“Sheep are known throughout most of the world, even though, as in Central Africa, they are a far cry from the fleecy wool-producing animals of colder climates. Where such animals are known, even by seemingly strange names, e.g. ‘cotton deer’ (Yucateco) or ‘woolly goat’ (Inupiaq), such names should be used. In some instances, one may wish to borrow a name and use a classifier, e.g. ‘an animal called sheep’. In still other instances translators have used ‘animal which produces wool’, for though people are not acquainted with the animals they are familiar with wool.” (Source: Bratcher / Nida)
In Dëne Súline, it is usually translated as “an evil little caribou.” To avoid the negative connotation, a loan word from the neighboring South Slavey was used. (Source: NCEM, p. 70)
Note that the often-alleged Inuktitut translation of “sheep” with “seal” is an urban myth (source Nida 1947, p. 136).
The English that is translated as “says the Lord” or “says the Lord God” is translated in some influential French translations as oracle de Yahvé (La Bible de Jérusalem) oracle du Seigneur (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), and oracle de l’Éternel (Nouvelle Version Segond Révisée 1978) or “oracle (authoritative statement) of YHWH (or: the Lord).”
Timothy Lloyd Wilt (in The Bible Translator 1999, p. 301ff. ) describes the Hebrew ne’um (adonay) YHWH (quoting S. Meier, 1992) as “a highly marked expression (…) Hebrew does not characteristically repunctuate quoted discourse with reminders of the quote’s source, making this particle’s function quite distinctive and certainly unique in its frequency and distribution.”
The French translations above are emulating this with their distinct wording containing the French oracle.
Similarly, the French translation by Chouraqui uses harangue de or “harangue (or: ‘sermon’) of YHWH” and the English translation by Fox uses Utterance of YHWH. Both of these translations are Jewish translations that attempt to emulate the Hebraic nature of the original text. (Source: Drew Maust) Likewise, the translation by Goldingay (2018) has Yahweh’s declaration, typically set in parentheses: (Yahweh’s declaration).
The translation into Kera marks this by using the equivalent of “the words of me, YHWH” (source: Jackie Hainaut) and a language in West Africa, belonging to the Mande language family, uses a honorific form of “say,” that is only used for speech from God or his prophets. Both of these languages are spoken in francophone Africa.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 23:1:
Kupsabiny: “It is very bad for those rulers/kings who destroy and scatter the people of God!” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The LORD, the God of Israel said, ‘You (plur.) are-to-be-pitied leaders/[lit. heads] of my people! You (plur.) are like the ones-who-watch the sheep who kill and scatter the sheep. So because you (plur.) have-scattered my people and did- not -take-care, I will-punish you (plur.). Yes, I will-punish you (plur.) because of the wickedness you (plur.) have-done.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Yahweh declares, ‘Terrible things will happen to the leaders of my people—those who are like shepherds of the people who are like my sheep—because they have scattered my people and sent them away, and have not taken care of them.” (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.
Woe: See 4.13, 31; the expression was last used in 22.13, where Good News Translation rendered it as “Doomed.” Here Good News Translation translates “How terrible will be the LORD’s judgment on….”
Shepherds (see 2.18; 3.15; 22.22) is translated “rulers” by Good News Translation. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “the leading men among my people.” Whereas Good News Translation does away completely with the figure of shepherd and sheep, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch follows with the figure: “Like shepherds who don’t care, they allow my flock to be scattered and destroyed.” The sheep and shepherd image is so common in the Bible that most translators do try to retain it. One way is to use a simile, as in “How terrible for those rulers who destroy my people and let them be scattered. They are like shepherds scattering and destroying my sheep.”
For says the LORD, see 1.8.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
or “harangue (or: ‘sermon’) of YHWH” and the
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