their bodies are sound and sleek

The Hebrew in Psalm 73:4 that is translated as “their bodies are sound and sleek” or similar in English is literally “their bellies are fat” in its original meaning, which for instance the French Traduction œcuménique de la Bible translates directly: ils ont la panse bien grasse. Similarly, the Gbaya version translates this passage verbatim as “they are healthy and good fat sɛn-sɛn going along.” Sɛn-sɛn is an ideophone which refers to something shiny, glossy, or fatty.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

See also Translation commentary on Psalm 73:4 – 73:5.

complete verse (Psalm 73:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 73:4:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “They have no afflictions;
    their bodies are healthy and strong.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “They do not experience trouble,
    they are also strong and good to look at,
    and they are also healthy.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “Their bodies (are) healthy/[lit. good] and their death (is) not painful.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “They do not have suffering,
    and their bodies are good, and strong.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Hawapatwi na mateso,
    miili yao imenenepa iko na nguvu.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “Those people do not have any pains; they are always strong and healthy.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Psalm 73:4 - 73:5

The psalmist describes the wicked: they are free from pain, they are strong and healthy, and they are spared the troubles that others have (verses 4-5). In verse 4a the Hebrew word translated pangs is the plural of a form meaning “rope, bond” (see Isa 58.6), which is here used figuratively. The whole line a is “For there are no pains (or, ropes) in their death.” This is taken to mean that death holds no terror for them (see New Jerusalem Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). But the majority of translations prefer to divide the Masoretic text lemontam “for their death” into lamo tam “to them health,” the first word going with line a and the second one with line b (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New English Bible, Bible en français courant, and others).4-5 Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recognizes that this is a difficult verse and says the Masoretic text may be understood in two ways: (1) “(for there are no bonds) (leading them) to their death”; (2) “(for there are no torments) until their death.”

Verse 4b is literally “their bellies are fat,” indicating that the wicked are well-fed and healthy, not that they are necessarily overweight.

In translation it will often be advisable to use the noun phrase “the wicked,” since this reinforces the referent for the repeated use of they which occurs in verses 4-12. In fact, in many languages it will be necessary to reintroduce the noun referent several times in these verses. In Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation the two statements of verse 4 are simply in parallel, the first being negative and the second positive. In some languages it will be more natural to place the positive first, and the following negative to be understood as a consequence; for example, “They are sound and healthy and so do not suffer pain” or “Because they are sound and healthy, they do not suffer pain.”

In verse 5 the psalmist complains that the wicked escape the troubles and difficulties other people encounter; in line b the verb in Hebrew is “to touch, hit,” which means, here, to be struck by blows of misfortune and disaster. The word trouble occurs in line a of Revised Standard Version and line b of Good News Translation. This is because Good News Translation has chosen to translate the two parallel verbs as “suffer” and “not have the troubles,” whereas Revised Standard Version translates the second verb by the more literal are not stricken. Many languages use terms of perception to express both of these ideas; for example, “to see distress,” “to feel trouble,” “to taste difficulties,” “to smell anxiety.”

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 .