complete verse (Psalm 144:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 144:11:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “Rescue me and save me,
    in the hands of strange people,
    whose mouths are filled with lies,
    whose right hand is fraudulent.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “Save me and set me free from the hands of foreigners.
    They are ones who tell lies,
    They speak lies even though they swear to tell the truth.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “Save me from the power of the enemies who come-from-other places, who do- not -tell the truth and lie even in their swearing.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “You release me and help me
    from the hands of foreigners,
    who their mouths are full of false matter,
    who swear false matter.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “uniokoe,
    unitoe katika mikono ya wapagani,
    ambao wanasema ya uongo,
    ambao wanaongopa wakati wanaapa.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “So I ask you to save me from being killed by the swords that those evil people carry.
    Rescue me from the power of those foreigners
    who always tell lies,
    and who raise their right hands in courtrooms when they solemnly declare that they will tell the truth.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Japanese benefactives (sukuidashite)

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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 choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, sukuidashite (救い出して) or “save/rescue” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”

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

Translation commentary on Psalm 144:9 - 144:11

In these verses the psalmist promises that, if God gives him the victory he prays for, he will, in the Temple, praise God with a new song and play upon a ten-stringed harp to him. For the language see 33.2-3; and for the instrument see 33.2; “harp” in 92.3. The verb in verse 9b may mean simply to play an instrument, or else to sing, accompanied by an instrument (so Good News Translation).

In verse 10 God is spoken of as the one who gives victory to kings and rescues David (his) servant. The kings, of course, are kings of Israel; whether David means King David himself or a king of the Davidic dynasty is a matter of dispute. Givest victory to kings may have to be adjusted in some languages to say, for example, “defeats the enemies of the kings of Israel.”

In the ver1 Biblia Hebraicaver1* the second line of verse 10 ends with “David his servant”; the next line begins with “from the evil sword,” after which verse 11 begins with the verb form “Save me.” Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation (also New American Bible, New English Bible, Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) join the verb “Save me” to “from the evil sword” as the first line of verse 11 (disregarding the verse division of the ver1 Biblia Hebraicaver1*); Bible de Jérusalem and New Jerusalem Bible also make this one line but place the verse number 11 before “from the evil sword” (see also Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). King James Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible join “from the evil sword” to the end of verse 10, which is possible (see New Jerusalem Bible “who rescue His servant David from the deadly sword”). It seems better, however, to do as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have done. (It is interesting to notice that the Targum interpreted “from the evil sword” to mean “from the evil sword of Goliath.”)

Verse 11b-d repeats verses 7c-8.

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 .