Chichewa “spoiled wine” (vinyo wosasa — the word “wosasa” is used to refer to any food or drink that has become bad and produces bad smell because it has either overstayed or exposed to bacteria and other infections) (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Bariai: “sour wine juice” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “thirst” or “thirsty” in English is translated in Kituba as “hungry for water” (source: Donald Deer in The Bible Translator 1973, p. 207ff. ) and in Mairasi as “water pain” (source: Enggavoter 2004).
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 69:21:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“They put bile in my food
and gave me sour wine because of thirst.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“When I am hungry they bring me poison to eat.
When I am thirsty they bring me vinegar to drink.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“They put poison in my food,
and when I was-thirsty they gave me vinegar.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Laarim:
“They put bitter things in my food
When I am thirsty, instead they gave me bitter water.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Waliweka dawa ambayo inaua katika chakula changu,
wakati niko na kiu walinipa divai kali.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“Instead, they gave me food that tasted like poison,
and when I was thirsty, they gave me sour wine to drink.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated in English typically as “vine” is translated in Lak as къюмайтӀутӀул мурхьра: “the (grape-) cluster tree.”
Vitaly Voinov tells this story: “Laks (who live in the mountainous regions of Dagestan) historically have had no experience with planting and tending vineyards. They buy grapes at the market or the store, but that’s about all they know of grape growing. Thus, in field testing, none of the readers could picture the primary image of this chapter. The translator’s initial attempt of rendering ‘vine’ as ‘grape stalk’ met with complete non-understanding. After much discussion of the problem and potential solutions, we settled on what one of the field testing respondents suggested to remedy the problem: ‘vine’ was rendered as ‘the (grape-)cluster tree’ (къюмайтӀутӀул мурхьра). Technically grapes of course don’t grow on trees, but something had to be put in the text, and it had to be said in a way that the average reader/hearer could understand it. The Lak team could have borrowed the Russian word for ‘vine’ (лоза), but since this is a very low-frequency word in the Russian language, it’s likely that many Laks wouldn’t know the Russian word either. So the team settled for a reduction of accuracy in order to achieve greater clarity. After all, the primary point of importance in this passage is not a horticultural analysis, but a metaphorical comparison to the spiritual world, to the relationship between the Father, His Son, and the followers of Jesus. This rendering allows readers to get to the core of this meaning without getting tangled up in unknown terms.”
The Common Grape Vine Vitis vinifera is mentioned more often than any other plant or tree in the Bible. Excavations in Greece have discovered grape seeds dating to 4500 B.C. Egyptian records document the existence of cultivated vines in Canaan as early as 2375 B.C., and subsequent records report trade in vine products around 1360 B.C. and many times thereafter.
The vine is a creeping plant that develops a woody stem when it matures. It grows along the ground until it finds a tree or other object to climb, using tendrils. It bears bunches of small round fruit that are sweet and juicy. Today farmers grow them commercially throughout the Mediterranean area, in South Africa, in North America, and in many other countries. The first reference to the vine in the Bible (Genesis 9:20) tells us that Noah planted a vineyard (Hebrew kerem) and that he made an alcoholic drink from the fruit. Farmers since then have improved on the size, color, and quality of the fruit by careful pruning and selection until now there are at least 65 kinds of grapevines. Like many other plants in temperate areas, the vine has leaves that appear in early spring. After the fruit is picked and the weather gets cold, the leaves drop off and the plant is bare until the following spring. A typical vineyard in Bible times was surrounded by a stone fence. It had a stone tower from which the owner could watch for predators, and a place to squeeze the juice out of the fruits.
The vine is the most frequently cited plant in the Bible, and that alone makes it special. Vines, grapes, raisins, and wine were a major element of Jewish life, so it is not a surprise that the vine and its products are used figuratively probably more than any other Bible plant. After the flood purified the earth at the time of Noah, the vine became the means by which the human race was plunged again into sin (Genesis 9:20). We know from Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 49:11f. and other passages that the vine was the symbol of blessing, prosperity, and happiness. The fact that there were groups like the Nazirites and Rechabites who abstained from drinking wine simply shows the radical self-denial that these people imposed on themselves. A drink offering of wine was an important part of worship (Exodus 29:40), and the image of contentment was “every man under his vine and under his fig tree” (Micah 4:4). Jotham includes the vine in his well-known Parable of the Trees (Judges 9:7ff.). In the New Testament, Jesus rescued a man from humiliation at a wedding party by miraculously providing a fresh supply of wine (John 2:1ff.). Wine becomes a major symbol in the Christian community when Jesus foreshadows his crucifixion by comparing the wine poured out in the Passover celebration to his blood (Matthew 26:27f. et al.). He speaks of the need for Christians to be like the branches of the vine, drawing their nourishment from him, the True Vine (John 15.:1ff.). Nearly every New Testament writer makes some metaphorical reference to the vine or its products.
There are around 65 kinds of grapevines (Vitis vinifera) found in the Northern Hemisphere. They belong to a larger family of creeping plants called Vitaceae, which has over 800 species throughout the world including many in the tropical and warm climates of the world.
Grapevines have occasionally been grown in West Africa (for example, in The Gambia and in northern Nigeria) but are not well known even where they are grown commercially. Attempts at substituting a local tree name have not been entirely successful because the species chosen is usually not cultivated and/or does not have the same economic or social function that the grape had in Israel.
Thus it is probably best to use a transliteration from a major language. However, in parts of Nigeria and perhaps elsewhere, the word grep refers to “grapefruit” and should be avoided in translation. A transliteration from “vine” or “wine” is preferred, although a translator needs to be careful. The English word “vine” refers to any creeping plant, but it also refers to a particular kind of vine that produces grapes (Vitis vinifera). This can be confusing. Furthermore, translators in English-speaking countries should think carefully about what they are going to do with the word “wine.” In The Gambia, Mandinka translators first used “wayini tree” but later concluded that it may be better to have a word for “vine” that is not necessarily identical with “wine.” Bine, from binekaro (“vinegar”), was considered, as was inabi (“grape”) from Arabic.
Languages that borrow the Arabic word inabi must deal with the fact that this word bears an unfortunate resemblance to annabi (“prophet”) and new readers reading “water of inabi” in a context of prophecy may associate it, for better or worse, with prophets and prophecy. In northern Nigeria church people have gotten used to inabi in the New Testament even though many of them don’t know what it is. Basa in Nigeria uses a wild grape-like plant (afwafwa), and Igala has used the same species (achiwebetema) for years. Likewise, two translations in Mali and Burkina Faso use their local name for a wild vine (Lannea microcarpa) for the biblical vine. There is a species (Rhoicissus tridentata) in southern and eastern Africa known as “African grape” (locally called “bobbejaantou”). In such cases translators should write a footnote (or glossary item) stating that the grapes of Bible times were larger and sweeter than the local variety, and that they were cultivated extensively as a source for producing beverages. Other possibilities for transliteration are: vinyola/videra (Portuguese), vitis (Latin), and inab (Arabic).
Fruit of the vine (Hebrew ‘enav; Greek botrus, staphulē): There is some evidence that botrus refers to a bunch of grapes, while staphulē refers to individual grapes. According to Louw and Nida (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains, 1988), however, both words may refer to individual grapes as well as bunches of grapes. The Hebrew word tirosh is equivalent to the word “vintage” in English, that is, the grape harvest and possibly the first squeezing of the grapes. It is normally used along with the words referring to the olive harvest (yitshar) and grain harvest (dagan).
In strong, bitter language, the psalmist describes his situation, which is well known to God. Words are used that have already appeared in this psalm: reproach (verses 7a, 10b); shame (verse 7b); dishonor (verse 6d); Insults (verse 9b). But God knows who all his enemies are; he keeps his eye on them (verse 19c; literally “are in front of you”).
The figure of a broken … heart has already been encountered in 51.17b; there it expresses contrition and repentance. Here, however, it means that the psalmist has been deeply offended and hurt by the insults his enemies hurl at him. Insults have broken my heart may have to be recast in translation so that two events are depicted. For example, “my enemies insulted me and my head is lowered” or “my enemies have said bad things about me and my heart sits heavy in me.”
I am in despair (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible) translates a word found nowhere else in the Old Testament; as used in the Masoretic text, it is of uncertain form and meaning. K-B suggests an adjective, “incurable, desperate.” Briggs takes it to be a form of the verb “to be in poor health” (used in 2 Sam 12.15). New Jerusalem Bible has a vivid translation, “Insult has broken my heart past cure.”
The word translated pity describes a shaking of the head from side to side as an expression of condolence, of fellow feeling; no human sympathy, no comfort, for the psalmist! I looked for pity in some languages can be rendered idiomatically; for example, “I wanted someone to show me their warm insides.” Comforters may be rendered as “people who can encourage me” or, idiomatically, “people who can cause my heart to be strong.”
It is impossible to decide whether verse 21 is meant literally or figuratively; it probably is the latter, for had the psalmist swallowed poison, he would hardly have survived. The word poison translates “bitter” (so “gall” in some translations, which is also the Greek word in the Septuagint that is used in Matt 27.34). If the sense of poison is not to be taken literally but figuratively, as suggested above, the translator should avoid using a word for poison which would mean certain death if eaten. It may be best to translate in such a way as to leave no doubt that the psalmist did not undergo a test by eating poison, as is used in some cultures to establish innocence. For example, “They gave me food that tasted as bad as poison” or “The food they gave me to eat tasted like bitter poison.” Food occurs only once more, in Lamentations 4.10; it is specifically the meal brought to a mourner by sympathetic friends. Vinegar represents a word whose meaning is probably closer to “cheap, sour wine” (as a drink) than to vinegar (as a condiment). But some take it to be vinegar as such, which the psalmist’s enemies poured into his drink to make him even thirstier. In languages where vinegar is unknown, it is often possible to say “a sour drink.”
The language of verse 21, as translated in the Septuagint, is reflected in the accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion: see Matthew 27.34, 48; Mark 15.36; Luke 23.36; John 19.29.
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 .
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