Psalm 63 (image)

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jackal

The Hebrew that is translated as “jackal” in English was translated in the 1900 Kalaallisut (Greenlandic) translation (a newer version was published in 2000) as qimmit nujuartat or “wild dogs.” (Source: Lily Kahn & Riitta-Liisa Valijärvi in The Bible Translator 2019, p. 125ff.)

See also jackal / fox.

complete verse (Psalm 63:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 63:10:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “They will be given to the sword
    and become the food for wolves.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “Having been chopped up by the sword they will die.
    and they will be fodder for jackals.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “They will-die in battle, and their dead-bodies/corpses will-be-eaten by the wild-country dogs.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “They will be killed in war
    their bodies will be eaten by jackals.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Watauawa na upanga,
    watakuwa chakula cha fisi.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “they will be killed in battles
    and their corpses will be eaten by jackals/ wild dogs.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Psalm 63:9 - 63:10

Verses 9-11 may be understood as a wish, a petition, “May those…” (New Jerusalem Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Dahood), or as a statement of fact (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New English Bible, New American Bible, New International Version, Weiser). The initial But of Revised Standard Version, therefore, is useful and should be included in translation, since it contrasts the psalmist’s situation (verses 6-8) with that of his enemies (verses 9-10). It seems better to understand verses 9-10 as a wish, a petition. The psalmist prays for the immediate and violent death of his enemies; the depths of the earth are Sheol, “the world of the dead.” Go down into the depths of the earth must sometimes be rendered “go to the place where dead people go” or “… where the dead are put.”

He prays for their death “in battle” (literally “given over to the hands of the sword”); and he asks that their bodies, instead of being buried, will be eaten by jackals, an especially degrading fate. See similar expressions in Isaiah 18.6; Jeremiah 7.33. The word translated prey is “portion, part,” here in the sense of food which will be given to the jackals. In some languages a local animal which scavenges for its food must replace jackal or wolf.

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 .