33Immediately the sentence was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven away from human society, he ate grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails became like birds’ claws.
The term that is transliterated as “Nebuchadnezzar” in English is translated in American Sign Language with the signs for “king” and one signifying a wavy beard, referring to the common way of wearing a beard in Mesopotamia (see here ). (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Nebuchadnezzar” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting “idol in my image,” referring to Daniel 3:1. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Daniel 4:33:
Kupsabiny: “Those things were Immediately fulfilled. I was driven away from people and went to graze like a cow. Dew drenched on me and my hair grew like feathers of a harrier eagle and my nails became long like the claws of an eagle.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The prophecy [lit.: matter] concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled immediately. He was driven out from among men, and he started eating grass like cows and oxen. His body was drenched with dew and his hair became like the feathers of an eagle, and [his] fingernails like bird’s claws. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Immediately it happened to Nebuchadnezzar. He was-driven-away from the people and [he] grazed grass like the cattle/cow. His body was always drenched with dew, and his hair grew like the hair of an eagle and his nails like the nails/claw of the bird.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Immediately what God predicted happened. Nebuchadnezzar became insane, so his advisors forced him to live away from other people. He ate grass like cows do, and dew from the sky caused his body to be damp/wet every morning. He lived like that until his hair was as long as eagles’ feathers, and his fingernails became like birds’ claws.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Immediately: literally “At that moment.” Compare “At that very moment” (Revised English Bible), “Instantly” (Moffatt), “There and then” (New Jerusalem Bible), “At once” (New American Bible), and “At that same instant” (Bible en français courant).
The word was fulfilled: the word is singular in form but has a collective meaning and should therefore be translated as a plural in many languages. Revised English Bible translates “this judgement came upon Nebuchadnezzar.” Another way of saying this may be “what had been predicted actually happened.”
He was driven from among men: see verse 25.
Till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers: the figurative language used here may be more naturally translated by a different image or by an emphatic nonfigurative statement such as “very, very long” or “remarkably lengthy.” However, some languages may natural similes that would be appropriate to describe the length or fullness of a person’s hair. (See below)
His nails were like birds’ claws: it may be important in some instances to say in what way the king’s nails resembled the claws of birds. As in the case of the hair, the focus is probably on their length rather than the sharpness or danger they may be to others.
It may be noted that New English Bible reads “until his hair grew long like goat’s hair and his nails like eagles’ talons.” This, however, is not a rendering of the Aramaic but of a conjecture of what the original text might have been, and it has been rejected by Revised English Bible. Translators are therefore advised to stay with the traditional reading reflected in Revised English Bible and most other versions.
Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René & Ellington, John. A Handbook on Daniel. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
The reference here to Nebuchadnezzar’s hair growing “as long as an eagle’s feathers” may seem a strange one, since the eagles indigenous to the land of Israel have rather neat-looking heads, and the large vultures have either short bristles on their heads or are bald. The comparison may be to the small Egyptian vulture, which has very untidy long feathers on its head and neck, or perhaps to the Long-crested Eagle Lophaetus occipitalis, which is very common all over eastern and southern Africa, as far north as Ethiopia and Sudan.
In those parts of Africa where the Egyptian vulture or the long-crested eagle are known, the name for either one would fit this context well. Elsewhere an expression such as “his hair grew as long as an eagle’s feathers” is probably the best alternative.
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