upper lip

The Hebrew that is translated as “upper lip” in English is translated in Elhomwe with “mouth,” since “upper lip” is not well understood. (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

leprosy, leprous

Click here to view graphically

The Greek and Hebrew terms that are often translated as “leprosy (or: defiling/skin disease)” or “leprous (person)” in English is translated in Mairasi as “the bad sickness,” since “leprosy is very common in the Mairasi area” (source: Enggavoter 2004).

Following are various other translations:

  • Shilluk: “disease of animals”
  • San Mateo Del Mar Huave: “devil sore” (this and the above are indigenous expressions)
  • Inupiaq: “decaying sores”
  • Kaqchikel: “skin-rotting disease” (source for this and three above: Eugene Nida in The Bible Translator 1960, p. 34f. )
  • Noongar: “bad skin disease” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Usila Chinantec “sickness like mal de pinta” (a skin disease involving discoloration by loss of pigment) (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Hiligaynon: “dangerous skin disease” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “fearful skin disease” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “terrible rotting” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Newari: “infectious skin disease” (source: Newari Back Translation)

Targumim (or: Targums) are translations of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic. They were translated and used when Jewish congregations increasingly could not understand the biblical Hebrew anymore. Targum Onqelos (also: Onkelos) is the name of the Aramaic translation of the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) probably composed in Israel/Palestine in the 1st or 2nd century CE and later edited in Babylon in the 4th or 5th century, making it reflect Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. It is the most famous Aramaic translation and was widely used throughout the Jewish communities. In Leviticus 13 and 14 it translates tzaraat as a “quarantining affliction” — focusing “on what occurs to individuals after they suffer the affliction; the person is isolated from the community.” (Source: Israel Drazin in this article ). Similarly, the English Jewish Orthodox ArtScroll Tanach translation (publ. 2011) transliterates it as tzaraat affliction.

See also stricken and leprosy healed.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Leprosy (Word Study) and Bible Translations Are for People .

complete verse (Leviticus 13:45)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 13:45:

  • Kupsabiny: “A person who has a serious wound must dress in sackcloth, and leave his hair uncombed and cover himself up to the nostrils going down so he can go around shouting, ‘I am not clean! I am not clean!’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “People who have contagious diseases must wear clothing which has been torn, and the hair on his/her head must stand in disarray. He/she must cover his/her mouth and cry out loudly, "Unclean! Unclean! Unclean!"” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “A person who has a dangerous disease on the skin must-wear/put-on torn clothes, he is-to-mess-up his head-hair/let-his- head-hair -be-unkempt, and he will-cover the bottom part of his face. Then he will- shout, ‘I (am) dirty/unclean! I (am) dirty/unclean!’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘Anyone who has a contagious skin disease must wear torn clothes and not comb his hair. When he is near other people, he must cover the lower part to his face and call out, ‘o not come near me! I have a contagious skin disease!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Leviticus 13:45

Verses 45-46 describe the behavior required of the person who has been declared unclean by the priest.

The leper: that is, the diseased person. The term “leprosy” has already been dealt with at the beginning of this chapter. But it should be stressed here that the word leper in particular is to be avoided, since it marks out individuals as outcasts from society and has a particularly devastating effect on their lives.

Wear torn clothes: see 10.6. The tearing of clothing is a traditional way of showing that a person is in mourning. Since the person with the dreaded skin disease is considered almost dead, he is required to mourn. In some translations this may be explained in a footnote (as in Bible en français courant), but in others it may be possible to say “wear torn clothes to show his sadness” or something similar.

Let the hair of his head hang loose: see 10.6. The words of his head are unnecessary in most languages since they would be implied in hair. Some scholars understand this to mean “his head shall be left bare” (New Jerusalem Bible), but this is unlikely. Most experts follow the interpretation “to leave the hair uncared for.” This may be translated in some languages as “must not comb his hair.”

Cover his upper lip: the word translated upper lip has been understood by some as referring to a “moustache” (New American Standard Bible, An American Translation, Moffatt), while others translate as Revised Standard Version (New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Jerusalem Bible). But the meaning seems to be the entire lower part of the face (see Good News Translation, New International Version). In some languages translators will be required to indicate what is used to cover the lower part of the face. In those cases, the hand is probably the most logical thing to be used.

Unclean, unclean: in many languages it will be wise to use a complete sentence to translate these words: “Unclean, I am unclean,” or “I am unclean, I am unclean,” or “Look out, I am unclean.” This was to serve as a warning to any other members of the community who might accidentally approach the diseased person.

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .