shining / radiant / gleaming

In Gbaya, the notion of something shining, radiant or gleaming is emphasized in the referenced verses with lak-lak, an ideophone that describes something that shines.

Note that in Lamentations 4:7, the “shining” refers to the pure snow in the beginning oif the verse.

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 132:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 132:18:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “I will clothe his enemies with shame,
    but the hat of kingship on his head will be shining.’” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “I will cause his enemies to feel shame
    but he will be a famous king.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “I will-put- his enemies -to-shame, but I will-cause- his kingdom -to-prosper.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “I will give his enemies shame,
    and he will be the very glorious king.’” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Maadui wake nitakuja kuwavika aibu,
    lakini yeye enzi yake itakuja kustawi.’” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “I will defeat his enemies and cause them to be very ashamed/disgraced;
    but the crown that my king wears will always shine.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

enemy / foe

The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “enemy” or “foe” in English is translated in the Hausa Common Language Bible as “friends of front,” i.e., the person standing opposite you in a battle. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

In North Alaskan Inupiatun it is translated with a term that implies that it’s not just someone who hates you, but one who wants to do you harm (Source: Robert Bascom), in Tarok as ukpa ìkum or “companion in war/fighting,” and in Ikwere as nye irno m or “person who hates me” (source for this and one above: Chuck and Karen Tessaro in this newsletter ).

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

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

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Psalm 132:17 - 132:18

In verse 17 the figure I will make a horn to sprout means to give power to, or else, to cause a son to be born who will be powerful; and I have prepared a lamp means to give life, continuity, success (Dahood: “a natural metaphor for the preservation of the dynasty”); see 1 Kings 11.36. For horn see 18.2 (and see Ezek 29.21). The parallels David and my anointed stand for the Davidic dynasty, that is, David’s direct royal descendants: Yahweh guarantees that they will continue to be kings of the people of Israel. Bible en français courant translates “I will cause to be born in Zion a powerful king of the descendants of David. Like a lit lamp I will maintain there the king I have consecrated.” And Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates “There I will bring about the rebirth of David’s power. I have prepared a lamp for the king I have chosen.” There and Good News Translation‘s “Here,” repeated in the next line, refer to Zion, the place where God rules. It may be clearer to say “In Zion….” Good News Translation‘s “preserve the rule…” may sometimes be rendered “I will make his rule to go on and on.” If the translator wishes to combine the metaphor with its meaning, one may say, for example, “like a lamp that will burn forever,” as Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch does.

The psalm closes with Yahweh’s promise to defeat (clothe with shame) the enemies of the king and to make his kingdom prosper and flourish. The word translated crown here is the same one used in 89.39 (which see). If the figure of a crown is maintained in translation, a natural way of translating will be “but the crown he wears will shine (or, sparkle) brightly.” Translators should attempt to maintain the parallelism of clothe with shame and to wear a crown. In many languages this will not be possible, particularly in languages where the crown will have to be substituted by some other symbol of authority which is not “worn” on the body.

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 .