son vs. grandson

“Son of x, son of y” must be rendered as “son of x and grandson of y” in Tibetan or else it will sound like two different people.

Note: The same translation solution is chosen in many contemporary English Bibles that emphasize easy readability, such as the Contemporary English Version, Common English Bible, Good News Translation, God’s Word, or New Living Translation.

See also father / grandfather.

pray / prayer

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “pray” (or “prayer”) in English is often translated as “talking with God” (Central Pame, Tzeltal, Chol, Chimborazo Highland Quichua, Shipibo-Conibo, Kaqchikel, Tepeuxila Cuicatec, Copainalá Zoque, Central Tarahumara).

Other solutions include:

  • “beg” or “ask,” (full expression: “ask with one’s heart coming out,” which leaves out selfish praying, for asking with the heart out leaves no place for self to hide) (Tzotzil)
  • “cause God to know” (Huichol)
  • “raise up one’s words to God” (implying an element of worship, as well as communication) (Miskito, Lacandon) (source of this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • “speak to God” (Shilluk) (source: Nida 1964, p. 237)
  • “talk together with Great Above One (=God)” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter, 2004)
  • “call to one’s Father” (San Blas Kuna) (source: Claudio and Marvel Iglesias in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 85ff. )
  • “beg” (waan) (Ik). Terrill Schrock (in Wycliffe Bible Translators 2016, p. 93) explains (click or tap here to read more):

    What do begging and praying have to do with each other? Do you beg when you pray? Do I?

    “The Ik word for ‘visitor’ is waanam, which means ‘begging person.’ Do you beg when you go visiting? The Ik do. Maybe you don’t beg, but maybe when you visit someone, you are looking for something. Maybe it’s just a listening ear.

    When the Ik hear that [my wife] Amber and I are planning trip to this or that place for a certain amount of time, the letters and lists start coming. As the days dwindle before our departure, the little stack of guests grows. ‘Please, sir, remember me for the allowing: shoes, jacket (rainproof), watch, box, trousers, pens, and money for the children. Thank you, sir, for your assistance.’

    “A few people come by just to greet us or spend bit of time with us. Another precious few will occasionally confide in us about their problems without asking for anything more than a listening ear. I love that.

    “The other day I was in our spare bedroom praying my list of requests to God — a nice list covering most areas of my life, certainly all the points of anxiety. Then it hit me: Does God want my list, or does he want my relationship?

    “I decided to try something. Instead of reading off my list of requests to God, I just talk to him about my issues without any expectation of how he should respond. I make it more about our relationship than my list, because if our personhood is like God’s personhood, then maybe God prefers our confidence and time to our lists, letters, and enumerations.”

In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning (click or tap here to read more):

  • For Acts 1:14, 20:36, 21:5: kola ttieru-yawur nehla — “hold the waist and hug the neck.” (“This is the more general term for prayer and often refers to worship in prayer as opposed to petition. The Luang people spend the majority of their prayers worshiping rather than petitioning, which explains why this term often is used generically for prayer.”)
  • For Acts 28:9: sumbiani — “pray.” (“This term is also used generically for ‘prayer’. When praying is referred to several times in close proximity, it serves as a variation for kola ttieru-yawur nehla, in keeping with Luang discourse style. It is also used when a prayer is made up of many requests.”)
  • For Acts 8:15, 12:5: polu-waka — “call-ask.” (“This is a term for petition that is used especially when the need is very intense.”)

Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.

See also Nehemiah’s prayer (image).

complete verse (Nehemiah 11:17)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Nehemiah 11:17:

  • Kupsabiny: “There was Mattaniah son of Mika, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph who was a leader of the singers in the House of God when they were in prayer and thanksgiving to God. Bakbukiah was the assistant of Mattaniah and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, son of Jeduthun.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Matania the child of Mica (Mica the child of Zabdi, and Zabdi the child of Asaf.) Matania was the one-who-leads the singers to sing the prayer of thanksgiving.
    Bakbukias the companion of Matania.
    Abda the child of Shamua (Shamua the child of Galal, and Galal the child of Jeduton.)” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Another one was Mattaniah, the son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph. Mattaniah directed the temple choir when they sang the prayers to thank God. His assistant was Bakbukiah. Another one was Abda, the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Nehemiah 11:17

The singers are also included in the list of Levites. Mattaniah, a descendant of Asaph (see Ezra 2.41), was the leader to begin the thanksgiving in prayer. The precise meaning of the Hebrew text here is difficult to determine. One Septuagint manuscript and the Vulgate have “praise” instead of begin and read “the leader of the praise songs.” New Jerusalem Bible follows this reading: “Mattaniah … who led the praises and intoned the thanksgiving associated with the prayer.” Some consider this as perhaps being a technical term for the precentor. This is the one who intones and takes the lead in liturgical music (see Bible en français courant, Revised English Bible). Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives this variant text only a C rating. It is best to follow the Hebrew text as in the Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. Good News Translation renders the meaning in contemporary English expression.

The first Hebrew word in the phrase, thanksgiving in prayer, is a verb that means “to give thanks” or “to praise,” while the second is a noun meaning specifically “prayer” or “entreaty.” The concepts of giving thanks and of praising are closely related, but in many cultures they are expressed as distinct concepts. Because the topic here is the role of the singers, the element of singing or of the choir should not be overlooked in translation (see also the comments on Neh 12.8). Contemporary English Version translates “Mattaniah led the temple choir in the prayer of praise.”

Bakbukiah, the second among his brethren: This expression may be understood in three different ways. He could have been second among all his Levite peers as Revised Standard Version implies. New Revised Standard Version and New International Version say he was “second among his associates,” while Jerusalem Bible says he was “second in rank among his kinsmen” (similarly Revised English Bible). Alternatively, he may have been the one who served as Mattaniah’s assistant (so Good News Translation, Bible en français courant) and who could substitute for him. New Jerusalem Bible refers to him as Mattaniah’s “junior colleague.” Finally, and most probably, he could have been the leader of the second choir that sang antiphonally (see Ezra 3.11; Neh 12.9). It could thus be translated “Bakbukiah was the second leader of the singers,” that is, he was the leader of the second antiphonal choir.

Abda was a descendant of Jeduthun, a musician in the time of David (see 1 Chr 25.3).

Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Nehemiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .