The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “grain” (or: “wheat”) is translated in Kui as “(unthreshed) rice.” Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) explains: “Padddy [unthreshed rice] is the main crop of the country and rice the staple diet of the people, besides which [grain] is unknown and there is no word for it, and it seemed to us that paddy and rice in the mind of the Kui people stood for all that corn meant to the Jews.” “Paddy” is also the translation in Pa’o Karen (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. ).
Other translations include: “wheat” (Teutila Cuicatec), “corn” (Lalana Chinantec), “things to eat” (Morelos Nahuatl), “grass corn” (wheat) (Chichimeca-Jonaz) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), “millet” (Lambya) (source: project-specific notes in Paratext), “food” (Nyamwezi) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext) or ntimumma lujia / “seeds for food” (Lokạạ — “since Lokạạ does not have specific terms for maize and rice that can be described as grains”) (source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the exclusive pronoun, excluding Nehemiah.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Nehemiah 5:2:
Kupsabiny: “Some people were saying, ‘We have large families. So we should receive food for eating.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “They said, ‘Our (excl.) family is large and we (excl.) need food in-order to live.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Some/One of them said, ‘We have many children. So we need a lot of grain to be able to eat and continue to live.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
In verses 2-4 three groups of people with specific complaints are introduced by the phrase there were those who said: 1) those without land; 2) the peasants; and 3) those in debt for taxes. The first two groups are directly affected by famine. The famine caused the failure of the barley harvest in April and May. The consequences were being felt in August and September during the building of the city wall. The famine caused an inflation of prices that made it even harder to buy food.
With our sons and daughters, we are many: The first group was composed of the people who did not possess land. They had many children and no resources to get grain in order to survive. Having “many children” is not usually the basis for a complaint. Therefore it has been suggested that an emendation should be made by adding one letter to the phrase translated we are many so that it becomes “we [are giving] pledges.” For the whole clause here, New English Bible has “they were giving their sons and daughters as pledges” (similarly New Jerusalem Bible, Luther). However, the complaint is not about having many children, but the fact that there was not enough food for them. There is no textual basis for the emendation and Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives an A rating to the Hebrew text. Translators should follow the translation of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, but may include the alternative in a footnote.
Grain is a generic word for seed crops or cereals. In some languages it may be translated as “corn” or “wheat” in a general sense. Although some languages may use other terms such as “rice” or “millet” generically, care must be taken not to use a word that would not be appropriate in the history of Israel at this time. If a borrowed term for grain has been used in earlier translations, translators must determine whether this term is understood and should be retained.
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 .
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