cattle, livestock

The Hebrew that is translated in English as “livestock” (or “cattle”) is translated in Newari as “living beings brought up in a house” or “living beings cared for in a house” (source: Newari Back Translation). Specifically “cattle” is “cows and oxen.”

In Kwere it is “animals that are being kept.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

wild animal

The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated in English as “wild animal” or similar is translated in Newari as “animal that lives in the jungle.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)

complete verse (Leviticus 25:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 25:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “Your cows and the animals that are in your land are to eat those foods that grow by itself.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Moreover, it will also be food for your domesticated animals and for animals that live in the forest. All that the fields bear is OK to eat.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “your (plur.) animals/(livestock), and the wild animals in your (plur.) land.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Also, during that year your livestock and the wild animals in your land are permitted to eat it.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Leviticus 25:7

Your cattle … the beasts: the two terms are intended to be all-inclusive in this context. The first refers to any animals that are tame and kept by human beings. The second is intended to include all other animals in the land.

This verse may be understood in two different ways: (1) The first part may be taken as a continuation of the list started in verse 6b, and the second part as a general conclusion picking up and amplifying the meaning of verse 6a (as in Good News Translation, New International Version, New English Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible). Or (2) the first part of the verse may be understood as the object of the second part, which then yields the meaning “All these products will also serve as food for your domestic and wild animals.” This is the interpretation chosen by Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Jerusalem Bible, and New American Bible. This second interpretation is based on the assumption that a special construction called “chiasmus” is used here (see definition in Glossary). Translators are, however, advised to translate the first option, making a separate sentence of all its yield shall be for food.

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 .