The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek that is translated as “cubit” or into a metric or imperial measurement in English is translated in Kutu, Kwere, and Nyamwezi as makono or “armlength.” Since a cubit is the measurement from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, one armlength (measured from the center of the chest to the fingertips) equals two cubits or roughly 1 meter. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Similarly, in Akoose, the translation is “arm distance.” (Source: Joseph Nkwelle Ngome and Marlie van Rooyen & Jacobus A. Naudé in Communicatio 2009, p. 251ff.)
In Klao it is converted into “hand spans” (app. 6 inches or 12 cm) and “finger spans” (app. 1 inch or 2 cm). (Source: Don Slager)
Apali: “God’s one with talk from the head” (“basically God’s messenger since head refers to any leader’s talk”) (source: Martha Wade)
Michoacán Nahuatl: “clean helper of God” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
Noongar: Hdjin-djin-kwabba or “spirit good” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Wè Northern (Wɛɛ): Kea ‘a “sooa or “the Lord’s soldier” (also: “God’s soldier” or “his soldier”) (source: Drew Maust)
Iwaidja: “a man sent with a message” (Sam Freney explains the genesis of this term [in this article ): “For example, in Darwin last year, as we were working on a new translation of Luke 2:6–12 in Iwaidja, a Northern Territory language, the translators had written ‘angel’ as ‘a man with eagle wings’. Even before getting to the question of whether this was an accurate term (or one that imported some other information in), the word for ‘eagle’ started getting discussed. One of the translators had her teenage granddaughter with her, and this word didn’t mean anything to her at all. She’d never heard of it, as it was an archaic term that younger people didn’t use anymore. They ended up changing the translation of ‘angel’ to something like ‘a man sent with a message’, which is both more accurate and clear.”)
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) is used as in mi-tsukai (御使い) or “messenger (of God).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 21:17:
Uma: “He also measured the fort of the village: its height was one hundred forty-four cubits–or about sixty meters. The measure that the angel used is the same as the measure used by men.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “The angel also measured the wall. Its height was forty deppe (60 meter) in our (dual) measure because he used a human measure for his measuring.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “He measured the height of the wall, and its height was sixty meters according to our (incl.) way of measuring because that is what he used.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “He also measured the stonewall of the town, and its height was sixty six meters. The meter which was the measure that the angel used, it was the same as the meter that people use-to-measure.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “The angel also measured the walls, some sixty-five mitru, according to men’s measure for that was the kind of measure being used by that angel.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “He measured the wall which went around the city then, with the measurements people use. It came out to be sixty-four meters.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits: Good News Translation takes this distance (216 feet) to be the height of the wall (also New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant, Phillips). It may, however, refer to its thickness (New International Version, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). Some commentators make the point that, for a city that is 1,500 miles tall, a wall only 216 feet (66 meters) tall is so small that it seems foolish. But it is also pointed out that the wall, in this case, is not for the protection of the city (inasmuch as the gates stay open all the time) but for its demarcation. In any case, the notion of height is preferable to that of thickness. A translation should opt for one or the other; simply to say, as Revised Standard Version and others say, a hundred and forty-four cubits (or, 216 feet, or 66 meters), without indicating that this is the height, does not qualify as a translation. An alternative translation model is “He also determined the height (or, thickness) of the wall (or, fence). It was 216 feet (or, 66 meters).”
A man’s measure, that is, an angel’s: the meaning here is that the measurement used by the angel was the normal one used at that time; it was not a special angelic measurement. New Revised Standard Version now has “by human measurement, which the angel was using”; New American Bible, Revised “according to the standard unit of measurement the angel used”; New Jerusalem Bible “by human measurements.” Or the translation can be “according to the way people measure things.”
The purpose of the footnote at the end of verse 17 in Good News Translation is to allow the reader to appreciate the fact that the numbers 12,000 and 144, in verses 16 and 17, may have symbolic value, since they are both multiples of twelve (12 x 1000; 12 x 12), a number in the Bible that indicates completeness. This fact can be carried over into translation by using the biblical terms stadia and cubits; but neither of them, in English at least, is in current usage. But the two can be used, and in footnotes the modern equivalents may be given. One translation has tried to represent the text by saying “12,000 kilometers … 144 arm’s lengths” (an “arm’s length” in that language is a standard measure). This may be possible in other languages.
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
And he measured its wall to be 144 cubits: The Greek does not say which measurement of the wall is 144 cubits. The Berean Standard Bible and some English versions (Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition, God’s Word, NET Bible, English Standard Version, King James Version) translate the Greek literally. For example, the Revised Standard Version says:
He also measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits
Other English versions interpret this measurement in two ways:
(1) The measurement refers to the height of the wall. For example:
He measured its wall, and this was a hundred and forty-four cubits high (New Jerusalem Bible)
(2) The measurement refers to the thickness of the wall, as in the Berean Standard Bible. For example:
Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick (New Living Translation (2004))
If you interpret this measurement, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because 21:12 speaks of a great, high wall.
144 cubits: A “cubit” is a measure of length from a man’s fingertip to his elbow. One cubit is about 45 centimeters (1.5 feet). So this phrase refers to about 66 meters (216 feet). You may want to:
• Use the Jewish unit of measure as the Berean Standard Bible does. You may then want to explain the distance in a footnote. For example:
This is about 66 meters. -or-
This is 216 feet.
• Use the common unit of measure in your area. For example:
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