The Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic that is translated in English as “(as white as) snow” is translated in San Miguel El Grande Mixtec as “(as white as) volcano frost,” the only white kind of frost that is known in that language (source: Nida 1947, p. 160.). Likewise, it is translated in Chichewa as matalala or “hail stones,” since “hail in Central Africa, when it occurs, is also white” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 72).
In Obolo it is translated as abalara: “white cloth” (source: Enene Enene), in Bambam and Bura-Pabir as “like the white of cotton” (source: Phil Campbell in Kroneman 2004, p. 500 and Andy Warren-Rothlin), in Muna as “white like cotton flowers” (source: René van den Berg), in Sharanahua as “like fresh Yuca root” (source: Holzhauen / Riderer 2010, p. 72), in Tagbanwa as “white like just broken waves” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation), in Chitonga as “as the cattle egret ” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 130), in Nabak as “white as a white cockatoo ” (source: Grace Fabian ), and in Cerma “white like the full moon,” except in Psalm 51:7 where the Cerma translators chose “wash me with water until I shine” (source: Andrea Suter in Holzhauen / Riderer 2010, p. 36).
In Gbaya, in most cases an ideophone (term that expresses what is perceived by the five senses) is employed to depict strong intense whiteness (either ndáká-ndáká or kpúŋ-kpúŋ are used for the ideophones), sometimes in combination with “cotton.” Interestingly, for Rev. 1:14 where the color of the hair of the “Son of Man” is described, the use of cotton was questioned since it “would create the unpleasant image of an untidy person with disheveled hair or of a mourner with unkempt appearance.” It was eventually used, but only with a footnote that gives additional information by mentioning the French loan word neige for “snow.” In the two cases where the color white refers to the color of the skin of leprosy (Num. 12:10 and 2 Kings 5:27), the image of hail is used in the first to describe the pale white of leprous skin, while the ideophone ndáká-ndáká is used for dramatic effect in the second. (Source: Philip Noss)
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.
This verse and the next form another contrast. Verse 7 describes how strong and beautiful the men of Jerusalem were in the past, and verse 8 goes on to describe what they looked like when the poet wrote.
Her princes were purer than snow: Her refers to Jerusalem, not to Sodom, and so Good News Translation has “our princes.” Princes is literally “Nazirites.” However, some interpreters alter one letter in that word and get “youths,” and so New Jerusalem Bible has “young people.” There is no good reason, however, to change the Hebrew. The word is used in Genesis 49.26 and Deuteronomy 33.16, in which Joseph is called the nazir of his brothers, and which Good News Translation translates as “the one set apart” and “the leader.” A Nazirite took a special vow not to drink wine, not to touch a dead body, and to let his hair grow long. Good News Translation and others that translate “princes” in the text place “Nazirite” in the footnote. If this is done, a brief explanation of “Nazirite” should be given. In any case, princes should not be translated as “sons of a king” but as people set aside to serve as leaders or rulers.
Purer than snow, whiter than milk: these comparisons probably describe moral attributes as much as physical ones. The physical reference may be to the clear and unblemished condition of their skin rather than its color, which is referred to in the next unit. Snow and milk used here are contrasted with “blacker than soot” in verse 8. Most modern translations keep the images of snow and milk. However, Good News Translation is probably right when it translates “undefiled and pure as snow.” In languages where snow is unknown, or not in any way associated with purity, we may translate “very pure” or “very good,” or idiomatically in some languages, “with very good hearts.”
Their bodies were more ruddy than coral: bodies is literally “bones,” which may be an example of a part of the body standing for the whole body. See also Proverbs 15.30; 16.24. Here, however, the comparison is clearly between the color of the skin on the body and the color of coral. Coral in the Mediterranean is a reddish-colored limestone produced by small sea creatures; it is in the form of small branches and is valued for making ornaments. New Jerusalem Bible understands “bones” here to refer to the limbs (arms and legs) of these men and translates “Their limbs were ruddier than coral.” Since coral will not be known in some languages, translators may find it necessary to use a very different object for the color comparison; for example, a certain wood or stone with a reddish hue.
Yet another precious and beautiful substance is mentioned in the final line of Revised Standard Version, the beauty of their form was like sapphire. New English Bible says “their limbs were lapis lazuli.” Both sapphires and lapis lazuli are blue, and this same material is also mentioned in Job 28.6 in the poem in praise of Wisdom. Lapis lazuli is an opaque blue stone, speckled with yellow, which was often used in jewelry in the Middle East, and is the more likely stone here. It is not clear why the princes should be described as being blue in color, although some interpreters think it is a reference to the blue color of their veins.
Revised Standard Version remarks in its footnote that the beauty of their form is uncertain. AB translates this expression as “beards,” in view of the use of lapis lazuli in ancient eastern art to represent the hair or the beard. It must be admitted that any translation of this expression can be no more than a guess. So Good News Translation sums up the essential meaning of the half-line with its emphasis on the bright, healthy color of Jerusalem’s nobles in former days as “vigorous and strong, glowing with health.” Translators are well advised to attempt to do the same.
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 .