אִם־לֹ֣א יָ֭שׁוּב חַרְבּ֣וֹ יִלְט֑וֹשׁ קַשְׁתּ֥וֹ דָ֝רַ֗ךְ וַֽיְכוֹנְנֶֽהָ׃
12If one does not repent, God will whet his sword;
he has bent and strung his bow;
the Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated with “sword” in English is translated in Tepeuxila Cuicatec as “machete that is sharp on two sides,” in Lalana Chinantec as “machete” and in San Mateo del Mar Huave as “knife.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
See also two-edged sword.
The Greek that is translated in English as “God will whet his sword; he has bent and strung his bow” or similar is translated in Guajajára as “He will sharpen his long knife, his bow for shooting arrows, he will prepare.” Carl H. Harrison (in: Notes on Translation 1999, p. 50f.) quotes this as an example of a translation that was received as particularly poetic. The translation “did not come out all that exciting in English. But they got raves from the Guajajara colleague.”
“In Tzotzil two reflexive verbs to communicate the biblical concept of repentance are used. Xca’i jba means to know or to reflect inwardly on one’s self. This self inquiry or self examination is similar to the attitude of the prodigal son where Luke 15:17 records that ‘he came to his senses.’ Broke, starving, and slopping hogs, the prodigal admitted to himself that he was in the wrong place. The second reflexive verb ‘jsutes jba’ means turning away from what one is and turning to something else. In a sense, it is deciding against one’s self and toward someone else. It is similar to the attitude of the prodigal son when he said, ‘I will get up and go to my father’ (Luke 15:18).” (source: Aeilts 2009, p. 118)
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign that expresses the turning of one’s attention toward God (see 1 Thessalonians 1:9 and Acts 3:19). (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)
“Repent” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )
See also: convert / conversion / turn back and see Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 7:12:
As the Revised Standard Version footnote shows, the subject of the verbs in these verses is not specified; the Hebrew text says simply “If he does not turn, he will sharpen his sword”–and so to the end of verse 13. Weiser, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, and New Jerusalem Bible take the subject of verses 12-13 to be the wicked man himself, the enemy; so in these translations, in verse 12 the man gets ready to destroy, and in verse 13 his weapons turn against him and kill him. (New English Bible is not altogether clear, but seems to make God the subject of all the verbs in verses 13-14.) New International Version (with alternative in the footnote) takes God as the subject of all the verbs in verses 12-13, translating the initial verb, “If he does not relent.”
It seems best to do as most modern translations have done and take the first verb to refer to the wicked, “If they do not change their ways” (literally “turn”; see comments on 6.4), and the other verbs to refer to God. In translation it will often be necessary to avoid the use of an indefinite subject such as a man (Good News Translation “they”) and to say instead “wicked people.” Whether the “if” clause precedes or follows the result clause depends on the usage in the receptor language. Repent is frequently expressed in idiomatic terms; for example, “to change the heart,” “to have a new heart,” or “to walk a new path.”
Vivid figures are used of God getting ready to destroy the wicked: he will whet his sword; he has bent and strung his bow, that is, he is taking aim and is preparing to shoot his arrows (see similar language in 11.2). These expressions depicting offensive action imply a further action, that is, using the sharpened sword and the bent bow to fight the wicked enemy. In many languages such indirect and figurative statements are quite natural, but where there is no apparent connection in meaning, one may make the meaning clear by a purpose clause; for example, “God will sharpen his sword to attack evil people, if they do not repent; he will bend and string his bow to shoot the wicked people, if they do not change their evil ways.” Revised Standard Version has taken the Hebrew verb for “prepare” at the end of verse 12 in the sense of “stringing (the bow)”; New Jerusalem Bible has “he … aims it.” The same verb is used in verse 13a, where Good News Translation has “he takes up,” and Revised Standard Version he has prepared.
Deadly weapons refers to weapons which can cause death, and must sometimes be translated “weapons which kill people.”
The last line of verse 13 is literally “making his arrows into burning (darts).” Most understand this to reflect the practice in ancient warfare of wrapping inflammable material around the tip of the arrow, setting it on fire, and then discharging the arrow. Some, however, take the Hebrew verb to mean “sharpen” (instead of “make ablaze”); so New Jerusalem Bible “makes his arrows sharp.” In languages where bows and arrows are unknown, a more generic term such as “weapons” may be used. In those cases where weapons are unknown in the language, a descriptive phrase must be used; for example, “things people use to hurt other people.”
Biblia Dios Habla Hoy reverses the order of the two lines of verse 13 so as to have the line “he aims his flaming arrows” follow immediately after “he bends his bow” in verse 12b.
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 .
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 7.
Copyright © Scriptura
Copyright © Scriptura
Copyright © Scriptura
Copyright © Scriptura
Copyright © Scriptura
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)
“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 7 from the 1946 edition is in pentameter and heptameter with rhyme schemes based on -an and -ai (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either):
被誣
雅瑋吾天主。賴爾得平安。仇人肆誣衊。無風起波瀾。求主速營救。莫使我被害。 彼人兇如獅。吞我心方快。除主復何恃。不救吾其殆。 倘吾曾為此。有罪在雙腕。 苟以怨報德。未以德報怨。 任憑彼凌虐。雖死亦無憾。身敗不足論。名裂固所願。 我實未為此。請主奮身起。為我抗眾敵。莫容橫逆熾。 願主作裁判。高坐爾王位。眾民亦會集。環立爾周圍。 但願睿哲主。鑒察我忠義。按照爾公平。報答我純粹。 欲使惡人懼。不敢行無禮。欲使義人喜。沛然自奮勵。我主固全知。洞悉人腑肺。
主是護身盾。永保正直人。 天威何顯赫。裁判公且明。 磨刀霍霍箭在弦。人不回頭將受刑。 兵戈火箭莫不備。誰能不畏主之嗔。 惡人如妊婦。臨蓐時在即。所懷惟禍胎。所產乃妖孽。 心勞信日拙。自墜陷人窟。悖出亦悖入。自中毒人螫。 出爾竟反爾。自傷投人石。報應何昭著。絲毫無爽忒。 欲頌公平主。欲揚至尊德。
Transcription into Roman alphabet with rhymes highlighted:
bèi wū
yǎ wěi wú tiān zhǔ 。 lài ěr dé píng ān 。 chóu rén sì wū miè 。 wú fēng qǐ bō lán 。 qiú zhǔ sù yíng jiù 。 mò shǐ wǒ bèi hài 。 bǐ rén xiōng rú shī 。 tūn wǒ xīn fāng kuài 。 chú zhǔ fù hé shì 。 bù jiù wú qí dài 。 tǎng wú zēng wéi cǐ 。 yǒu zuì zài shuāng wàn 。 gǒu yǐ yuàn bào dé 。 wèi yǐ dé bào yuàn 。 rèn píng bǐ língnnüè 。 suī sǐ yì wú hàn 。 shēn bài bù zú lùn 。 míng liè gù suǒ yuàn 。 wǒ shí wèi wéi cǐ 。 qǐng zhǔ fèn shēn qǐ 。 wéi wǒ kàng zhòng dí 。 mò róng héng nì chì 。 yuàn zhǔ zuò cái pàn 。 gāo zuò ěr wáng wèi 。 zhòng mín yì huì jí 。 huán lì ěr zhōu wéi 。 dàn yuàn ruì zhé zhǔ 。 jiàn chá wǒ zhōng yì 。 àn zhào ěr gōng píng 。 bào dá wǒ chún cuì 。 yù shǐ è rén jù 。 bù gǎn xíng wú lǐ 。 yù shǐ yì rén xǐ 。 pèi rán zì fèn lì 。 wǒ zhǔ gù quán zhī 。 dòng xī rén fǔ fèi 。
zhǔ shì hù shēn dùn 。 yǒng bǎo zhèng zhí rén 。 tiān wēi hé xiǎn hè 。 cái pàn gōng qiě míng 。 mó dāo huò huò jiàn zài xián 。 rén bù huí tóu jiāng shòu xíng 。 bīng gē huǒ jiàn mò bù bèi 。 shuí néng bù wèi zhǔ zhī chēn 。 è rén rú rèn fù 。 lín rù shí zài jí 。 suǒ huái wéi huò tāi 。 suǒ chǎn nǎi yāo niè 。 xīn láo xìn rì zhuō 。 zì zhuì xiàn rén kū 。 bèi chū yì bèi rù 。 zì zhōng dú rén shì 。 chū ěr jìng fǎn ěr 。 zì shāng tóu rén shí 。 bào yīng hé zhāo zhù 。 sī háo wú shuǎng tè 。 yù sòng gōng píng zhǔ 。 yù yáng zhì zūn dé 。
With thanks to Simon Wong.
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