The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “interest” (as in payments for a loan) in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) as chiwongoladzanja which literary means something that stretches the hand. The understanding is that an interest is paid to thank the hand that was stretched out in the process of giving a loan. Since a person gets a loan to be helped from their problems, thanking the hand that has given (stretched out in giving) is considered to be an important way of expressing one’s gratitude. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
complete verse (Psalm 15:5)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 15:5:
- Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“who lends his money without interest
and does not receive a bribe in wanting to oppose to oppose innocent people.
The one who does these things will.
will never be shaken.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation) - Newari:
“who gives loans without taking interest,
who does not take bribes to testify against the innocent.
Such people will never have to abandon their goals.” (Source: Newari Back Translation) - Hiligaynon:
“He lends without interest,
and he does- not -accept a bribe in-order to-witness against the one (who) has-no sin.’
The man who does these-(things) his situation will-become firm forever/[lit. until whenever].” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation) - Eastern Bru:
“And he who loans his money to others, but doesn’t take any profit from that person. And he who does not take money from those who make an oath wanting to falsely accuse straight good people. Whoever follows these words, that person has a good steadfast heart all the time.” (Source: Bru Back Translation) - Laarim:
“a man who receives his money only
which was borrowed by a person,
and he does not accept a bribe,
so that a person who is innocent will get suffering
A person who does these things,
he will not be shaken.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation) - Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Anakopesha hachukui faida,
hapokei malipo ya kuhongwa,
ili amuumize asiye na hatia.
Mtu ambaye anafanya hayo,
hatikisiki hata mara moja.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation) - English:
“They lend money to others without charging interest,
and they never accept bribes in order to lie about people who have not done what is wrong.
Those who do those things will never stop trusting God even if disastrous things happen to them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Translation commentary on Psalm 15:5
The last two qualifications have to do with financial and legal situations. (9) Interest in financial transactions with a fellow Israelite was forbidden (Lev 25.36-37), but permitted in dealing with non-Israelites (Deut 23.19-20). The situation in this passage is that of helping someone in time of distress, not a business loan in commercial affairs (see Dentan, Dahood). It is pointed out that in some commercial loans transacted in other societies at that time, interest ran as high as fifty percent a year. Interest, although extremely common in most areas, is not always known. In such cases one may say “he gives money to the one who borrows and does not take back more than he gave” or “he lends things to someone who needs them and gets back only what he lent.”
(10) To take a bribe against the innocent means to accept money or some other kind of favor as payment for testifying falsely against an innocent person at a trial (see Exo 23.8; Deut 16.19; 27.25). Bribe is often expressed idiomatically; for example, “to bite with money” or “to close the eyes with gifts.” Innocent may be rendered “who has done no bad deed.” Line b may be translated “People cannot close his eyes with money to make him speak against those who have done no wrong” or “he does not accept gifts so that he will say things against….”
The psalm closes with a promise for those who comply with these requirements: they will never be moved (for comments on the verb see 10.6). The security here spoken of is no doubt spiritual, but it also includes the material aspect, since in the thought of that time the two were obviously related (see 30.6). Never be moved (Good News Translation “secure”) is rendered idiomatically in some languages as “not falling” or “sitting firmly.” The concluding line may sometimes be translated “People who live like this will always sit firmly” or “People who act in this way will not be carried off.”
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 .
Psalm 15: Layer by Layer
The following are presentations by the Psalms: Layer by Layer project, run by Scriptura . The first is an overview, the second an introduction into the poetry, and the third an introduction into the exegesis of Psalm 15.
Copyright © Scriptura
Copyright © Scriptura
Copyright © Scriptura
Psalm 15 as classical Chinese poetry
John Wu Ching-hsiung (1899-1986) was a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, a renowned jurist who studied in Europe and the United States, and served as a professor of law at Soochow University, as a judge and the Acting President of the Shanghai Provisional Court, and as the Vice President of the Commission for the Drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of China, before becoming the Minister of the Republic of China to the Holy See. Wu has written extensively, not only on law but also on Chinese philosophy, and has also written his autobiography, Beyond East and West, in English. Wu was a devout Catholic and had a personal relationship with Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975). Wu began translating the the Psalms in 1938, and was encouraged by Chiang to translate the entire New Testament, which he corrected in his own handwriting. (…) John Wu Ching-hsiung’s translation of the Psalms (first draft in 1946, revised in 1975) was translated into Literary Chinese in the form of poetic rhyme, with attention paid to the style of writing. According to the content and mood of the different chapters of the original psalm, Wu chose Chinese poetic forms such as tetrameter, pentameter, heptameter [4, 5 or 7 syllables/Chinese characters per stanza], and the [less formal] Sao style, and sometimes more than two poetic forms were used in a single poem. (Source: Simon Wong)
John Wu Ching-hsiung himself talks about his celebrated and much-admired (though difficult-to-understand) translation in his aforementioned autobiography: (Click or tap here to see)
“Nothing could have been farther from my mind than to translate the Bible or any parts of it with a view to publishing it as an authorized version. I had rendered some of the Psalms into Chinese verse, but that was done as a part of my private devotion and as a literary hobby. When I was in Hongkong in 1938, I had come to know Madame H. H. Kung [Soong Ai-ling], and as she was deeply interested in the Bible, I gave her about a dozen pieces of my amateurish work just for her own enjoyment. What was my surprise when, the next time I saw her, she told me, “My sister [Soong Mei-ling] has written to say that the Generalissimo [Chiang Kai-shek] likes your translation of the Psalms very much, especially the first, the fifteenth, and the twenty-third, the Psalm of the Good Shepherd!”
“In the Autumn of 1940, when I was in Chungking, the Generalissimo invited me several times to lunch with him and expressed his appreciation of the few pieces that he had read. So I sent him some more. A few days later I received a letter from Madame Chiang [Soong Mei-ling], dated September 21, 1940, in which she said that they both liked my translation of the few Psalms I had sent them. ‘For many years,’ she wrote, ‘the Generalissimo has been wanting to have a really adequate and readable Wen-li (literary) translation of the Bible. He has never been able to find anyone who could undertake the matter.’ The letter ends up by saying that I should take up the job and that ‘the Generalissimo would gladly finance the undertaking of this work.’
“After some preliminary study of the commentaries, I started my work with the Psalms on January 6, 1943, the Feast of the Epiphany.
“I had three thousand years of Chinese literature to draw upon. The Chinese vocabulary for describing the beauties of nature is so rich that I seldom failed to find a word, a phrase, and sometimes even a whole line to fit the scene. But what makes such Psalms so unique is that they bring an intimate knowledge of the Creator to bear upon a loving observation of things of nature. I think one of the reasons why my translation is so well received by the Chinese scholars is that I have made the Psalms read like native poems written by a Chinese, who happens to be a Christian. Thus to my countrymen they are at once familiar and new — not so familiar as to be jejune, and not so new as to be bizarre. I did not publish it as a literal translation, but only as a paraphrase.
“To my greatest surprise, [my translation of the Psalms] sold like hot dogs. The popularity of that work was beyond my fondest dreams. Numberless papers and periodicals, irrespective of religion, published reviews too good to be true. I was very much tickled when I saw the opening verse of the first Psalm used as a headline on the front page of one of the non-religious dailies.”
A contemporary researcher (Lindblom 2021) mentions this about Wu’s translation: “Wu created a unique and personal work of sacred art that bears the imprint of his own admitted love and devotion, a landmark achievement comparable to Antoni Gaudi’s Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain. Although its use is still somewhat limited today, it continues to attract readers for the aforementioned qualities, and continues to be used in prayers and music by those who desire beauty and an authentic Chinese-sounding text that draws from China’s ancient traditions.”
The translation of Psalm 15 from the 1946 edition is in pentameter and the rhyme scheme is -an (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either):
忠厚廉潔
誰堪留帝所。誰堪居靈山。 其惟行善者。心口無欺謾。 既無讒人舌。又無惡心肝。處世惟忠厚。克己待人寬。 見惡避若浼。見善共相歡。一言九鼎重。得失非所患。 不將重利剝。不作貪汚官。行善邀福澤。長如磐石安。
Transcription into Roman alphabet with the rhyme scheme highlighted:
zhōng hòu lián jié
shuí kān liú dì suǒ 。 shuí kān jū líng shān 。 qí wéi xíng shàn zhě 。 xīn kǒu wú qī mán 。 jì wú chán rén shé 。 yòu wú è xīn gān 。 chǔ shì wéi zhōng hòu 。 kè jǐ dài rén kuān 。 jiàn è bì ruò měi 。 jiàn shàn gòng xiāng huān 。 yī yán jiǔ dǐng zhòng 。 dé shī fēi suǒ huàn 。 bù jiāng zhòng lì bāo 。 bù zuò tān wū guān 。 xíng shàn yāo fú zé 。 cháng rú pán shí ān 。
With thanks to Simon Wong.
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