complete verse (Psalm 140:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 140:3:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “They sharpen their tongues to be sharp like (that) of a snake;
    on their lips there is venom of a cobra.
    Selah” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “Their speaking is like a serpent’s bite.
    In their mouths is the poison of the cobra.
    Sela” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “Their tongues (are) like a venomous snake;
    their words (are) poison like the venom of a snake.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “Their tongues destroy people like snakes,
    theirs mouths are like the poison of snakes.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Wamenoa ndimi zao, kali kama za nyoka.
    Katika midomo yao yanatoka maneno ya kuua,
    kama vile kuumwa na nyoka muuaji.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “By what they say they injure people like poisonous snakes do;
    the words that they speak can kill people as easily as cobras/vipers do.
    (Think about that!)” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Psalm 140:3

Verse 3 is characterized by onomatopoeia or sound-imitation. The purpose of imitating sounds in nature through selected vowels or consonants is to increase the realism of the imagery. In this verse the Hebrew letter shin (pronounced as “sh” in English), imitating the hissing of a snake, occurs in each of the following words in Hebrew: sharp, tongue, serpent, vipers; and the letter sin (pronounced as “s” in English) occurs in the final word, which in Hebrew is the word for lips. The net affect is “SH-SH-SH-SH-S.” Translators should be aware of this device as used in this verse, but should not sacrifice meaning trying to imitate it.

In line a the Hebrew is “they make sharp their tongues like (that of) a snake”–a figure of the deadly power of the snake’s bite. And line b reads “viper’s poison (is) on (or, under) their lips.” Good News Translation turns the metaphors into similes and uses language more in keeping with modern idiom, “like deadly snakes … like a cobra’s poison.” The word translated “cobra” (Revised Standard Version viper) appears only here in the Old Testament; some think that it means “spider” (New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). Verse 3b is quoted in Romans 3.13. Many translators will want to follow Good News Translation‘s lead in adjusting to a simile. It may be necessary to adjust the second simile to say, for example, “the words they speak kill just as snake poison kills.” If no variety of the cobra is known, it is possible to use the generic “snake,” or even “spider.”

For Selah see 3.2.

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 .