cubit

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) and in Bariai into leoa or “fathom,” which comprises the distance from a person’s fingertip to fingertip with arms outstretched, app. 6 feet (source: Bariai Back Translation).

scroll

The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek that is translated in English as “scroll” is translated in Khoekhoe with xamiǂkhanisa or “rolled-up book” (source: project-specific notes in Paratext) and in Newari as “paper that has been rolled up” (source: Newari Back Translation).

See also roll up the scroll.

distance (long / wide / high)

The concepts of distance that are translated in English with “long,” “wide,” and “high/tall” are translated in Kwere with one word: utali. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Zechariah 5:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Zechariah 5:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then the angel asked me, ‘What are you seeing?’ I answered, ‘I am seeing a book that is flying up there in heaven. That book has a length of thirty feet and a width of fifteen feet.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The angel asked me, "what do you see?"
    I answered, ‘I see a scroll flying. Its length is about 9 meters long and 4.5 meters wide."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The angel asked me, ‘What did- you (sing.) -see?’ I answered, ‘I saw the rolled-up writings that fly, that was about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The angel asked me, ‘What do you see?’
    I replied, ‘I see a flying scroll that is huge, 10 yards/9 meters long and 5 yards/4.5 meters wide.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Zechariah 5:2

And he said to me, “What do you see?”: See the comments on the same words in 4.2. He refers to the same angel as in the previous vision. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version make that clear in English by saying “The angel,” and many translators will need to do the same.

The words I answered translate the same Hebrew expression as that translated “I said” in 4.2. In reporting a conversation, the word answered is more natural in English, and translators should be aware of stylistic points of this kind.

I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its breadth ten cubits: This reply makes it clear that the scroll was not rolled up, but completely unrolled; otherwise, the prophet would not have known its size. The size given, twenty cubits by ten cubits, is much larger than any normal scroll would be. These measurements are in fact the same as those of the entrance hall of Solomon’s Temple (1 Kgs 6.3), though it does not seem possible to draw any conclusion from the similarity. Good News Translation translates the measurements into modern units. The cubit was about seventeen and a half inches, so in the American editions of Good News Translation, the size is given as “thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide” (compare Moffatt, New International Version, New Living Translation, Contemporary English Version). In the British and Australian editions, which use metric measurements, the size is given as “nine metres long and four and a half metres wide.” Since the size in cubits is in round figures, some think this is calculated too precisely. Translators who use metric measurements may also consider following the example of Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente and give the size in round figures as ten meters long and five meters wide.

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Zechariah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .