Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing?/Does a lion roar in the forest unless he has found a victim? Does a young lion growl in his den unless he has caught something? These two pictures are not exactly the same. The lion’s roar in the first picture is the ferocious roar with which the lion attacks an animal he is going to kill and eat. When someone hears this roar, he knows that the lion has found his victim. In the second picture, however, it is the lion’s contented growl when he has dragged his food to his den.
Translation problems are mainly in vocabulary. In Hebrew there are two distinct nouns for a lion and a young lion, the first one a general term, the second more specific. The young lion is not a cub or whelp (for which there is also a specific term in Hebrew); he is old enough to go hunting. Many languages, like English, will not have a range of specific terms for lions, so the translator will have to use some word like “young” if he wants to bring out the distinction. However, in Hebrew the age of the lion is not important. There is no reason against translating a lion twice, if that sounds better. This is exactly what has been done in The Translator’s Old Testament, which adds a footnote: “Hebrew has two different words for a full-grown lion here. The second indicates one which is younger than the first.” Such a note, however, is not necessary. In some cases, translating as lion twice will sound better because the two questions will be more balanced, or, if young lion has an adjective, then the other term should have an adjective, too, like: “old lion,” or “mature lion.”
Finally, if the language has no word for lion, a more general term for “wild beast” can be used. It would be possible to add some comparative description such as “wild beast like a leopard,” but such a description may be disturbing rather than helpful, especially if the translation is in poetic form.
The Hebrew word translated by forest is a rather general term covering such specific terms as “scrub,” “bush,” “thicket,” and “forest.” In this context “scrub” is meant. If the receptor language has no specific word for this type of vegetation, a more general equivalent of “savannah” can be used.
The Hebrew term translated as den is a general term for “dwelling place,” used here for the place where a wild beast lives. The lion’s den is a hollow in the ground, hidden behind shrubs. Again, if the language lacks a specific term the translator may use a more general word for dwelling place, as in Hebrew.
Quoted with permission from de Waard, Jan & Smalley, William A. A Handbook on Amos. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1979. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .