Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Micah 1:4:
Kupsabiny: “The hills under him shall melt and the ridges be split/divided, like bee’s wax that fire has caused to evaporate or like water that rushes down a mountain side.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The mountains will melt beneath him, and the valleys will be divided into two. The mountains will melt like wax in a fire, the rocks will fall down like water fall down a steep slope.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The mountains that he will-step-on/tread-on will-melt like a candle in the fire, and the valleys/plains that he will-step-on/tread-on will-form-a-depression like the passage-way of water that flows from a slope.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).
Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.
In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.
While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”
In that system, one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and others for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.
Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”
In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)
Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”
In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )
In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)
The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.
Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are Twents as well as the closely related Indonesian and Malay. In both languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).
The differences between Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation in this verse may need explanation, as Good News Translation has adopted a different understanding of one clause and has reordered the four parts of the verse so as to bring together those parts related in meaning. First, in the second part of verse 4, Revised Standard Version takes “valleys” as the subject of the verb “be cleft.” Good News Translation, however, understands valleys as showing the place into which the melting mountains will crumble and pour down. This interpretation gives a better parallel between the two statements and links them together in a clearer logical sequence.
Second, in the Hebrew two statements are made in the first half of verse 4, and two similes or comparisons are added in the second half. The first simile relates to the first statement, and the second simile to the second statement. This is a type of Hebrew poetic structure that is not clear in meaning when transferred in the same order into English and many other languages. Good News Translation has therefore reordered the elements in the verse so that the first statement, the mountains will melt, is followed immediately by its related simile, like wax in a fire. The second statement, they will pour down into the valleys, is then followed by its related simile, like water pouring down a hill.
This type of adjustment makes the meaning much plainer to the reader and has been made frequently in the Good News Translation Old Testament. It is probably best to follow the Good News Translation order in most other languages.
The Lord is described in verse 3 as walking on the tops of the mountains, as though he is a great giant who can step from the top of one mountains to the top of another. When he steps on the mountains they melt. Melt can be translated as “dissolve” or “become like water.” The picture of hills or mountains melting in the presence of the Lord is quite common in the Old Testament. The idea is that God in his holiness is like a fire that destroys his enemies. Even the earth itself cannot remain unchanged by the Lord’s presence. See especially Psa 97.2-5.
This is compared to the way that wax melts in a fire, which gives the picture of something that happens very quickly. Wax is probably beeswax, but any term for wax can be used here. Most people today probably know candles, but if wax is not known, anything that melts quickly in a fire may be substituted. The picture of wax melting in a fire may be intended to remind the reader of a stream of lava from a volcano, while the next picture, water pouring down a hill, is probably intended to bring to mind a heavy thunderstorm.
If we follow the understanding of Good News Translation, the picture describes the liquid from these melted mountains pouring down into the valleys in a great rush, like water pouring down a hill. Valleys are the low places between the mountains, or at the feet of mountains. Hill can be translated as “cliff” or “steep place” if there is a term for some place where water might run especially fast. If there is no way to distinguish between hills and mountains, and no other appropriate word to use, it is of course quite all right to say “mountain” again in the last line.
If the meaning of Revised Standard Version is preferred, the second line refers to the valleys being split. This can be understood as the ground opening up, as it might do in a strong earthquake; but then it is difficult to connect it closely with the fourth line. In that case, the fourth line must be understood as another description of the melted mountains.
Another possibility is the meaning of New English Bible, which says “valleys are torn open, as when torrents pour down the hillside.” This suggests that the comparison is with the erosion caused by a large amount of water, which actually creates valleys as it runs down. This interpretation has the advantage of connecting lines 2 and 4, as Good News Translation does, and is probably the best one to follow.
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. et al. A Handbook on Micah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1978, 1982, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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