complete verse (Psalm 70:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 70:3:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “All who are saying to me that, ‘Aha, aha,’
    let them return because of their shame.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “May the ones who jeer at me saying "Aha!"
    be ashamed and frustrated.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “May-it-be that those (who) mock me will-turn-away because they are-ashamed.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “Would you give people who laugh at me
    to go back, because of their shame.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Ambao wanasema, ‘Tazameni!’
    washindwe na kuaibika sana.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “I hope/ desire that you will cause them to become dismayed and ashamed
    because you have defeated them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Psalm 70:1 - 70:3

In verse 1 God and LORD are used; in 40.13 “LORD” is used twice. In verse 1a in Revised Standard Version Be pleased is taken from 40.13; the word is not used here. The Hebrew text has simply “O God, to deliver me.”

Good News Translation “who try to kill me” in verse 2 translates “who seek my nefesh,” whereas 40.14 has “who seek to snatch away my nefesh”; the meaning in both places is the same. And the word translated “completely” in 40.14 is not used here. In languages which do not use passive constructions it will often be necessary to recast line b; for example, “I ask that you defeat and confuse the people who try to kill me.”

Let them be turned back refers to the defeat of the psalmist’s enemies and in some languages may be expressed as “stop them and cause them to run away.” Dishonor is sometimes translated “to take away their praise” or “to remove their greatness and make them unimportant.”

In verse 3b “to me” of 40.15 does not appear, but the meaning is the same. People are making fun of the psalmist. Verse 3 requires considerable restructuring, particularly in languages which do not use the passive voice; for example, one may say “I ask that you defeat people who make fun of me, and cause them to have burning faces.”

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 .