drink

In Telugu different verbs for humans drinking (tāgu / తాగు) and animals drinking (cēḍu / చేడు) are required.

complete verse (Jonah 3:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jonah 3:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “That leader had already earlier sent a message to reach the people of the whole of that city. (He/It) said that, ‘This is a word from the big ruler/king and the leaders. No person or animal should eat anything even a little. Even/Also the cows or/and goats or/and people should not eat anything or even drink water.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Then [accompanied] by a two-headed drum he proclaimed —
    "[This] is the command of the king and his courtiers– No one, whether a person, a cow, a bull or a sheep, is to eat or drink anything.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He made a proclamation to the ones-from-Nineve that says, ‘According-to the command of the king and his officials, no one among you (plur.) is-to-eat or is-to-drink, even your (plur.) cows, sheep, or goats.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then he caused-to-be-said to the collective-people in Nineve, ‘This is the command of the king and his officials: It is thoroughly prohibited that people, cows and sheep eat and drink.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Then he sent messengers to proclaim to the people in Nineveh: ‘My advisors and I have decreed that no one may eat or drink anything. Do not even allow your animals to eat or drink.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

king

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Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:

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  • Piro: “a great one”
  • Highland Totonac: “the big boss”
  • Huichol: “the one who commanded” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Ekari: “the one who holds the country” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Una: weik sienyi: “big headman” (source: Kroneman 2004, p. 407)
  • Pass Valley Yali: “Big Man” (source: Daud Soesilo)
  • Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
  • Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))

Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:

“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”

(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )

See also king (Japanese honorifics).

Translation commentary on Jonah 3:7

This verse repeats the substance of verse 5, but this time the decision that “everyone should fast” originates from the king. Here, He sent out a proclamation represents the causative form of the verb “to proclaim,” with an impersonal unspecified agent, followed by the verb “and he said.” In view of the causative element in sending out the proclamation to the people, it may be best to render the first part of this verse as “caused the people of Nineveh to hear a proclamation” or “he ordered men to proclaim to the people of Nineveh.”

Then the content of the proclamation is introduced by the phrase “By order of the king and his officials.” The inclusion at this point of the officials, or “great men,” resembles Dan 6.17, where the king’s seal and that of his nobles are both affixed to the stone over the mouth of the pit of lions in which Daniel was imprisoned. But this is more characteristic of a later period in the Old Testament. For the king to refer to himself in this way in the third person may be unnatural in some languages.

The subject and predicate relationships in This is an order from the king and his officials must be inverted in a number of languages; for example, “The king and his officials announce this order to you” or “… make this command.” Since, however, it is the king himself who caused the proclamation to be made, it may be necessary in a number of languages for the king to speak of himself in the first person; for example, “I the king and my officials command you….”

The ban on eating and drinking goes further in this proclamation than in the parallel passage in verse 5, since animals are included here, in two pairs: “Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep, shall taste anything.” The verb that follows is one that applies only to animals feeding, hence New English Bible “to graze.” The final prohibition in the verse, against drinking water, applies to both men and animals. Obviously the ban applies to any other liquid, too, with the force “they are not to drink anything.” In some languages, such as English, it is perfectly natural to use verbs such as “eat” and “drink” with no expressed object, as in Good News Translation, whereas in other languages the verb sounds incomplete without an object.

In view of the seeming duplication of commands, No one is to eat anything and all persons … are forbidden to eat or drink, it may be important to introduce or drink as simply “or even to drink anything.” In some languages, of course, eat or drink may be summarized simply as to “consume solid or liquid food.”

The classification implied in all persons, cattle, and sheep may seem extremely strange in some languages, for it would appear to leave out goats, pigs, and other domestic animals. It may therefore be better to reflect more closely the form of the Hebrew itself; for example, “no person nor domestic animal whether large or small shall eat anything.” Obviously only domesticated animals could be involved in such a command, since they would be under the control of persons who would make provision for their food. It would seem quite ludicrous in some languages to use a form for “animals” that would imply wild animals, since such a proclamation would either have no effect upon them or would be interpreted to mean that the king in some miraculous way was able to command the behavior of wild animals.

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. et al. A Handbook on the Book of Jonah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1978, 1982, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Jonah 3:7

3:7a

Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: Then the king made an official command and ordered messengers to announce it throughout the city. You may need to make these steps explicit in your translation. 3:7b–9 contain the content of the king’s command to the people.

3:7b

By the decree of the king and his nobles: This was probably the way all important messages from the king began. The fact that it came from the king and his nobles gave authority to the message. It does not necessarily mean that the nobles had any part in making the decree, although perhaps they approved it.

decree: This is an official order or command from someone in authority. In this case, that person is the king.

nobles: These were the important men in the kingdom or city, perhaps the people who would advise the king on important issues. If your language has a word for “officials” you could use that. Another possibility is to use an expression like “important men.”

3:7c

Let no man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink: The first part of the decree is the command not to eat or drink anything.

no man: This is the Hebrew word ʾaḏam and is not limited to males (as Berean Standard Bible might imply) It is the ordinary word for a human being of either sex. Here it means any person living in Nineveh.

or beast, herd or flock: Not only were people not allowed to eat and drink, but they were not to allow their animals to eat or drink, either.

beast: This word in Hebrew, behemah, is a general term and here refers to any domestic animal. Avoid using a word which might be understood to include wild animals.

herd or flock: The Hebrew word baqar translated herd refers to cattle. The Hebrew word ṣʾon translated flock refers to sheep and goats. These two terms are the normal way in Hebrew to group domestic animals.

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Commentaire sur la traduction de Jonas 3.7

Ce verset répète ce qui a été dit en Jonas 3.5, mais cette fois-ci la décision émane du roi et de son gouvernement. L’addition des animaux qui participeront au jeûne général préfigure les derniers propos de Yahweh (Jonas 4.11) qui insiste sur la compassion de Dieu pour tout être vivant.

proclama l’état d’alerte et en fit annoncer dans Ninive est littéralement « a crié et a dit dans Ninive ». Certainement par exprès, le même verbe זעק zʿq est utilisé ici qu’en Jonas 1.5 lorsque les marins crient chacun à son dieu. Ici le verbe est à la forme causative, qui montre que le roi « fait proclamer » ce message par ses représentants. On pourrait dire « il ordonna à ses gens de dire aux habitants de Ninive… » La traduction de la Traduction œcuménique de la Bible est loin du texte hébreu et ne devrait pas servir de modèle ici.

par décret du roi et de son gouvernement : la proclamation sera faite au nom du roi et de ses ministres. Dans la majorité des langues, il s’agira d’un discours direct, introduit de la manière qui convient dans la langue cible.

décret : le mot טַעַם taʿam a plusieurs sens, y compris « goût » et « discernement » (Ps 119.66 ; 26.16). Mais plus tard, sous l’influence de l’araméen, il prend le sens de décision ou de décret. Dans beaucoup de langues, il y aura une formule pour introduire une annonce officielle, par exemple, « Par ordre du roi… » Sinon, on pourra dire « Écoutez l’ordre du roi… » Dans certaines langues, on dira plutôt « Moi, le roi, je vous ordonne… »

Pour roi, voir Jonas 3.6.

son gouvernement est littéralement « de ses grands », avec ce mot qui figure si souvent dans ce livre. Ici le sens est « par la décision du roi et de ses grands » (Nouvelle Bible Segond). Il s’agit des « ministres » du roi (Parole de Vie, La Bible du Semeur, Bible en français courant) ou de ses « hauts fonctionnaires ». Le roi associe ses notables à sa décision.

interdiction est faite aux hommes et aux bêtes, au gros et au petit bétail, de goûter à quoi que ce soit : en hébreu il s’agit d’une citation directe introduite par l’expression לֵאמֹר léʾmôr. Voir Jonas 1.1. La Traduction œcuménique de la Bible ainsi que plusieurs d’autres versions utilisent un deux points (:) pour introduire la citation. Les traducteurs devraient utiliser une formule qui convient dans leur langue. En Jonas 3.5 les habitants de Ninive décident de jeûner. Ici l’ordre du roi va plus loin, puisque l’interdiction de manger et de boire est imposée non seulement aux hommes, mais aussi aux bêtes. En hébreu les êtres cités sont au singulier : homme, bête, gros bétail, petit bétail.

interdiction est faite est une expression idiomatique française qui ne figure pas dans le texte hébreu, qui dit litt. « l’homme et la bête, le gros bétail et le petit bétail ils ne doivent pas goûter… » Les traducteurs pourraient utiliser des expressions qui expriment l’idée d’interdiction dans leur langue, par exemple, « Il ne faut pas que les personnes, les bêtes… mangent quelque chose » ou « Aucun être ne doit manger, ni humain, ni animal, ni…. »

hommes rend le mot אָדָם ʾâdâm en hébreu qui désigne tous les êtres humains, hommes et femmes, jeunes et vieux.

Le mot hébreu בְּהֵמָה behémâh, bête renvoie aux animaux en général, mais très souvent aux animaux domestiques. Les instructions se précisent par la suite, lorsque le roi spécifie qu’il s’agit de gros et petit bétail.

au gros et au petit bétail : en hébreu il y a une distinction entre le gros et le petit bétail. Le mot בָּקָר bâqâr comprend les bovins, bœufs, taureaux et vaches, tandis que le mot צֹאן çôʾn renvoie aux animaux de petits troupeaux, comme les moutons et les chèvres. Beaucoup de langues ne feront pas la même distinction qu’en hébreu. On pourrait parler alors de « troupeaux d’animaux », une expression qui englobera toutes sortes d’animaux. Il semblerait que seuls les animaux domestiques, auxquels l’homme fournit leurs aliments, sont concernés.

de goûter à quoi que ce soit : le verbe טעם ṭʿm, goûter, est plus spécifique que le verbe « manger » et semble insister sur le fait qu’on ne doit même pas manger des toutes petites quantités de nourriture. Mais le verbe a la même forme que le mot décret ci-dessus. Alors le mot a été peut-être utilisé pour faire un jeu de mots.

Les bêtes ne devraient goûter à quoi que ce soit. Ces derniers mots rendent un seul mot hébreu מְאוּמָה ma’oûmah, souvent utilisé dans de tels ordres (voir par exemple 1 Sam 12.4). Souvent il est rendu par « rien » (Juges 14.6) et on pourrait dire « ne goûtent de rien » (Nouvelle Bible Segond). On pourra aussi dire qu’il y a interdiction de « manger quoi que ce soit » (La Bible du Semeur). Notez que la notion de boire est mentionnée plus tard dans le verset.

interdiction est faite de paître : l’hébreu dit « qu’ils ne paissent pas ». Le verbe paître ou « brouter » est réservé aux animaux qui se nourrissent d’herbe, c’est-à-dire le gros et le petit bétail. Le premier ordre peut concerner la nourriture offerte par les propriétaires à ces animaux, tandis que ce dernier ordre concerne les animaux lorsqu’ils sont dans les champs.

interdiction est faite de boire est litt. « et des eaux qu’ils ne boivent pas ». Certains pensent que ce verbe ne s’applique qu’aux animaux, et encore d’autres qu’il s’applique aussi bien aux humains qu’aux bêtes. Le mot « eau » en hébreu (מַיִם mayim) est au pluriel, mais la forme appropriée peut être utilisé ici. Dans certaines langues comme le français, le verbe boire sous-entend le complément d’objet « eau ». Voir, par exemple, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie. Mais dans d’autres langues il faudrait inclure ce mot dans la traduction. La Nouvelle Bible Segond dit « il est interdit aux hommes comme aux bêtes… de boire de l’eau. »

La Traduction œcuménique de la Bible est très répétitive ici (interdiction est faite X 3), alors que le texte hébreu est moins formel.

Source: Péter-Contesse, René & Zogbo, Lynell. Jonas – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2021.