lamb

The term that is translated as “lamb” in English is typically translated as “offspring of a sheep” in Ixcatlán Mazatec since there is no specific word for “lamb.” Since this could distract readers with thoughts of God being the sheep when the “lamb” refers to Jesus the translation into Ixcatlán Mazatec chose “little (individual) sheep” for those cases. (Source: Robert Bascom)

In Dëne Súline the native term for “lamb” directly translated as “the young one of an evil little caribou.” To avoid the negative connotation, a loan word from the neighboring South Slavey was used. (Source: NCEM, p. 70)

For the Kasua translation, it took a long process to find the right term. Rachel Greco (in The PNG Experience ) tells this story:

“To the Kasua people of Western Province, every four-legged animal is a pig. They call a horse a pig-horse, a cow, a pig-cow, and a sheep, a pig-sheep, because all of these animals have four legs, which is kopolo, or pig, in their language.

“When the translation team would translate the word, ‘sheep’ in the New Testament, they would translate it as ‘pig-sheep’. So when Jesus is referred to as the ‘Lamb,’ (John 1:29; Rev. 12:11; Rev. 17:14), they translated as ‘pig-sheep’ so that in John 1:29 it would read: ‘Behold, the pig-sheep of God.’

“When some members of the translation team attended the Translators Training Course, they had the opportunity to observe and study sheep for the first time. As they watched and learned more about the animals’ behavior, their understanding of these creatures—and God’s Word—rotated on its axis.

“Once during the course, Logan and Konni — the translation team’s helpers — were driving with the team to a Bible dedication when Amos, one of the team members, said passionately, ‘We can’t use the word kopolo in front of the word, ‘sheep’! Pigs know when they’re about to die and squeal and scream.’ The team had often watched villagers tie up pigs so they wouldn’t escape.

“’But,’ Amos said, ‘Jesus didn’t do that.’ The team had learned that sheep are quiet and still when death walks toward them. They had observed, as they translated the New Testament, the words of Isaiah 53 fulfilled: ‘Like a lamb led to the slaughter, he did not open his mouth.’ And now they understood what it meant. For this reason, the team decided not to put pig-sheep in the New Testament for the word ‘sheep,’ but used sheep-animal or, in their language, a:pele sipi.

“The Kasua translation team also chose to discard the word ‘pig’ before sheep because pigs are unclean animals to the Jews. The team knew that Jesus was called the ‘Lamb of God’ in the New Testament to show that he is unblemished and clean. Hopefully the Lord will open up the Kasua villagers’ eyes to these same truths about Jesus as they read of Him in their own language.”

See also The Paschal Lamb, sheep, and sheep / lamb.

complete verse (Leviticus 22:23)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 22:23:

  • Kupsabiny: “You may offer a bullock or a ram with a leg that is too short or long to be a sacrifice which a person gives out of love only (free will) but it is not accepted that you pay it as something you have promised.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “But if the cow or bull or the lamb has any body part that is too short or too long it can be offered as a voluntary offering, but it will not be worthy of acceptance to fulfill a vow.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But you (plur.) are-allowed to-offer as a freewill offering the cow or sheep of-which one part of his body (is) not normal, but are- not -allowed to-offer this as an offering for obeying a vow.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “You may present to me to be a voluntary offering an ox or a sheep that is injured or stunted, but it will not be accepted to fulfill a promise made to me.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Leviticus 22:23

Note that this verse has been restructured in Good News Translation. This may be a good model for other languages to follow.

A bull or a lamb: the first word used here is not restricted in meaning to the male of the species, but may also include females. New International Version has “cow,” and both Good News Translation and Moffatt have the still more general word “animal” to cover both terms used here.

A part too long or too short: see 21.18. The first term indicates a limb that is overgrown or out of proper proportion. The meaning of the second term is uncertain. Both the Greek and Latin versions have “which have their tail cut off,” but this seems far too limited. It probably carries the meaning of retarded or arrested growth of any body part. These two terms seem to refer to conditions due to birth defects rather than resulting from accidents as alluded to in the previous verse.

It cannot be accepted: see verse 20.

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 .