remember

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “remember” in English is translated in Mairasi as “it is (or: place it) in your liver’s crack” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Noongar as barrang-dwangka, literally “ear-hold” (source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).

In Kalmyk, there is no equivalent to “remember,” so the translation there is “don’t forget.” (Source: David Clark in The Bible Translator 2015, p. 117ff. )

See also forget, wisdom, God remembered Noah and Seat of the Mind / Seat of Emotions.

sons and daughters

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “(your / their) sons and daughters” is translated in Tibetan as “children,” because it sound more naturally. (Source: David Clark in Clark / Desnitsky 2009 , p. 22)

horn

The musical instrument that is most often translated as “(ram’s) horn” or “trumpet” in English is translated in the following ways:

  • Yakan: tabuli’ (big sea shell used to give signals) (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Tibetan “yak’s horn” (a traditional instrument in Tibetan culture) (source: David Clark in Clark / Desnitsky 2009 , p. 23)
  • Mairasi / Bariai: “Triton shell trumpet” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • German Luther translation: Posaune, today: “trombone,” originally with the meaning of a wind instrument made from cow horn (from Latin bucina [bovi- / “cow” + the root of cano / “sing”]. Incidentally, bucina is also used in the Latin Vulgate translation). By the time of Luther’s translation it referred to the natural trumpet or a fanfare trumpet (see also trumpet). Once the meaning morphed to “trombone” in the 19th century, trombone ensembles started to play a central role in Protestant German churches and do so to the present day. In 2016, “Posaunenchöre” became added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list . (Note that Exodus 19:13 is the only exception in the Luther Bible. From the 1956 revision on, Widderhorn or “ram’s horn” is used here) (source: Zetzsche)

In the UBS Helps for Translators‘ Human-made Things in the Bible (original title: The Works of Their Hands: Man-made Things in the Bible) it says the following:

Description: The horn was a wind instrument made from the horn of an animal, usually a male sheep.

Usage: The animal horn was softened so that it could be shaped. The point of the horn was cut off to leave a small opening through which the user blew. The vibration of the lips produced the sound.

The ram’s horn served two general purposes:

1. It was blown in certain religious contexts, not as musical accompaniment to worship but as a signal for important events. Some of these events were the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, the Day of Atonement, the bringing of the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, and the coronation of kings.

2. It also served as a signal or alarm when war was approaching. Such references are particularly common in the prophetic books, when the prophets are calling the people to repent (Hosea 5:8; 8:1; Joel 2:1; 2:15; Amos 3:6).

Translation: In many passages the purpose of the ram’s horn called shofar in Hebrew was to sound an alarm. This will be easy to express in those cultures where the horns of animals are used as musical instruments to give signals to large groups of people. In other cultures it may be possible to find another instrument that is used for an equivalent purpose. In some languages, for example, instruments such as bells or drums are the warnings for war. Some translations have transliterated the word shofar. Unless the instrument is well known, such a borrowing should normally be accompanied by a footnote or a glossary entry.

In some passages it will be necessary to expand the translation in order to indicate that the blowing of the ram’s horn was not just for music; for example, in Ezekiel 7:14 Contemporary English Version has “A signal has been blown on the trumpet,” and the German Contemporary English Version says “An alarm is sounded” [elsewhere, the same German version refers to the horns as Kriegshörner or “war horns.”]

Man blowing ram’s horn (source: Knowles, revised by Bass (c) British and Foreign Bible Society 1994)

Quoted with permission.

complete verse (Nehemiah 4:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Nehemiah 4:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “But after seeing the way things were, I said to the leaders together with all the people, ‘Do not be afraid of these enemies! Remember/Think of God who is great and glorious/raised and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your homes!’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “And as I think of the situation, I had-called/summoned for the leaders/[lit. heads], officers, and the residents, and told (them), ‘You (plur.) do not be afraid of the enemies. Let- us (incl.) -remember the mighty and awesome Lord. Let- us (incl.) -fight so-that we (incl.) could save/redeem our (incl.) blood-relatives, children, wives, and houses.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “I sensed that the people were worried, therefore I said to them and to the leaders and officials, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember/Think-about God who is fearsome and all powerful and join-in-fighting for your siblings/relatives, children, spouses and houses.’” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Then after I inspected everything, I summoned the leaders and other officials and many of the other people, and I said to them, ‘Do not be afraid of our enemies! Think about what Yahweh, who is great and glorious, can do! And fight to protect your friends, your families, and your homes!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Nehemiah 4:14

And I looked, and arose, and said …: Nehemiah then encouraged the people. The quick succession of three verbs here gives a sense of urgency. Looked has the sense of review or inspection (so New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible) although there is no object for the verb in the text. Nehemiah may have looked over everything (so Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) or he may have inspected their positions as Bible en français courant translates. It has been suggested that the Hebrew word translated “worried” in Good News Translation and “anxiety” in New Jerusalem Bible has been omitted by a scribe, but there is no textual evidence for this. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives an A rating for the Hebrew text without this addition. Arose is understood to mean that Nehemiah literally stood up to speak to the Jewish leaders and people.

For nobles and officials, see the comments at Neh 2.16.

Nehemiah’s direct words are quoted as he appealed to the emotions of the people in two ways to encourage them. Urging them not to fear their enemies, he called upon them to Remember the Lord and to fight for your brethren. There is “holy war” language in this section. God’s involvement in battle calls for faith and fearlessness, and the blast of the trumpet in verse 20 is a signal for battle.

Do not be afraid of them: This is a negative command in the second person plural. It is a command to the people to whom Nehemiah was speaking. Them refers to their enemies.

Remember the Lord, who is great and terrible: Instead of fearing their enemies, Nehemiah commands the people to think of the Lord. Often it is God who is asked to remember and to punish or reward accordingly (see Neh 1.8), but here Nehemiah asks the people to “think of” the Lord (so Contemporary English Version), whom he describes as being great and terrible. This is the same description that he used in his opening prayer to God (Neh 1.5; see also 9.32). His implicit meaning is that because the Lord is great and terrible, they should not fear their enemies. Good News Translation makes this explicit.

Fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes: Nehemiah commands the people to fight on behalf of their families and their relatives. First he cites a general category brethren or “kinsmen” (New Jerusalem Bible). He then specifically cites three immediate family relationships: sons, daughters and wives. Finally he says your homes, referring to families in this context, not property. However, some versions do take the meaning of this last word to be literally “houses” (so New American Standard Bible, New King James Version ). In some languages it may be common to refer to children without specifying gender, but here the distinction of sons and daughters should be retained in translation. Nehemiah is appealing to the people’s loyalty to their closest family members to motivate them to defend the city of Jerusalem.

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 .