untranslatable verses

The Swedish Bibel 2000 declared the 69 Old Testament verses referenced herein as “untranslatable.” Typically, other Bible translations translate those verses and mention in footnotes that the translation is uncertain or give alternate readings. Christer Åsberg, the Translation Secretary with the Swedish Bible Society at that time, explains why the Swedish Bible Society decided to not translate these verses at all (in The Bible Translator 2007, p. 1ff. ):

“In the new Swedish translation (SB) of 2000, [some verses are] not translated at all; [they are] indicated with three hyphens inside square brackets [- - -] [with a] reference to the appendix, where in the article ‘Text’ one will find a paragraph with roughly the following content:

In some cases the text is unintelligible and the variant readings differing to such an extent, that it is quite impossible to attain a reasonable certainty of what is meant, although some isolated word may occur, whose meaning it is possible to understand.

“If Bible translators find the Hebrew text untranslatable, what kind of text is it that they have produced in the translation into their own language? When a footnote says ‘The Hebrew is not understandable,’ what then is the printed text a translation of? And if the translators prefer to do without footnotes, are they then really released from the responsibility of informing their readers that the text they read is just mere guesswork?

“To leave a blank space in a Bible text seems to be an offensive act for many. (. . . ) To admit that a piece of Holy Scripture makes no sense at all may have been unimaginable in times past. In our enlightened era, an overprotective concern for the readers’ trust in the word of God is apparently a decisive factor when a translator tries to translate against all odds. The verdict ‘untranslatable’ is much more frequent in scholarly commentaries on different Bible books written by and for experts than in the translations or footnotes of the same books designed for common readers.

“Another reason (. . .) is a professional, and very human, reluctance to admit a failure. Also, many Bible translators lack translational experience of other literary genres and other classical texts where this kind of capitulation is a part of the daily run of things. They may have an innate or subconscious feeling that the Bible has unique qualities not only as a religious document but also as a linguistic and literary artifact. Completeness is felt to be proof of perfection. Some translators, and not so few of their clients, are unfamiliar with a scholarly approach to philological and exegetical matters. In some cases their background have made them immune to a kind of interpretative approximation common in older translations, confessional commentaries, and sermons. Therefore, their tolerance towards lexical, grammatical, and syntactical anomalies tends to be comparatively great.

“It is very hard to discern and to define the boundary between something that is extremely difficult and something that is quite impossible. I am convinced that all Bible translators in their heart of hearts will admit that there actually are some definitely untranslatable passages in the Bible, but are there a dozen of them or a score? Are there fifty or a hundred? Not even a group of recognized experts would probably pick out the same ten most obvious cases. (. . .)

“Conclusions:

  1. There are untranslatable passages in the Bible.
  2. How many they are is impossible to say—except for the translation team that decides which passages are untranslatable.
  3. An untranslatable passage cannot and should therefore not be translated.
  4. The lacuna should be marked in a consistent way.
  5. The translating team should stipulate their criteria for untranslatability as early as possible.
  6. It is an ethical imperative that the readers be comprehensively informed.
  7. Untranslatability has been and can be displayed in many different ways.
  8. An explanatory note should not confuse linguistic untranslatability with other kinds of textual or translational difficulties.
  9. The information given should make it clear that the translators’ recognition of untranslatability is a token of respect for the Bible, not a proof of depreciation.
  10. You shall not fear the void, but the fear of the void.”

With thanks to Mikael Winninge, Director of Translation, Swedish Bible Society

power / strength

The Hebrew that is typically translated in English as “power” or “might” or “force” is translated in the English translation by Goldingay (2018) as energy or energetic.

complete verse (Job 36:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 36:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “Even if you cry, it will not help you
    and all your strength is not able to save you.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Can your wealth or even all of your mighty efforts
    deliver you from trouble?” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Can- your (sing.) wealth -help or your (sing.) capability/ability in your (sing.) difficulty/hardship?” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “If you are deceived by those things, it certainly will not help you to cry out when you are distressed;
    all of your strength will not help you.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Job 36:19

Dhorme rejects verses 19 and 20 as the comments of copyists. The interpretations of these verses and the changes proposed to give them sense are probably as numerous as there are translations. The Hebrew form is a rhetorical question assuming a negative answer. Good News Translation has expressed this as a negative statement.

Will your cry avail to keep you from distress…?: your cry translates a word which elsewhere has the meaning “riches,” and King James Version translates “Will he esteem thy riches?” The word translated avail means “set in order, or compare,” as used in Isaiah 40.18, and so “be equal to,” and this is the sense of Good News Translation “help you now.” From distress in the Hebrew is literally “not in (or, from) distress.” Pope keeps from distress, but makes a small change from the Hebrew for “not” to get “to him” and translates “Will your opulence (wealth) avail with him in trouble?” This can be expressed in another way, “Will your wealth have any influence on God when you are in trouble?” As can be seen, translations differ as to your cry or “wealth” as the subject of this line. The word rendered from distress can be assigned other vowels in Hebrew to give “gold,” as used in 22.24. Bible en français courant reflects the latter change with “Neither your goods nor your gold will be sufficient….” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project accepts either “cry” or “fortune,” and either “in distress” or “gold,” as possible choices on which to base a translation. And so the thought is that Job’s plea or his wealth will be no help to escape his troubles, which have been brought on by his own sin.

Or all the force of your strength merely strengthens the first line as another thing which cannot help Job, and is well translated by Good News Translation. Good News Translation‘s translation of verse 19 can be adapted to the notion of wealth in line a by saying, for example, “Your wealth will do you no good; all your strength can’t help you now.” This gives a suitable translation model for this verse.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .