The Hebrew that is translated as “steadfast love,” “lovingkindness” (Goldingay 2018: “commitment”) or similar in English is translated in a number of ways:
Vidunda: “love of enduring” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Bura-Pabir: “love which cannot be-changed” (hyirkur na a palidzi wa)
HausaCommon Language Bible “his love without changing” (kaunarsa marar canjawa) (source for this and above: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
Elhomwe: “love that does not finish” (echikondi yoohisintheya) (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Nyamwezi: chelu, combining “love,” “faithfulness,” “loyalty,” and “kindness” (source: James Lundeen)
Newari: dayāmāyā (दयामाया), a compound word made from two Sanskrit-derived terms: dayā (दया) or “compassion, mercy, kindness” and māyā (माया) or “love, affection” (source: Newari Back Translation)
In Pijintinghevi long or “think heavy about” is used. “The Pijin expression ‘think heavy about’ is very much within the domain of committed relationships. The relationship between father and child, husband and wife, God and His people. There is a very strong element of ‘loyalty’ in this expression.” (Source: Bob Carter)
In Latvian the term žēlastība is used both for “steadfast love” and grace.
In a number of languages, the terms for for “steadfast love” and mercy are used interchangeably.
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin terms that are typically translated as “mercy” (or “compassion” or “kindness”) in English are translated in various ways. Bratcher / Nida classify them in (1) those based on the quality of heart, or other psychological center, (2) those which introduce the concept of weeping or extreme sorrow, (3) those which involve willingness to look upon and recognize the condition of others, or (4) those which involve a variety of intense feelings.
While the Englishmercy originates from the Latinmerces, originally “price paid,” Romance languages (Italian, Spanish, Corsican, Catalan, Friulian) and other Germanic languages (German, Swedish, Danish — Barmherzigkeit, barmhärtighet and barmhjertighed, respectively) tend to follow the Latin misericordia, lit. “misery-heart.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 89:33:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“But I will not remove my love on him,
or be unfaithful to him.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“But I have not shifted my love away from David.
And fulfilling the promise that I gave to him, I will not abandon [him].” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“But I will- still -love and will-stick-with/be-loyal to David.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Laarim:
“but, I will love him forever,
and I will not betray my words which I promised.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“lakini sitaacha kumpa neema yangu Daudi,
sitabadirisha ahadi yangu kwake.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“But I will not stop faithfully loving David, and I will always do what I promised him.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
God will punish those who do not keep the covenant, but he will not break the covenant: he will remain faithful to his promises. In verse 33 him refers to David, which Good News Translation makes explicit (see 2 Sam 7.15). In verse 33a the Masoretic text is “I will not break off”; many Hebrew manuscripts have the verb “take away,” as in 2 Samuel 7.15. In this verse again steadfast love and faithfulness are paired as the two outstanding characteristics of Yahweh in dealing with his people.
The translator should coordinate the rendering of violate my covenant with the expressions used and discussed at verse 31.
In verse 34b the Hebrew word translated the word that went forth is, like the English word “utterance,” derived from a verb meaning “to go out, emit.” Here, in parallel with my covenant in line a, it means “the promise I made (to him).”
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 .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.