complete verse (Exodus 26:29)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 26:29:

  • Kupsabiny: “Someone cover those frames with gold and make rings of gold to tighten/squeeze those runners. Someone cover also those runners with gold.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Then overlay the planks with gold. Also overlay the crossbar holding rings with gold. Overlay the crossbars with gold too.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Have-(someone)-cover-over the boards with gold and have-(someone)-put on them gold loops/things-like-rings which will-be-the-things-to-insert-through the crossbars. Have-(someone)- also -cover-over the crossbars with gold.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “And enwrap all the wall bones with wide pieces of gol. And on each of the pieces of wall bones toward the outside, you (pl.) must make gol ring-handles to be for the insertion of their fastening bands. And enwrap the fastening bands also with wide pieces of gol.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “That building-wood with it crossbeams, you shall apply it with gold red all. And you shall pound gold red [so that] it be bored hole, build it on building-wood, you shall put through crossbeam within it.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “Tell them to cover the frames with gold, and make gold rings to fasten the crossbars to the frames. The crossbars must also be covered with gold.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Exod 26:29

You shall overlay the frames with gold uses the same word for overlay in 25.11. (See the comment there.) And shall make their rings of gold is literally “and their rings you [singular] shall make gold.” For holders for the bars is literally “houses for the bars.” (The same expression is used in 25.27.) There may have been five rings on each frame to hold the five bars for each of the two sides and the far end.

And you shall overlay the bars with gold uses the same words as in the first clause. An alternative model reordering the clauses is the following: “Cover the frames and the crossbars with gold and attach gold rings to the frames to hold the crossbars.”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .