Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006: “steppe”
Yakan: “the lonely place” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “a land where no people lived” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “the place with no inhabitants” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Cherokee: inage or “far away downstream” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16)
Matumbi uses various term: lubele (desert, sandy place without water) — used in John 11:54, lupu’ngu’ti (a place where no people live, can be a scrub land, a forest, or a savanna) — used in Mark 1:3 et al.), and mwitu (a forest, a place where wild animals live) — used in Mark 1:13 et al.) (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
Chichewa Contemporary translation (2002/2016): chipululu: a place uninhabited by people with thick forest and bush (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Adioukrou: loj or “savannah” — “land that is not village, nor forest, nor field (source: Hill 2006)
Note that in Luke 15:4, usually a term is used that denotes pastoral land, such as “eating/grazing-place,” in Tagbanwa (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).
Vultures and eagles were much more common in the ancient world than they are today. In fact since the end of World War II in 1945 the world’s population of vultures and eagles has been reduced by over sixty percent. This is due mainly to a) calcium deficiencies as a result of eating animals in which there were high concentrations of the insecticide DDT, b) eating poisoned rats, and c) the reduction in the amount of carrion due to both the disappearance of wild animals since the invention of the modern rifle, and the modern garbage disposal systems.
Click or tap here for the rest of this entry in United Bible Societies’ All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible
Nesher: As is the case with many Hebrew bird names, the word nesher refers both to one particular bird and to a general class of birds. It seems likely that nesher refers specifically to the largest of the local birds of prey, namely the Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus, but since this word also refers to large birds of prey, it also has a general reference to all or any of them. Thus this category of large birds probably also includes the Lappet-faced Vulture Torgos tracheliotus negevensis, (now fairly uncommon, but previously very numerous), the Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos, the Imperial Eagle Aquila heleiaca, the Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis, and possibly the Black or Verreaux’s Eagle Aquila verreauxii. The last mentioned bird has only been breeding in modern Israel in the last thirty-five years, but some ornithologists believe that it may have lived there in ancient times, since it is associated closely with the hyrax, its favorite prey.
‘Ozniyah: There is considerable doubt about the meaning of this word. Its meaning is basically derived from its position in the list of unclean birds, and this makes a type of vulture more likely than the osprey. Since the Black Vulture Aegypius monachus is slightly smaller than the lappet-faced vulture and the bearded vulture, this seems to be the most likely candidate. It probably represents eagles and buzzards of the same size as itself, that is, some of the eagles mentioned above. In modern Hebrew ‘ozniyah is the name for the lappet-faced and black vultures.
‘Ayit: There is general agreement that the word ‘ayit in the Bible is a word that includes in its meaning both eagles and vultures. However, it probably does not include smaller birds of prey, such as the hawk, sparrow hawk, or smaller falcons. In the contexts in which it occurs it is clear that carrion-eating birds of prey are meant, rather than all birds of prey. Therefore the English expression “birds of prey” is too inclusive, but the term “carrion birds” is probably more correct.
The word ‘ayit is usually taken to be derived from a Hebrew root meaning “to scream”, hence “the screamer”, and is obviously a bird in Genesis 15:11 and other passages. However, there are also scholars who relate ‘ayit to a different Hebrew root meaning “to attack greedily”.
Peres, a word derived from a Hebrew root meaning “to tear apart” or “to break”, probably refers to the Bearded Vulture or Lammergeir Gypaëtus barbatus, which looks much like an eagle. It probably represents a grouping of eagles and vultures slightly smaller than those mentioned above under nesher and would include the Black-breasted Snake Eagle (also called the Short-toed Eagle or the Black-chested Harrier Eagle) Circaetus gallicus (alternatively Circaetus pectoralus) and the Booted Eagle Hieraeetus pennatus, as well as one or two others.
Racham refers to something that is black and white. The position of the name in the list of unclean birds would indicate that it is a waterside bird. This narrows the choice to two possibilities, the Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus and the Osprey Pandion haliatus. In modern Hebrew racham is the name for the Egyptian vulture.
The Egyptian vulture is smaller than the other vultures mentioned above. It has long, untidy, light orange-brown feathers on its neck and head, with a bare yellow face and yellow beak that is longer and less hooked than most vultures. The rest of the body and wings are white with black wing tips. In flight the body and the front half of the wings are white, with the wing tips and the back half of the wings black.
While this vulture does eat carrion, it is usually the scraps dropped by larger vultures, since its beak is not strong enough to tear skin and meat easily. It usually scavenges scraps on beaches or rubbish dumps and eats the eggs of ground-nesting waterside birds such as plovers, sandpipers, curlews, and others, which it breaks by knocking them with a large stone.
Aetos: This is the usual Greek word for any kind of eagle.
Aquila: This is the usual Latin word for any kind of eagle.
True eagles have feathers on the lower part of their legs, but vultures, snake-eagles, hawks, and others usually have no such feathers. Vultures have slightly longer beaks and longer necks than eagles, and their heads and necks are usually either bald or have sparse down covering them rather than proper feathers.
Griffon vulture: This is the largest of the Gyps vultures, having a wingspan of about 2.5 meters (8 feet), and weighing up to 10 kilograms (22 pounds). It has a thick hooked black beak. Its head and neck are covered in fine down, and it always looks as though it is frowning. It has a tuft of feathers on its back between its shoulders. The head, neck, and chest are gray and fawn, and its back is dark brown with darker feathers on the edges of its wings. When it is soaring, its body and the leading edges of its wings appear light brown with a broad dark band on the trailing edge of the wings. Like all true vultures, it has featherless legs.
Griffons live in fairly large groups and roost and nest together on high rock ledges, and, like most other vultures of large size, they have to wait until mid-morning when there is warm air rising up from the ground before they can fly. They then soar in spirals, going higher and higher.
They have very specialized eyes that enable them to see great distances. A proverb quoted in the Talmud says, “A vulture in Babylon sees a carcass in Israel.” They keep watch to find any dead or dying animals, and at the same time they keep track of other vultures flying nearby. They soar fairly slowly, without beating their wings. As soon as one stops spiraling and heads toward its prey, it gathers speed quickly in a shallow dive, still not beating its wings, but often reaching high speeds. The Hebrew name nesher may reflect the swishing sound made by its wings when it is flying this fast. Other vultures will notice this movement and will start to follow.
In African countries where both griffon and lappet-faced vultures live, griffons usually arrive at a carcass in fairly large numbers, with the lappet-faced vultures arriving in pairs. Often a dead cow will attract twenty griffons or more and perhaps four lappet-faced vultures. It is likely that this ratio was the case in ancient Israel too.
The griffons attack the stomach and other soft parts of the carcass and thrust their heads deep into the body to eat the liver and other soft organs before starting on the softer meat, eating “from the inside out.” They eat very quickly and can consume a kilogram (2 pounds) of meat in about two minutes. After gorging themselves it is difficult for them to fly, and they need to run and hop along the ground before getting airborne. If there is no obvious danger, they prefer to remain on the ground or to perch on logs or in nearby trees after eating.
Lappet-faced vulture: This vulture is almost as big as the griffon in terms of height and wingspan but has a lighter build. They live singly or in pairs in the Negev and roost and nest in the tops of flat-topped trees such as acacias. The lappet-faced vulture has a yellowish beak, which is thicker and stronger than that of the griffon, and this enables it to eat skin, sinews, and tough meat. The head, face, and neck are covered with bare red skin. The head and neck have thick wrinkles. The rest of the body is dark brown or black with white thighs and shoulders. When they are soaring they appear to be uniformly black except for a thin white streak on the leading edge of the wings, with the white thighs (usually referred to by bird watchers as their “white pants”) clearly visible.
At a carcass they feed “from the outside in,” tearing the skin and eating it before starting on the meat. Lappet-faced vultures are very aggressive and dominate the griffons at a carcass they are sharing. Although carrion is their main food, they also sometimes kill their own prey, mainly small mammals such as young gazelles or hares.
Black vulture: The black vulture, as its name suggests, is black all over apart from the bare head and neck, which are a bluish gray. When viewed from below it appears completely black.
Large eagles: The golden, imperial, and Verreaux’s eagles mentioned above are all very large and have a wingspan of at least 2 meters (6 feet). They are not mainly scavengers, but may occasionally join vultures at a carcass. Generally their prey is small mammals, such as baby gazelles, lambs, hyraxes, hares, and young ibexes, as well as occasional game birds such as partridges and doves.
Bearded vulture: Also known as the lammergeir, this bird is unique among vultures, as it has feathered legs like an eagle. It is smaller than the vultures mentioned above. Its head, neck, and body are an orange-brown, and it has a black stripe running from the back of its head, through its eye to the beak, where it ends in a short bristly black beard on both sides of the beak. Its back and wings are dark brown. In flight it is easily recognized by its coloring and its large diamond shaped tail. It usually feeds when other vultures have eaten, and it has the unique habit of carrying bones high into the air and then dropping them onto a large rock to break them so that it can eat the marrow and the bone fragments. It will use the same rock for this purpose for many years.
Both eagles and vultures are associated with large size and great strength. Especially important is their ability to fly great distances at high speed, without even beating their wings. Both Egyptian and Assyrian deities had the eagle or vulture as their symbol, and this, as well as their diet of meat, meant that these birds were “unclean” to the Jews. The famous mummy of Tutankhamen, the young Egyptian king, was found with a large collar made of gold and colored glass adorning his neck and shoulders, in the form of a flying vulture representing the goddess Nekhbet. The eagle in Scripture is also a symbol of protection, and in Deuteronomy the eagle is a metaphor for God.
As carrion-eating birds of prey, eagles and vultures symbolized death in battle, in which the corpses were not buried. They are listed among the unclean birds.
The vulture or eagle was a symbol of healthy, long life. In actual fact these birds can live for a great many years. One fairly reliable report from Austria refers to an eagle kept in captivity for 104 years. Some scholars relate the Hebrew association of long life and the eagle to the ancient Arabian myth about the phoenix, usually portrayed as some sort of eagle, which flew to the sun every five hundred years, was consumed by the sun’s fire, and emerged reborn from its own ashes.
By the time of the New Testament the eagle, besides the symbolism mentioned above, had also become a symbol of the power of the Roman Empire.
The context will usually indicate whether vultures or eagles are intended by the author. When there is reference to speed and swooping down on the prey, the eagle is intended, but when there is reference to eating dead bodies, the vulture is intended. When the text speaks of flying high or nesting in safety on high cliffs, either eagles or vultures fit the context.
Three linguistic situations are possible: a) Languages in which the same word is used for both vultures and eagles (for example, Lisu, Lahu, and other Tibeto-Burman languages). Here there is no need to differentiate between them, except where both Hebrew words appear together. b) Languages in which there are no generic words for vultures or eagles, but each individual subspecies has its own name (as with many southeastern Bantu languages). In these cases it is best to choose the biggest vulture or eagle for nesher and a slightly smaller one for peres. c) Languages in which there are two generic words, one for vultures and another for eagles (as is the case in English). Here the context will determine the choice.
Care should be taken in those contexts where the nest is referred to as high on a cliff face, since some species of vulture and eagle nest in trees. In these cases a cliff-nesting alternative should be chosen, even if it is a smaller bird of prey.
‘Ozniyah: Probably a word for the black vulture or a type of medium-sized eagle. An expression meaning “small vulture” is probably the best equivalent.
Another name for an eagle or vulture of similar size as the black vulture can be used in the lists of unclean birds for ‘ozniyah, or it can be included, along with peres, in a general expression covering both fairly large vultures and eagles.
‘Ayit: In languages that do not have a single word including both eagles and vultures, but where both types of bird are found, such as in Africa and the Middle East, it is better to use a simple phrase meaning “eagles and vultures.” A phrase such as “scavenging birds of prey,” or simply “vultures,” could also be used.
True vultures are not found in the Americas or Australasia, but a word for “buzzards,” or, in the case of the Americas, “condors” can substitute for “vultures.” Elsewhere a phrase such as “eagles that eat dead things” or a borrowed word can be used.
Peres: The bearded vulture is found in the mountainous regions of southern Europe, Central and South Asia, and eastern and southern Africa. The medium-sized short-toed eagle is found throughout Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The booted eagle is found all over Europe, Asia, and Africa. Elsewhere, the name for a medium-sized vulture or eagle can be used to translate peres.
In Africa there are many vultures closely related to the griffon vulture, and the lappet-faced vulture is common in most areas of the African continent. The African griffons include the White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus(alternately Gyps bengalensis), which nests in trees, the Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres, and Ruppell’s Vulture Gyps ruppelli. The local word for any of these would be a good equivalent in contexts where the text refers to vultures.
Griffons are also found in central and eastern Europe and on the Indian sub-continent. The condors of Latin America and California would be local equivalents. The Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax of Australia would be an equivalent there.
Golden and imperial eagles are found in most of western Europe as well as Israel.
African equivalents of the golden and imperial eagles would be the Black or Verreaux’s Eagle Aquila verreauxii and the Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus.
The Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis migrates across Israel to as far south as the northern parts of South Africa. It is also found in eastern Europe, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, and South Asia.
In North America the Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus would be an equivalent in some contexts of the Hebrew nesher.
The Hebrew text of Lamentations 1-4 uses acrostics, a literary form in which each verse is started with one of the successive 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. According to Brenda Boerger (in Open Theology 2016, p. 179ff. ) there are three different reasons for acrostics in the Hebrew text: “for ease of memorization,” the representation “of the full breadth and depth of a topic, all the way from aleph to taw (tav),” and the perception of “the acrostic form as aesthetically attractive.” (p. 191)
While most translations mention the existence of an acrostic in a note or a comment, few implement it in their translation. One such exception is the DanishBibelen på Hverdagsdansk (publ. 1985, rev. 2015 et al.).
Click or tap here for Lamentations 4 in Danish
1 Ak, Jerusalems guldklumper har mistet deres herlighed.
Hendes hellige øjestene ligger og vansmægter på hvert gadehjørne.
2 Byens befolkning var deres vægt værd i guld,
men nu ligger de som værdiløse lerkar, en pottemagers værk.
3 De vilde sjakaler giver deres unger die,
men mit folks mødre er følelseskolde som ørkenens strudse.
4 Ethvert spædbarn skriger af tørst med tungen klæbende til ganen.
Småbørn tigger om mad, men ingen har noget at give.
5 Folk, som var vant til festmiddage, er nu ved at forgå af sult.
De, som levede i luksus, roder nu efter føde i rendestenen.
6 Går det ikke mit folk værre end Sodomas indbyggere?
De døde dog på et øjeblik ved Herrens direkte indgreb.
7 Hendes fyrster havde hud som silke og struttede af sundhed,
deres ansigter var rødmossede og håret skinnede så smukt.
8 Ingen ville kunne genkende dem nu, hvis de mødte dem på gaden,
for de er det rene skind og ben med ansigter sorte som sod.
9 Ja, hellere dræbes af sværdet, end at dø langsomt af sult,
fordi madforsyninger ikke kan komme ind i byen.
10 Kan man forestille sig, hvad der sker med en kærlig mor,
som tvinges til at koge og spise sine børn for at overleve?
11 Landet er lamslået over Herrens forfærdelige vrede.
Jerusalem er ødelagt og brændt ned til grunden.
12 Man mente ikke, det kunne lade sig gøre at indtage Jerusalem.
Ingen af jordens konger troede, det var muligt.
13 Nedsablingen skete, fordi profeter og præster havde syndet.
De havde myrdet uskyldige folk midt i Herrens hellige by.
14 Overalt i byen raver folk rundt i blinde.
De kan ikke undgå at røre ved blod, og derfor er de urene.
15 „Pas på!” advarer folk hinanden, „der kommer en uren!”
Flygter de, siger de fremmede folkeslag: „Her kan I ikke bo!”
16 Respekt for præsterne og landets ledere hører fortiden til,
for Herren har slået hånden af dem og spredt dem for alle vinde.
17 Skildvagterne stod og spejdede efter hjælp, men forgæves.
Ingen af vores allierede havde magt til at redde os.
18 Tidspunktet nærmede sig, hvor alt var forbi.
Vi kunne ikke gå ud på gaden af frygt for at blive dræbt.
19U den at vise nåde kastede fjenderne sig over os som gribbe.
De forfulgte os i bjergene og lå på lur efter os i ørkenen.
20 Vores egen konge, Herrens udvalgte, gik lige i deres fælde,
han, som vi troede kunne beskytte os fra enhver fjende.
21 Østpå glæder I jer, Edoms folk, for denne gang var det ikke jer, der blev ramt.
Men en dag skal også I drikke Herrens vredes vin, så I mister besindelsen.
22 Åh, Jerusalem, din straf var hård, men en dag bliver du genoprettet.
Edoms folk, derimod, vil blive straffet, fordi de svigtede os.
The English Bible translation by Ronald Knox (publ. 1950) maintains most Hebrew acrostics (even though Knox’s translation itself is based on the Latin text of the Vulgate rather than the Hebrew):
1 All dim, now, and discoloured, the gold that once shone so fair! Heaped up at every street-corner lie hallowed stones.
2 Bright they shone once in all their renown, the men of Sion, and now what are they? Little regarded as common earthenware, of the potter’s fashioning.
3 Cub of jackal is fed at its dam’s breast; and has my people grown unnatural towards its own children, like some ostrich in the desert?
4 Dry throat and parching tongue for babe at the breast; children asking for bread, and never a crust to share with them!
5 Ever they fared daintily, that now lie starved in the streets; ever went richly arrayed, and now their fingers clutch at the dung-hill.
6 Faithless Juda! Heavier punishment she must needs undergo than guilty Sodom, that perished all in a moment, and never a blow struck.
7 Gone, the fair bloom of princely cheeks, snowy-pure, cream-white, red as tinted ivory, and all sapphire-clear;
8 Here is no recognizing them, out in the streets, coal-black, skin clinging to bones, dry as wood!
9 It were better to have fallen at the sword’s point than yield thus to the stab of hunger, wasted away through famine.
10 Juda brought low, and mother-love forgotten; that women should eat their own children, cooked with their own hands!
11 Kindled at last is the Lord’s anger; rains down from heaven the storm of his vengeance, lighting a flame that burns Sion to the ground.
12 Little dreamed they, king and common folk the world over, that any assault of the foe should storm Jerusalem gates;
13 Malice and lawlessness it was of priest and prophet, whereby innocent men came to their deaths, that brought such punishment.
14 Now, as they walk blindly through the streets, they are defiled with blood; no help for it, gather their skirts about them as they may;
15 Out of my way! cries one to another; Back, pollution, do not touch me! The very Gentiles protest in alarm, Here is no place for them!
16 Protection the Lord gives them no longer, they are dispersed under his frown; the priesthood no honour claims, old age no pity.
17 Quenched is the hope our eyes strained for, while hope was left us; looking for help so eagerly to a nation that had none to give!
18 Refuge for us in the treacherous highways is none; we are near the end; all is over, this is the end;
19 Swifter than flight of eagles the pursuit; even on the mountains they give chase, even in the desert take us by surprise.
20 Through our fault he who is breath of life to us, our anointed king, is led away captive; under his shadow we hoped our race should thrive.
21 Until thy turn comes, shout on, Edom, triumph on, land of Hus; the same cup thou too shalt drink, and be drunken, and stripped bare.
22 Vengeful audit-day! Sion’s account closed, recovered her fortunes; Edom called to account, discovered her guilt! (Source )
Spanish has a different tradition of acrostics. It uses non-alphabetic acrostics where the first letters of each line (or verse) together form a word or phrase. In the Traducción en lenguaje actual (publ. 2002, 2004), the translators used the first letters of this chapter of Lamentation to spell out “POBRECITA DE TI, JERUSALEN” (“Poor you, little Jerusalem”) which also is the first line of the first and second chapters of Lamentations (for more on the translation process of this, see Alfredo Tepox in The Bible Translator 2004, p. 233ff. ).
Click or tap here for Lamentations 4 in the Traducción en lenguaje actual
1 ¡Perdió el oro su brillo!
¡Quedó totalmente empañado!
¡Por las esquinas de las calles
quedaron regadas las joyas del templo!
2 ¡Oro puro! Así se valoraba
a los habitantes de Jerusalén,
¡pero ahora no valen más
que simples ollas de barro!
3 Bondadosas se muestran las lobas
cuando alimentan a sus cachorros,
pero las crueles madres israelitas
abandonan a sus hijos.
4 Reclaman pan nuestros niños,
pero nadie les da nada.
La lengua se les pega al paladar,
y casi se mueren de sed.
5 En las calles se mueren de hambre
los que antes comían manjares;
entre la basura se revuelcan
los que antes vestían con elegancia.
6 Cayó Jerusalén, pues ha pecado
más de lo que pecó Sodoma.
¡De pronto se vino abajo
y nadie pudo ayudarla!
7 Increíblemente hermosos
eran los líderes de Jerusalén;
estaban fuertes y sanos,
estaban llenos de vida.
8 Tan feos y enfermos se ven ahora
que nadie los reconoce.
Tienen la piel reseca como leña,
¡hasta se les ven los huesos!
9 A falta de alimentos,
todos mueren poco a poco.
¡Más vale morir en la guerra
que morirse de hambre!
10 ¡Destruida ha quedado Jerusalén!
¡Hasta las madres más cariñosas
cocinan a sus propios hijos
para alimentarse con ellos!
11 El enojo de Dios fue tan grande
que ya no pudo contenerse;
le prendió fuego a Jerusalén
y la destruyó por completo.
12 ¡Terminaron entrando a la ciudad
los enemigos de Jerusalén!
¡Nadie en el mundo se imaginaba
que esto pudiera ocurrir!
13 Injustamente ha muerto gente
a manos de profetas y sacerdotes.
Dios castigó a Jerusalén
por este grave pecado.
14 Juntos andan esos asesinos
como ciegos por las calles.
Tienen las manos llenas de sangre;
¡nadie se atreve a tocarlos!
15 En todas partes les gritan:
«¡Fuera de aquí, vagabundos!
¡No se atrevan a tocarnos!
¡No pueden quedarse a vivir aquí!»
16 Rechazados por Dios,
los líderes y sacerdotes
vagan por el mundo.
¡Dios se olvidó de ellos!
17 Una falsa esperanza tenemos:
que un pueblo venga a salvarnos;
pero nuestros ojos están cansados.
¡Nadie vendrá en nuestra ayuda!
18 Se acerca nuestro fin.
No podemos andar libremente,
pues por todas partes nos vigilan;
¡nuestros días están contados!
19 Aun más veloces que las águilas
son nuestros enemigos.
Por las montañas y por el desierto
nos persiguen sin descanso.
20 La sombra que nos protegía
era nuestro rey;
Dios mismo nos lo había dado.
¡Pero hasta él cayó prisionero!
21 Esto mismo lo sufrirás tú,
que te crees la reina del desierto.
Puedes reírte ahora, ciudad de Edom,
¡pero un día te quedarás desnuda!
22 No volverá Dios a castigarte,
bella ciudad de Jerusalén,
pues ya se ha cumplido tu castigo.
Pero a ti, ciudad de Edom,
Dios te castigará por tus pecados.
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, the Jarai translation uses the exclusive pronoun. The Adamawa Fulfulde translation uses the inclusive pronoun.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Lamentations 4:19:
Kupsabiny: “Those people run so swiftly more than when an eagle rushes forth. They chased us on the mountains and laid an ambush in the wilderness.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Those who chased us ran faster than eagles flying in the sky. They pursued us to the mountains, they hid in the wilderness to attack us.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Our enemies who pursue us were swifter than the eagles. They pursue us up to the mountains. And even if we are in the desolate-place they are there also waiting to attack us.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Those who pursued us were faster than eagles flying in the sky. Even if we fled to the mountains or hid in the desert, they went there ahead of us and waited to attack us.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Aramaic all have one term only that refers to what can be expressed in English as “sky” or “heaven(s)” (as a physical and spiritual entity). While there is a slight overlap between the meaning of the two English terms, “sky” (from Old Norse sky meaning “cloud”) typically refers to the physical entity, and “heaven” (from Old English heofon meaning “home of God”) typically refers to the spiritual entity. While this enriches the English lexicon, it also forces English Bible translators to make decisions that can be found only in the context in the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts. Most versions tend to use “heaven(s)” even if the meaning is likely “sky,” but the Contemporary English Version (NT: 1991, OT: 1995, DC: 1999) is an English translation that attempted to be more specific in the separation of the two meanings and was used as the basis for the links to verses used for this and this record (“heaven”).
Norm Mundhenk (in The Bible Translator 2006, p. 92ff. ) describes the difficulty that English translations face (click or tap here to see more):
“A number of years ago an old lady asked me a question. What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away’? I do not remember what answer I gave, but I was surprised at how concerned she seemed to be about the verse. It was only later, after I had left her, that I suddenly realized what it was that she was so concerned about. She knew that death could not be far away, and all her life she had looked forward to being with God in heaven. But this verse said that ‘heaven will pass away’! What did that mean for her hopes? In fact, of course, in this verse Jesus was talking about the skies or the heavens, not about Heaven as the place of God’s presence. If I had realized the problem in time, I could easily have set the lady’s mind at rest on this question that was troubling her so much. However, I suspect that she is not the only person to be misled by the wording of this verse. Therefore, it is very surprising to find that even today many English versions (including the New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Good News Translation) still say ‘heaven and earth’ in verses like Matt 24:35 and its parallels (Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33). The Contemporary English Version (CEV) and Phillips’ translation seem to be aware of the problem, and in Mark 13:31 both of these have ‘earth and sky’ instead of ‘heaven and earth.’ But in some other passages (such as Matt 5:18) the traditional wording is still found in both of those translations. The New Century Version (NCV) does have ‘earth and sky’ more consistently, and the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) has ‘sky and earth’ in these passages. (Although ‘sky and earth’ is closer to the Greek, it seems more natural in English to say ‘earth and sky’; but either way, at least the meaning is correct.)
“Louw and Nida’s Lexical Semantics of the Greek New Testament (publ. 1992) suggests that the Greek expression being translated here, ho ouranos kai he ge is ‘a more or less fixed phrase equivalent to a single lexical unit’ and that it means everything that God created, that is, the universe. They then quote Mark 13:31 as an example, using ‘heaven and earth’ in their translation of it. However, they go on to say that there ‘may be certain complications involved in rendering ho ouranos kai he ge as ‘heaven and earth,’ since ‘heaven’ might be interpreted in some languages as referring only to the dwelling place of God himself. The referents in this passage are ‘the sky and the earth,’ in other words, all of physical existence, but not the dwelling place of God, for the latter would not be included in what is destined to pass away.’ In my opinion, English itself is one of the languages where the word ‘heaven’ will be interpreted as referring only to the dwelling place of God himself, and translations into English should not use ‘heaven’ in these passages. It is probably because these passages are so very familiar that translators do not realize the meaning they are giving their readers when they use the expression ‘heaven and earth’ here. In modern English we might talk about a rocket ‘soaring into the heavens,’ but we would certainly not describe it as ‘soaring into heaven,’ because ‘heaven’ is not another way of referring to the sky or to outer space.
“In fact, it is surely important in all languages to have some way of distinguishing the concept of ‘sky’ from the concept of ‘dwelling place of God.’ In these passages translators should never use a term meaning ‘the dwelling place of God.’ It may not be necessary to use a term meaning ‘sky’ either, if there is some other expression in the language which gives the correct meaning of ‘everything that has been created’ or ‘the universe.’ There are of course places in the New Testament where Heaven, as the place where God lives, is contrasted with the earth. In these passages, translators should be careful to give the correct meaning. A good example of this is in the Lord’s Prayer, in Matt 6:10: ‘Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ Similarly, 1 Cor 15:47 says that ‘the first man [a reference to Adam] was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.’ Passages like these are referring to Heaven, not to the sky. Other NT passages where heaven refers to God’s dwelling place, in contrast with earth, are Matt 5:34-35, 16:19, 18:18, Acts 7:49, James 5:12, and Rev 5:3.
“Sometimes in the New Testament, the word ‘heaven’ is used because of the Jewish reluctance to use the name of God. ‘Heaven’ in these cases is used in place of ‘God’ and refers to God himself. This is the case in the many references in Matthew to ‘the kingdom of heaven’ where other gospels have ‘the kingdom of God’ (e.g., compare Matt 4:17 with its parallels in Mark 1:15 and Luke 10:9). It is also most likely the case in references like Matt 16:1, Luke 20:4, 5, John 3:27, and even perhaps Col 1:5.
“There are some places, such as Matt 11:25, where God is called ‘Lord of heaven and earth.’ Since God is of course the Lord of Heaven as well as of the universe, it may not matter so much which interpretation is given in these passages (others are Luke 10:21 and Acts 17:24). Nevertheless, the intended meaning here is likely to be ‘the universe.’ This is because this expression in Greek, as Louw and Nida say, is a set expression referring to everything that has been created. Acts 17:24 in fact combines the idea of the creation of the universe with the idea of God as Master or Lord of the universe. (…)
“Old Testament background The use of ‘heaven and earth’ in the New Testament is very similar to what we find in the Old Testament, because it is largely based on the Old Testament.
“The Old Testament begins with the story of creation, which is presented as the creation of the heavens and the earth, with lights to shine in the heavens and give light to the earth. Birds are created to live in the heavens, animals to live on earth, and fish to live in the sea (Gen 1:1-2:4).
“As we can see from the way the creation story is told, it is meant to be understood as the creation of the universe. Although in English the regions above the earth have traditionally been called ‘the heavens’ in the story of creation, they cannot be called ‘Heaven,’ in the sense of the place where God dwells. In terms of modern English, it would probably be better to say ‘the sky and the earth’ or ‘the earth and the sky.’ The story of creation then becomes an important theme throughout the Old Testament. (…)
“In most passages, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, when ‘heaven and earth’ or ‘the heavens and the earth’ are mentioned, the meaning is the created universe. It is not a reference to Heaven, as the dwelling place of God. In English, translators have not been careful to keep this distinction clear, and this is probably true in many other languages as well. However, as we have seen, this can lead to real confusion for ordinary Bible readers. It is better if translators find ways to make the meaning clear in these passages. ‘Heaven’ should be mentioned only in passages which clearly mean the dwelling place of God. In other passages, an expression should be used which means only ‘sky.’ Or else, the whole expression ‘heaven and earth’ can be translated in a way to show that the whole universe is meant.”
Other languages that have a semantic distinction similar to English include:
Mossi: saase — “sky”; nyingeri — “the up above”(source for Loma and Mossi: Bratcher/Nida)
Roviana: mamaṉa — “sly”; maṉauru — “heaven” (an old word, meaning “empty, open space of the sky”) (source: Carl Gross)
Kayaw: mô̄la or “canopy-under”/mô̄khû̄la or “canopy-above-under” — “sky” (atmosphere where there is just air); mô̄khû̄ or “canopy-on/above” — “heaven” (invisible abode of God and angels)
Mairasi: Sinyavi — an indigenous term that is used for both “sky” and heaven”; Surga — loanword from Sanskrit via Indonesian referring to “heaven” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Kupsabiny: “up” for “sky” vs. “God’s Homestead” for “heaven” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
In some languages, such as Yagaria, a term that was originally used as “sky” (gokudana) was adopted by the Christian community as “heaven.” This resulted in a language shift so that now all communities uses “empty space / air” (galogina or hakalogina) as “sky” and gokudana is exclusively used for the Christian concept of heaven. (Source: Renck 1990, p. 133)
Many languages follow the original biblical languages in not making that distinction, such as:
Cherokee: galaladi (ᎦᎸᎳᏗ) or “up” — Bender / Belt (2025, p. 23) note that there is a related term — galvlohi (ᎦᎸᎶᎯ) — that is used “for the upperworld of Cherokee cosmology, [but] was not used, possibly to communicate a sharp distinction.
In some languages, such as Wandala, the vocabulary for terms for either “heaven” or “sky” is much richer than just to include those two distinction. While zhegela, the term that is specifically used for the physical sky was only used in early translations of the New Testament for “sky,” other terms such as samaya (used for both “sky” and “heaven”), zlanna (specifically used for the perfect abode of God and the goal of the faithful, as in Matthew 8:11), kwárá (a locational term used to speak of a chief’s rule [lit., “voice”] such as Matthew 3:2), or sleksire (“chieftaincy,” “kingship,” or “royalty” [originally from slekse “chief”] and used where there are no locational overtones, such as in Matthew 16:28) are used. (Source: Mona Perrin in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 51ff.)
The English translation by Sarah Ruden (2021) uses “sky” throughout. Ruden explains (p. li): “The Greek word ouranos refers evenhandedly to the physical sky and the place—often pictured as a royal court — where supreme divinity resides. ‘Sky’ seems generally better, first of all in avoiding the wackier modern imagery that comes with the English ‘heaven.’ And even when a supernatural realm is meant, ‘sky’ will often do, because the divine realm was thought to be located there, in addition to the weather and the heavenly bodies, whereas ‘heaven’ to us is fundamentally a religious term, and the ancients did not tend to separate linguistic domains in this way. I have retained the plural ‘skies’ where I see it in the Greek, because it is a Hebraism familiar in English translations of scripture and (I hope) not too archaic or jarring.”
In this verse the poet is evidently speaking of the situation following immediately upon the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. He and others tried to escape, and he tells of their dangerous journey through the hills and the desert. He is probably referring to the wild, hilly country between Jerusalem and Jericho over which the king and his companions traveled in an attempt to cross the Jordan. A prose account of these events is to be found in 2 Kings 25.3-4.
Our pursuers, meaning the enemies who chased us, are said to be swifter than the vultures in the heavens. Vultures and “eagles” (Good News Translation) are both included in the Hebrew term. The poet has in mind not only the swiftness of the bird but, particularly here, its eagerness to swoop down on its prey. Those trying to escape from the Babylonian army could easily liken themselves to small creatures threatened by a bird of prey such as the eagle.
Translators are free to name a bird that is best known locally as a bird of prey. In areas where both the vulture and the eagle are known, the translator’s experience with the habits of these birds may confirm that “eagle” is more suitable in this context; eagles aggressively seek living prey, while vultures seek dead bodies. In the heavens does not designate the abode of God but only calls attention to soaring birds that locate their prey from high in the sky. We may translate, for example, “Our enemies swooped down on us like eagles out of the sky.”
The second pair of half-lines, which are closely parallel in sense, describe the extent to which these people were pursued by their enemies. Chased translates a word which means “go in hot pursuit of.” It is used in Genesis 31.36, where Jacob asks Laban “What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me?” See also 1 Samuel 17.53. New English Bible says “they are hot on our trail over the hills.”
Lay in wait translates the same verb used in 3.10 and means “ambush, make a surprise attack on” someone. For wilderness see 4.3. In some areas people live where the land is largely flat, and “hills” and mountains are unknown. In such cases descriptive terms such as “land that goes up and down” or “land that is up high” may give entirely wrong impressions. In many cases an illustration serves to supplement the local expressions.
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on Lamentations. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Those who pursued us were faster (Translation for Translators) -or-
The enemy was quicker (Easy English Bible)
4:19b than the eagles in the sky;
than eagles flying in the sky. (Translation for Translators) -or-
than fast birds that fly in the air ⌊and hunt⌋ .
4:19c they pursued us over the mountains
We fled into the mountains and they ran after us. -or-
If we fled to the mountains, they found us. (New Living Translation (2004))
4:19d and ambushed us in the wilderness.
⌊We tried to hide⌋ in the desert, but they waited there for us ⌊like a wild animal that waits for its prey⌋ . -or-
If we hid in the wilderness, they were waiting for us there. (New Living Translation (2004))
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