vision

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin and Greek that is translated as “vision” in English is translated in a variety in the following languages:

  • Chol: “as if in a dream” (source: Robert Bascom)
  • Obolo: ilaak ọkpọchieen̄ or “dreaming awake” (source: Enene Enene)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “a showing like dreams”
  • Desano: “see in a dream what God will send”
  • Rincón Zapotec: “see what God shows”
  • Mayo: “see things from God as in a dream”
  • Lalana Chinantec: “dream how it is going to be”
  • Chuj: “like dreaming they see”
  • San Mateo del Mar Huave: “understand what they see as if in a dream”
  • Ayutla Mixtec: “see that which will happen” (source for this and seven above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Tagbanwa: “being caused to dream by God” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Chichewa: azidzaona zinthu m’masomphenya: “they will see things as if face-to-face” (interconfessional translation, publ. 1999) (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 69)
  • Mandarin Chinese yì xiàng (异象 / 異象), lit. “different (or: strange) appearance.” (Source: Zetzsche)

The Greek in the books of Revelation and Acts is translated as obq-rmwible: “look-dream” in Natügu. Brenda Boerger (in Beerle-Moor / Voinov, p. 162ff.) tells the story of that translation: “In the book of Revelation, the author, John, talks about having visions. Mr. Simon [the native language translator] and I discussed what this meant and he invented the compound verb obq-rmwible ‘look-dream’ to express it. Interestingly, during village testing no one ever had to ask what this neologism meant.”

See also see a vision.

trumpet

The musical instrument that is most often translated as “trumpet” in English is translated in the following ways:

In the UBS Helps for Translators‘ Human-made Things in the Bible (original title: The Works of Their Hands: Man-made Things in the Bible) it says the following:

Description: The trumpet was a wind instrument, frequently used in signaling, especially in connection with war. It was made of metal (the trumpets mentioned in Numbers 10:2 et al. were made of silver). It was a straight, narrow tube, about 40-45 centimeters (16-18 inches) in length. One end had a mouthpiece, while the other end was widened into a bell shape.

Usage: The sound on the trumpet was made by blowing into the mouthpiece in such a way as to vibrate the lips. The vibrations were magnified as they passed along the widening body of the tube.

The purpose of the trumpet in Israel was primarily to signal. Numbers 10 lists a variety of occasions in which the trumpets were to be used, including signaling the people to break camp, calling all of the people together for a meeting, calling only the leaders together, sounding an alarm at the beginning of a battle, and blowing them for liturgical purposes during certain festivals. It is significant that it was the task of the priests to sound the trumpets.

Translation: Generally speaking, translators may distinguish between the Hebrew words chatsotsrah and shofar by rendering chatsotsrah as “trumpet” or “bugle” and shofar with a more generic word for “horn” or with “ram’s horn.” Note the following comment in Translation commentary on Psalm 98:4 – 98:6: “In some languages it will not be possible to make a distinction between the two Hebrew terms translated trumpets and horn. In such cases the local term for a horn will be used. The Greek Old Testament used only one term.”

The exact meaning of the Aramaic word qeren in Daniel 3:5 and following is debated. It probably refers to a brass wind instrument and is best rendered “horn.”

The present-day equivalent for the Greek word salpigx is “bugle.” A bugle is generally smaller than a trumpet and is often associated with the sounding of military signals.

Man blowing a trumpet (source: Horace Knowles (c) British and Foreign Bible Society 1954, 1967, 1972)

Quoted with permission.

See also trumpet / bugle.

complete verse (Daniel 7:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Daniel 7:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “As I watched this one, I saw the fourth animal. It was terrifying and so tough/frightening. It had huge teeth made of iron. It devoured (people) by these teeth and trampled on the remaining ones. This animal differed from the other three and it had ten horns.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “In the vision later [that] night, I saw a fourth animal. It seemed very strong and terrifying. With its iron teeth it tore its victims in pieces, ate them and as for what remained, it trampled it with its feet. It was different from the other three animals. It had ten horns. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Also that night, I saw in my vision the fourth animal. It was very scary/frightening to-look-at and very strong. It had big iron teeth. It bites and eats its victims, and if there were yet leftovers, it trampled. It was different from the three animals, and it had ten horns.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “In the vision I saw a fourth beast. It was stronger than the other beasts, and it was more terrifying. It crushed other creatures with its huge iron teeth and ate their flesh. The parts of animals that it did not grind with its teeth, it trampled on the ground. It was different from the other three beasts: It had ten horns on its head.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Daniel 7:7

After this I saw: while the Revised Standard Version rendering differs here, this verse begins exactly the same way as verse 6 in the original. See the comments on the beginning of the previous verse.

Night visions: this refers back to verse 2 and situates the vision being described. This information is not repeated here in Good News Translation.

Behold: see verse 2.

Terrible and dreadful and exceedingly strong: these three adjectives are used to describe the fourth beast. The first two have almost the same meaning and describe the reaction of awe and fear in those who see the beast. In some languages the two terms may be translated by a single expression such as “which provokes terror” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). The third descriptive term is reinforced by the use of the adverb “very” or “extremely.” It relates to the natural physical strength of the beast.

Great iron teeth: while some manuscript evidence adds “and claws of bronze,” few modern versions include these words. This is not recommended to translators.

Devoured and broke in pieces: the first of these two verbs carries the idea of eating like an animal, as in 4.33. The idea of eating has not been clearly translated in Good News Translation, but this should not be imitated in the receptor language. The second verb makes readers think of reducing to powder, or to small bits. The same word is found in 2.34, 45; 6.24. It may be rendered something like “shatter,” “fragment,” or “splinter.” This combination of verbs is repeated in verse 19 below.

Stamped … with its feet: in some languages this idea may be expressed as “trampled,” “stepped on,” or “stood on.”

The residue: that is, what was left of the victims. New Jerusalem Bible has “trampled their remains,” New Revised Standard Version “what was left.”

Different from all: or “totally different from the other beasts.” The difference is directly related to the fact that the fourth beast had ten horns. So in some languages translators may want to say “it was completely different from the other beasts because it had ten horns.”

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 .