scroll

The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek that is translated in English as “scroll” is translated in Khoekhoe with xamiǂkhanisa or “rolled-up book” (source: project-specific notes in Paratext) and in Newari as “paper that has been rolled up” (source: Newari Back Translation).

See also roll up the scroll.

Sacrifice and offering you do not desire . . .

For the phrase “Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear.´Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, ‘Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will, O my God.'” see Hebrews 10:5, Hebrews 10:6, and Hebrews 10:7.

Note that this quote in the New Testament is not taken from the Hebrew Bible but from the Greek Septuagint (LXX) which translates into English as “Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but ears you fashioned for me. Whole burnt offering and one for sin you did not request. Then I said, ‘Look, I have come; in a scroll of a book it is written of me. To do your will, O my God, I desired.'” (Translation by NETS — for the Greek version see the title’s tooltip)

complete verse (Psalm 40:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 40:7:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “So I said, ‘I am here, I have come.
    In the book it is written about me.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “So I answered, ‘I have come,
    as it is written about me in the law.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “So I said,
    ‘Here I (am), I (am) ready to-obey your (sing.) commands for me which were-written in the Law.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Eastern Bru:
    “So, I replied like this: "I have come here already. Whatever you instruct me, surely those things are already in the book that spoke about your law a long time ago.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “Then I say that, ‘I am here, I come,
    as it is written in your book, about me.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Basi nikasema, ‘Tazama mimi nimekuja.
    Ambayo natakiwa kufanya, yameandikwa katika Kitabu kitakatifu.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “So I said to you, ‘Yahweh, here I am,
    to do the things that have been written in the scroll that contains your laws,
    things that you want me to do.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

respectful form of "say/speak" (mōshiageru)

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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 to do this is through the usage of lexical honorific forms, i.e., completely different words, as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, mōshiageru (申し上げる), the respectful form of iu (言う) or “say / speak” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Psalm 40:7 - 40:8

The psalmist’s response in verses 7-8 is full of difficulties, and there are various interpretations. Lo, I come in verse 7a indicates readiness to hear and act, better expressed in English by “Here I am.”

Verse 7b in Hebrew is “in the roll of the book it is written for (or, about) me.” New English Bible omits this line completely; New Jerusalem Bible translates the psalmist’s declaration, “See, I will bring a roll recounting what befell me”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “Here I am, just as the book says about me”; New Jerusalem Bible joins the first words of verse 8a to verse 7b, “In the scroll of the book it is written of me, my delight is to do your will”; Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “Here I come with the roll of a book written for me”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “Here I am, as it is said of me in the book.” All these translations are possible, and complete certainty is impossible. The most difficult decision to make is whether the preposition in Hebrew means “it is written for me” (so Good News Translation “your instructions for me”) or “it is written about me” (so Revised Standard Version of me and Good News Translation footnote “my devotion to you is recorded in your book”).

The roll of the book is taken to refer either to the Torah as a whole (the first five books of the Old Testament) or to the book of Deuteronomy; some take it to refer to the heavenly book, where all human deeds are recorded. Bible en français courant may be recommended: “In the book of the Law I find written what I should do.” “The book of the Law” must sometimes be translated “the book which contains the Law,” or “the book in which the Law is written,” or “the book which teaches the Law.”

The psalmist ends his response with a promise to obey the LORD’s will completely (verse 8). Thy law is within my heart (verse 9b) means that the psalmist has learned God’s Law and cherishes it, that is, he keeps it in mind and obeys it.

Verses 6-8a are quoted in Hebrews 10.5-7 as they appear in the Septuagint, which in verse 7 has “you prepared a body for me” in place of the Masoretic text “you have dug ears for me”; one manuscript of the Septuagint has “ears” instead of “a body.” The New Testament quotation joins verse 8a to verse 7b, whereas in the Septuagint, as in the Masoretic text, verse 7b ends with a full stop, and verse 8a is joined to verse 8b. Translators should follow the Hebrew Masoretic text rather than the Septuagint.

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 .