rock

The Hebrew that is translated as “rock” in English is translated in the Chichewa as thanthwe. “Thanthwe” normally is a big stone that spreads over a large area either visible or lying underneath and cannot be lifted or moved. In Chewa religious context, “thanthwe” was a sacred rock which people believed to be the place of worship. This place was safe because it was associated with the presence of the Supreme Being. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

liquid gushing forth

In Gbaya, the notion of a liquid being released with great force is emphasized in the referenced verses with kput-kput, an ideophone that refers to the gushing forth of a liquid.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

See also fountain.

spring of water

The Hebrew in Psalm 114:8 that is translated as “spring of water” or “flowing springs” (Good News Translation) in English is translated in Gbaya with the ideophone kpút-kpút, imitating the bubbling of a spring of water.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

complete verse (Psalm 114:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 114:8:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “who turned the rock to be a well,
    the hard rock to be springs of water.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “He changed the rock into the water of a pond,
    and flint into the water of a pomegranate.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “who made the hard rock become a pond of water and become a spring that flows.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “who he changed the rock to be the pool
    and he changed the hard rock to be the spring that water flow from.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “ambaye anabadirisha mwamba kuwa dimbwi la maji,
    mwamba mgumu, kuwa chemchemi.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “He is the one who caused pools of water for the Israeli people to drink to flow from a rock; he caused a spring to flow from a solid rock cliff!” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God ("change")

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, kae-rare-ru (変えられる) or “change” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Psalm 114:7 - 114:8

The verb translated Tremble may mean “dance” (as in 87.7; New English Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible); most, however, take it to represent fright, not joy. In both lines of verse 7 the Hebrew says the presence of, which Good News Translation has represented in two different ways. It should be noticed that in line a the Hebrew has the title “Lord” (Good News Translation), not the divine name (Revised Standard Version LORD). Of Jacob may stand for the patriarch himself, or else for the people of Israel as a whole (see 20.1; 46.7, 11; 75.9; 76.6; and others). In this context the former is preferable. In languages in which the earth cannot be told to tremble, it may be possible to switch to a statement, that is, “when the God whom Jacob worshiped is near, the earth trembles.”

In verse 8b Good News Translation “solid cliffs” translates the Hebrew word for flint (which occurs only in four other places in the Old Testament); as a parallel for “rocks” in line a, however, the flint (Revised Standard Version) is not appropriate in the context. In this verse the psalmist is alluding to the events at Kadesh (Exo 17.1-7; Num 20.1-13; see also Psa 78.13-16, 20). Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible use the present tense for the verb in verse 8, as a description of Yahweh’s power; New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy use the past tense as a statement of what Yahweh had actually done, and this may be more appropriate. Verse 8 should be accompanied by a cross reference to assist the reader in understanding the allusion.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .