The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “soul” in English is translated in Chol with a term that refers to the invisible aspects of human beings (source: Robert Bascom), in Yagaria with oune or “shadow, reflection” (source: Renck, p. 81), and in Elhomwe as “heart” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
The Mandarin Chineselínghún (靈魂 / 灵魂), literally “spirit-soul,” is often used for “soul” (along with xīn [心] or “heart”). This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32, see also Clara Ho-yan Chan in this article )
In Chichewa, moyo means both “soul” and “life.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 7:5:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“then allow my enemies to chase me and overtake me,
allow them to trample my life to the ground
and you should put me to sleep on the dust.
Selah” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“May my enemies pursue me and catch me,
May they kill me by trampling me on the ground.
Sela” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“allow my enemies to-attack me and to-defeat-(me).
Allow them to-trample me until I die, and leave my corpse/dead-body on the ground.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Eastern Bru:
“but if I did like that, then it is right for them to capture and kill me. And it is right that they tear up my body.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
Laarim:
“but, let my enemy to chase me for long until he catch me.
let him to kill me
and I sleep in the dust.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“basi mwache adui yangu anifukuze, anishike,
anikanyagie katika udongo, aniue.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“allow my enemies to pursue me and capture me.
Allow them to trample me into the ground and leave me lying dead in the dirt. (Think about that!)” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “enemy” or “foe” in English is translated in the HausaCommon Language Bible as “friends of front,” i.e., the person standing opposite you in a battle. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
In North Alaskan Inupiatun it is translated with a term that implies that it’s not just someone who hates you, but one who wants to do you harm (Source: Robert Bascom), in Tarok as ukpa ìkum or “companion in war/fighting,” and in Ikwere as nye irno m or “person who hates me” (source for this and one above: Chuck and Karen Tessaro in this newsletter ).
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-kao (御顔) or “face (of God)” in the referenced verses.
The dynamics of the parallelism in verse 5 is that each successive line goes beyond the previous line in intensity. In this verse the psalmist declares himself ready to be attacked and even to be killed by his enemies if he is guilty of any of the charges brought against him. The psalmist says “Let my enemies pursue me and catch me; in fact, let them beat me to death, and even leave my dead body in the dust.”
Pursue is the verb used also in verse 1; the Hebrew text is “pursue my nefesh” (see comments on 3.2).
To the ground and in the dust are parallel. This is a vivid description of being beaten or trampled to death.
The verb lay translates the causative form of the verb “to live (somewhere), to dwell,” meaning “to place.” It may be that what is literally “cause to live in the dust” means “cause to live in Sheol”; so Dahood, who takes “dust” (or “mud,” as he prefers) as one of the names for Sheol (as it clearly is in 22.15, “dust of death”). New International Version “and make me sleep in the dust” can be misunderstood.
My soul translates the Hebrew “my glory” (see comments on 3.3). It is parallel to “my nefesh” (line a) and my life (line b); all three are ways of speaking of the individual. For the last line New Jerusalem Bible has “and lay my body in the dust.”
In some languages it will not be possible to translate verses 3-4 as a series of conditional clauses to be followed by the consequential clauses of verse 5 without badly distorting the meaning. However, the translator should seek to reformulate the three verses so that the relations between them as well as the buildup of intensity in verse 5 is evident to the readers. Therefore in some languages it is necessary to relate the commands of verse 5 to each of the “if” clauses in verse 3. Also, in languages where the “if” clause must follow the command, a further step in restructuring is required; for example, “let my enemies pursue me and catch me if I have wronged anyone; let them cut me down and kill me if I have betrayed a friend; let them leave me lifeless on the ground if I have shown mercy to someone who wronged me unjustly.” Alternatively, some languages express apparent conditions in the following manner: “I may have betrayed a friend; in that case let my enemies pursue me” or “It is possible that I betrayed a friend; if I did that, then let my enemies pursue me….”
Selah: see comments on 3.2.
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.
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)
John Wu Ching-hsiung himself talks about his celebrated and much-admired (though difficult-to-understand) translation in his aforementioned autobiography: (Click or tap here to see)
“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):
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