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

complete verse (Job 38:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 38:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “When the world dawns in the morning it turns the hills to become light/dawn
    and purple/pink like a flower that is blooming.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a stamp;
    it is robed in brilliant colors.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Because of its brightness, the world is clear like the mark of a seal or the fold of a garment.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God ("color")

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, irodo-rare-ru (彩られる) or “color” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Job 38:14

It is changed like clay under the seal describes by analogy how the darkened earth of verse 13 changes as dawn progresses into day. It is the appearance of the earth that changes. The analogy may be to a smooth piece of clay that takes on a definite shape when impressed with a seal, or signet ring. The expression translated as clay under the seal is literally “like clay a seal.” Dhorme takes it to refer to a red-colored clay used in ancient medicine, and which is used here to suggest the pink color of the earth at sunrise. Bible en français courant follows Dhorme in this but translates the first line in two ways: “The earth takes on a rose-colored hue,” which is qualified with the more literal rendering “like clay on which seals are impressed”; and in the footnote it gives “like the clay under the imprint of the seal.” Good News Translation shifts the clay impression figure to the end of verse 14 and expresses It is changed as “Daylight makes the hills and valleys stand out.”

And it is dyed like a garment is literally “and they stand forth like a garment,” as the Revised Standard Version note shows. Good News Translation and others supply “folds” to get a more adequate parallel with line a and to complete the image in line b. Bible en français courant renders this line “and all nature appears clothed in it.” Revised Standard Version follows a change also taken up by Dhorme, Pope, New Jerusalem Bible, and Bible de Jérusalem. Taken as a whole Good News Translation is preferred. In many languages the expression clay under the seal in line a will have to be modified to give a better picture of the effect of the light of dawn on the earth’s surface. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has dropped the clay impression figure and translated “Then the relief of the earth appears, dyed in colors like a garment.” This is also a good model, which may also be rendered as “Then the land stands out clearly like the folds in a rose-colored garment.”

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 .