, suffering] catches 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 .