sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

In Malagasy culture, the sea is perceived as sacred because it was a path taken by the ancestors. That is why the Malagasy word for the “sea” is ranomasina, which literally means “the sacred water.” The word masina actually has two different meanings: “salted” and “sacred/holy.” Salt is used for the conservation of some foods, such as meat or fish, that are to be set aside for later use. In this sense, the Malagasy phrase for “Holy Spirit” has the literal meaning of “Salted Spirit.” (Source: Brigitte Rabarijaona in The Bible Translator 2022, p. 103ff.)

Translation commentary on Sirach 18:10

Like a drop of water from the sea and a grain of sand so are a few years in the day of eternity: The Revised Standard Version footnote indicates that the Greek word rendered grain means “pebble,” that is, a small rock. But since English does not talk of pebbles of sand, it is translated a grain of sand. Good News Translation effectively links this verse with the preceding one. Other ways of doing this are:

• but compared to all eternity, even a hundred years is like a drop of water in the ocean or a single grain of sand.

• But when we compare a hundred years to all eternity [or, time that goes on forever], it is like a drop of water….

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Sirach. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.