vanity

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “vanity,” “emptiness,” “breath,” or similar in English is translated in Mandarin Chinese as xūkōng (虚空) or “hollow,” “empty.” This is a term that is loaned from Buddhist terminology where it is used for Akasha (Sanskrit: आकाश). (Source: Zetzsche)

complete verse (Psalm 78:33)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 78:33:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “Then God lessened their days that they fade away like breath.
    He lessened their years that they end in afflictions.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “So God rendered them useless
    and they were caused to live [their lives]
    in nothing but fear.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “So he just suddenly/[Hil. gulpi] ended their lives by means-of sudden/[Hil. hinali] destruction.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “So he gave their life to be short,
    they only found fear in all years.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Basi akaufupisha uhai wao,
    miaka ya uhai wao kuwa ya maafa.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “So, he caused their lives to end as quickly as a puff of wind ends;
    they died when disasters suddenly struck them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Honorary are / rare constructs denoting God (“make it end”)

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 Japanese show different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morphemes rare (られ) or are (され) are affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, owarase-rare-ru (終わらせられる) or “make it end” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Psalm 78:32 - 78:33

Neither God’s anger nor his goodness could guarantee the people’s faithful obedience. They still sinned and did not believe in him, even after the miracles he had performed. Verse 32b could mean, as New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translate, “they did not believe his miracles.” If this is the meaning adopted by the translator, the sense would be “they did not believe that these were miracles performed by God.”

Again God’s anger at them flared up, and he killed them (verse 33). Like a breath translates a word (hebel) that means primarily a breath, a puff of wind (see 39.5c, 11c; 62.9a, d); it also means in vain, for nothing (see 39.6b)–a keyword in Ecclesiastes. Here it may mean, as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have it (also Weiser, Dahood, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy), that God destroyed them as though they were no more substantial or lasting than a breath, a puff of wind (New American Bible “quickly”; so Briggs). But this does not offer as close a parallel with the next line as “with a breath” (see Bible en français courant), that is, “he snuffed out their lives” (New English Bible). New Jerusalem Bible has “He made their days end in futility.”

The poetic euphemism for killing, made their days vanish, is a case of substituting their days for “the days of their lives.” In some languages it will be necessary to avoid the euphemism and repeat “God killed them” from verse 31. There is a poetic progression from their days to their years.

In verse 33b Good News Translation “sudden disaster” translates a word rarely used in the Old Testament; Revised Standard Version has in terror, and New Jerusalem Bible has “sudden death”; Bible en français courant “he put an end to their life with a sudden disaster.”

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 .