Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Judges 5:10:
Kupsabiny: “Listen, you (plur.) who ride on well-fed donkeys, incline your ears you (plur.) whose donkeys have soft things on the back. Listen also you (plur.) who walk on foot.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “O who sit on blankets and ride on white donkeys, O [you] who have to go on the road, Listen well.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) who are rich who are-riding on the white donkey and on the fancy/beautiful place-of-sitting-on it, and you (plur.) who are poor who are- just -walking, [you (plur.)] listen!” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “‘You wealthy people who ride on donkeys, sitting on nice padded saddles, and you people who just walk on the road, you all listen!” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Following are two English oral translations of Judges 5. The first is by Janet Stahl and the second by Bronven Cleaver. Both were produced as part of Cleaver’s PhD dissertation .
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “donkey” in English was translated in the 1900 Kalaallisut (Greenlandic) translation (a newer version was published in 2000) as siutitôĸ or “‘something with big ears.” “[This] is based on the word siut ‘ear’ combined with the same suffix –tôĸ (-tooq).” (Source: Lily Kahn & Riitta-Liisa Valijärvi in The Bible Translator 2019, p. 125ff.)
These Hebrew and Greek words (with the exception of pōlos and hupozugion — see discussion below) all definitely refer to the Domestic Donkey equus asinus. However the different words do have slight semantic differences among them.
Chamor and onos are the generic words for donkey while ’athon (feminine gender) refers specifically to a saddle donkey or a donkey used for riding. A saddle donkey is usually a large strong female donkey the males are too difficult to control when they are near a female in heat. The Hebrew word is derived from a root that means “strong”.
‘Ayir refers to the young male or jack donkey (probably with an emphasis on its liveliness and the difficulty in controlling it since the Hebrew root means something like “frisky”).
Onarion means a young donkey of either sex. Some languages will have a special word for a young donkey. This will be appropriate for translating onarion.
The word hupozugion often translated “donkey,” actually indicates any beast of burden. Walter Bauer, the famous German New Testament scholar, has argued very convincingly that the animal referred to in Matthew 21:5 in the expression epi pōlon huion hupozugiou is the foal of a horse not a donkey (1953:220-229). In some languages it will be possible to express this in a way that does not designate a specific species of animal`, as in “beast of burden.”
Pōlos usually refers to a foal, that is a young horse, unless a word for donkey follows.
Donkeys are domestic animals belonging to the same family as the horse, but they are smaller and have longer ears. The donkey bred and used in the Middle East is the domesticated Nubian or Somali Wild Ass Equus Asinus africanus. In its original wild state this was a gray ass with pale, whitish belly and dark rings on the lower part of the legs. It was domesticated in Egypt as early as 2500 B.C. In its domesticated version, as a result of interbreeding with donkeys from Europe and Persia, the donkey came to be a variety of colors from dark brown, through light brown to the original gray and occasionally white. The Hebrew chamor comes from a root meaning “reddish brown.”
Donkeys are good pack animals being able to carry as much as the larger mule without the latter’s unpredictable moods. They also have great stamina and are easy to feed since they eat almost any available vegetation. Larger individual animals (usually females) are also often used for riding.
Donkeys were highly prized in biblical times especially females since they were suitable for packing and riding and had the potential for producing offspring. Donkeys were seen as man’s best friend in the animal kingdom. They were the common man’s means of transport and many ordinary families owned a donkey. They were used for plowing and for turning large millstones as well as a means of transport.
Today domestic donkeys are found all over savannah Africa the Middle East South and Central Asia Europe Latin America and Australia. They do not seem to be reared in rain forest or monsoon areas but they are nevertheless often known in these areas.
A donkey was considered to be a basic domestic requirement and thus the number of donkeys available was a means of measuring the relative prosperity of a society at any given time. While only powerful political or military people rode horses (which were usually owned by the state) the common people rode donkeys. This is the significance of the passage in Zechariah 9:9: the victorious king would return to the city riding a donkey thus identifying himself as a common Israelite rather than a victorious warlord.
In the majority of languages there is a local or a borrowed word for donkey. This is the obvious choice. In areas of Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea, West Africa, and other places, where donkeys are rare or unknown, the word from the dominant major language or trade language (for example, English, Spanish, French, Chinese, or Arabic) is often transliterated.
In most contexts ’athon should be translated by the equivalent of “female” donkey, but in some contexts riding donkey is better.
‘Ayir should be translated according to the specific context. In Genesis 32:15 the translation should definitely be the equivalent of “male donkey”, and probably also in Judges 10:4 and Judges 12:14. The significance of these latter passages is that female donkeys were the more normal choice of mount.
In Job 11:12 the emphasis is probably on the friskiness of the donkey, and the translation should be the equivalent of “He ties his young donkey to a grapevine, his frisky young ass to the best of the vines” (indicating a certain amount of irresponsibility, and perhaps extravagance).
In Job 11:12 and Zechariah 9:9 the obvious emphasis is on the youth of the donkey, so the equivalent of “colt”, “foal”, “young donkey”, and so on should be used.
In Hebrew the structure of this verse is quite distinctive. Though Revised Standard Version begins with the imperative, Tell of it, this expression occurs at the end of the verse. The verse begins with three parallel participial clauses that identify those addressed and concludes with an imperative. It reads literally:
Those riding on tawny donkeys,
those sitting on saddle blankets,
and those walking on the road,
ponder!
These lines could be a call to the same set of people or to two or three different groups. Several versions see a progression from rich people, those who ride on donkeys, to poorer ones, those who walk (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version).
Tell of it renders a Hebrew verb that can mean “think about,” “ponder,” or “meditate on,” so New International Version says “consider.” It can also mean “complain out loud” or “speak out loud,” which seems behind the Revised Standard Version rendering. In Hebrew there is no word corresponding to the pronoun it, but many languages will need to add an object here. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “declare it.” Good News Translation puts “Tell of it” in the text and “Think about [it]” in a footnote. Some languages may prefer to be more explicit by saying “Consider what the LORD has done” or “Meditate on this victory.” Many versions prefer to place this imperative at the beginning of the verse as Revised Standard Version has done. However, New Jerusalem Bible follows the Hebrew order and puts the verb at the end of this verse, but its rendering “sing” does not seem accurate. New International Version presents this verb as introducing what follows in the next verse, saying “consider sup 11sup* the voice of the singers at the watering places.” Translators should study this verse and the next one and see how to best present the ideas here, all the while not forgetting that we are dealing with poetic lines.
You who ride on tawny asses is the first group of addressees. You who ride renders a Hebrew participle, which is literally “those riding” or “ones riding.” Revised Standard Version adds the pronoun you to help the reader know these people are being addressed. Ride translates a Hebrew verb that means “mount and ride” or “ride in a chariot.” Here the object is donkeys, so a verb used for mounting or riding a horse or donkey should be used. Tawny asses are light-colored donkeys. For asses see the comments on verse 1.14, where a different Hebrew word is used. The word for asses here refers specifically to female donkeys, so Revised English Bible says “she-donkeys,” but many versions simply say “donkeys” (Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible). Female donkeys were the common means of transport in biblical times, transporting both people and goods. In languages where donkeys are unknown, an expression such as “small beasts of burden” or “small horses” could be used. The Hebrew word for tawny refers to a color that many versions suggest is “white” (New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible). However, it is more likely that this word refers to a light color, closer to gray. In languages with few colors, translators might say “clear” or “light.” This detail may imply that lighter colored donkeys were favored or more expensive than darker ones. Even though in some cultures riding on donkeys would not be a sign of status, in biblical times just possessing a donkey meant the person was fairly wealthy. This whole line may be rendered “those of you who ride light-colored donkeys.”
You who sit on rich carpets: Many scholars think this line refers to the same people as in the previous one. This would mean the people who sit on rich carpets are riding on donkeys (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). This seems logical, but others see a reference to another group of people of slightly lower status (Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Like the previous line, you who sit renders a Hebrew participle, which is literally “those sitting.” Once again, Revised Standard Version adds the pronoun you to express the idea that these people are being addressed. The Hebrew word rendered rich carpets can also mean “saddles” (Good News Translation) or “saddle-blankets” (New Jerusalem Bible). To avoid direct contact with riding animals and to provide a more comfortable seat, people placed small rugs or leather saddles on beasts of burden (that is, horses, donkeys, or camels). This line may be rendered “those of you who sit on [saddle] blankets.” Translators will need to decide whether or not this line describes the same people as in the previous one. If they describe the same group of people, one possible rendering for both lines is “you who ride on light-colored donkeys, seated on comfortable saddles.”
And you who walk by the way is literally “and those walking on the road.” The Hebrew verb here means “go” or “walk.” Though it is possible to consider this line as referring to the same people as in the first two lines, most versions believe there is a contrast here between rich people who can afford donkeys and those who are forced to walk. New American Bible takes the first approach, seeing only one group: “They who ride on white asses, seated on saddlecloths, as they go their way.” However, most see a contrast with these people “who go on foot” (New Jerusalem Bible). Good News Translation has “you that must walk wherever you go.”
For this whole verse Contemporary English Version says:
Listen, everyone!
Whether you ride a donkey
with a padded saddle
or have to walk.
Though several interpretations of this verse are possible, it seems likely that the singers are calling out to all members of the community, including all classes of people to “consider” what the LORD has done. If this wider interpretation is adopted, a possible model is:
• “You who ride on light-colored donkeys,
sitting [comfortably] on padded saddles,
and you too, who are forced to walk on foot,
consider [what the LORD has done]!
If only one group is understood to be in view, this verse may be rendered as follows:
• “Think about it, people!
You who ride light-colored donkeys,
on comfortable saddles,
as you go on your way.
Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
5:10a You who ride white donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets,
You (plur.) who ride on white donkeys, sitting on saddle blankets,
-or-
You ⌊rich people⌋ who ride on white donkeys, seated on ⌊beautiful⌋ padded saddles, think about this.
5:10b and you who travel the road,
and you who walk the paths:
-or-
And you ⌊poor people⌋ who walk on the roads,
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