human head hair

The Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew that is translated as “hair” in English is translated in Tzeltal as stsotsil sjol (Tzeltal de Oxchuc y Tenejapa) / stsotsel sjol (Tzeltal Bachajón): “blanket for the head.” (Source: Slocum / Watkins 1988, p. 35)

See also hair (body hair) and hairy (like Esau).

lion

There are no lions in Bawm country, so the Bawm Chin translation uses “a tiger with a mane” where the Greek term for “lion” is used and in Sranan Tongo the “roaring lion” in 1 Peter 5:8 is a krasi tigri, an “aggressive tiger.”

In the Kahua culture, lions are not known either so the Kahua translation used “fierce animal.”

In 1 Peter 5:8, the Uripiv translation uses “a hungry shark” instead of a roaring lion.

Sources: David Clark for Bawm Chin and Kahua, Japini 2015, p. 33, for Sranan Tongo, and Ross McKerras for Uripiv)

complete verse (Revelation 9:8)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 9:8:

  • Uma: “Their hair was like the hair of women, their teeth were like a lion’s teeth.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Their hair is long like a woman’s hair. Their teeth are strong like a lion’s teeth.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Their hair seemed to be like women’s hair, and their teeth seemed to be the teeth of a lion.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Their hair, it was very-long like a woman’s hair, and their teeth, they were like the teeth of a lion.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “They had lots of hair like women do. Their teeth were like the teeth of a fierce leon.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “They have hair like that of women. their teeth are like the teeth of lions.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 9:7 – 9:8

Revised Standard Version has one long sentence for verses 7-9. In most languages it will be preferable to have several sentences.

The description of these locusts shows that they are really demonic beings that swarm and fly like huge locusts.

In appearance the locusts were like horses arrayed for battle: see Joel 2.4. A war horse was often given protective covering, including a breast shield, and sometimes had ornaments on its bridle. The Greek verb translated arrayed means “prepared,” “made ready.” The simplest way to translate is to say something like “These locusts looked like (war) horses, ready to go into battle.” Battle in some languages will be rendered in a similar way to the English expression “battlefield,” namely, the place for fighting. An alternative translation model for this clause, then, is “These locusts looked like (war) horses ready to go where men were fighting.”

Crowns of gold: see 4.4; 6.2.

Their faces were like human faces: this probably means the whole head (including the ears) and not just the face as such.

Hair like women’s hair: that is, long and wavy.

Teeth like lions’ teeth: big and sharp (see Joel 1.6). For lion see 4.7.

A traveler in 1772 reported that an Arab from the desert described the locust as follows: “He compared the head of a locust with the head of a horse, its breast with the breast of a lion, its feet with the feet of a camel, its body with the body of a snake, its tail with the tail of a scorpion, its antennae with the hair of a maiden” (cited by Beasley-Murray).

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 .