complete verse (Psalm 83:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 83:10:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “Who were destroyed at Endor
    and became like garbage.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “They were destroyed at Endor
    and they became fertilizer for the land.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “They died at Endor and their dead-bodies/corpses rotted/decomposed and became fertilizer for the land.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “who died in the town of Endor,
    and their bodies were rotten on the ground.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “ambao uliwangamiza katika Endori,
    maiti zao zikawa samadi katika nchi.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “You destroyed them at Endor town, and their corpses lay on the ground and decayed.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Psalm 83:9 - 83:12

In verses 9-18 the psalmist calls down on Israel’s present enemies the same defeats suffered by their enemies in the past. “The Midianites” (verse 9) were defeated by Gideon (Judges 6–8); Oreb and Zeeb were two Midianite princes killed by the Ephraimites (Judges 7.24-25); Zebah and Zalmunna were two Midianite kings whom Gideon killed personally (Judges 8.21).

Sisera was the commander of the army of Jabin, king of Hazor; Jabin’s army was defeated by Barak and Deborah at the river Kishon, while Sisera was killed by Jael, as he hid in Jael’s tent (Judges 4.1-24). En-dor is not mentioned in the account of the defeat of the Midianites in the book of Judges; it was a town near Mount Tabor, where the Israelites gathered before the battle against Sisera (Judges 4.12), and this may be the reason why it is mentioned here. Some emend the text to “En-Harod,” the place where Gideon camped with his army (Briggs, New English Bible; see Judges 7.1). It is better to stay with the Hebrew text as it is.

In verse 10b who became dung for the ground is a vivid way of expressing the fact that the corpses were not buried but left to rot where they fell (see similar expressions at 79.2-3).

If the one sentence of verses 11-12 is too long for a given language, a full stop can be placed at the end of verse 11, and verse 12 can begin “They said….” Verse 13 can then begin “Therefore” or “And so.”

The phrase pastures of God in verse 12b for the land of Israel recalls the idea of Israel as the flock of God, grazing in his pastures. An American Translation and Dahood take ʾelohim here as a superlative: “the very finest meadows.”

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 .