The Greek and Hebrew phrases that are often translated as “birds of the air” in English “refer to the undomesticated song birds or wild birds, to be distinguished in a number of languages from domesticated fowl. In Tzeltal these former are ‘field birds’.” (source: Bratcher / Nida)
Q’anjob’al also uses an established term for non-domesticated birds. Newberry and Kittie Cox (in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 91ff. ) explain: “Qʼanjobʼal has two distinct terms, one to identify domesticated birds and the other non-domesticated birds. The additional descriptive phrase ‘of the air’ seemed entirely misleading, for Qʼanjobʼal speakers had never heard of such creatures. Actually, of course, all that was necessary was the term for non-domesticated birds, for that is precisely the meaning of the Biblical expression.”
In Elhomwe they are just translated as “birds” or “birds of the bush” (i.e., wild birds) to “not give the impression that these are special type of birds.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated in English as “wild animal” or similar is translated in Newari as “animal that lives in the jungle.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 32:4:
Kupsabiny: “I will make you be pulled out and thrown in an open field. Animals of the bush and vultures shall eat you.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I will-throw you into the ground and cause-to-be-eaten by the birds and wild animals.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “They will throw you into a field to die; I will allow the birds to sit on you, and all the wild animals will eat the flesh of your corpse until their stomachs are full.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
And I will cast you on the ground: For the Hebrew verb rendered cast (literally “abandon”), see the comments on 29.5. This verb implies that God (or the people helping him) will take the sea monster (Pharaoh) out on to dry land and leave it there. Translators may say “I will throw your body down on to the ground.” By now it is assumed that the monster is dead, so some languages may need to say “I will throw your dead body….”
On the open field I will fling you: The Hebrew word for open field may refer to an open area, or simply the bush. The Hebrew verb rendered fling has the explicit idea of “throwing” to the ground. This line may be combined with the previous one by saying “I will throw your [dead] body on to the ground in the bush [or, in an open area] and leave you there.” These two lines form a common pattern in Hebrew poetry in which the second line reverses the order of the first one to make the statement even stronger. Cast at the beginning of the first line is parallel to fling at the end of the second one; likewise, on the ground at the end of the first line is parallel with on the open field at the beginning of the second one. Translators can retain some of the impact of this structure by saying “I will throw your body down on the ground. Yes, I will leave it lying there in the bush.”
And will cause all the birds of the air to settle on you: God will let the birds perch and live on the monster’s dead body. New Century Version says “I will let the birds of the sky rest on you.” Another possible model is “I will let the birds perch on your [dead] body.” For the birds of the air, see 29.5.
And I will gorge the beasts of the whole earth with you means God will allow the wild animals to eat as much as they like of the monster’s dead body until they are satisfied. New Century Version says “I will let … all the animals of the earth eat you until they are full.” It should be understood that the birds also will be allowed to peck at and eat the dead body, so Good News Translation combines the last two lines of this verse, saying “and bring all the birds and animals of the world to feed on you” (similarly Contemporary English Version). For the beasts of the whole earth, see the comments on 29.5. The only difference is that this phrase refers to “all of the wild animals” (New International Reader’s Version).
Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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