coat of mail

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “coat of mail” or similar in English is translated in Newari as “iron sheet” (source: Newari Back Translation).

army

The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin that is translated as “army” in English is translated in Chichewa as “group of warriors.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

complete verse (Jeremiah 51:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 51:3:

  • Kupsabiny: “Do (plur.) not allow/grant the soldiers of Babylon
    the chance to bend their bows,
    nor to put on their clothes for battle.
    Do (plur.) not spare/have mercy on its young people,
    but destroy them completely.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They no longer give an opportunity the archers of Babilonia to be able to use their bows or their spears. They will- not ever -spare/leave any young men. They will- completely -destroy the entire soldiers of Babilonia.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I will tell them, ‘Do not allow the archers of Babylon to have time to put on their armor
    or draw their bows.
    Do not spare the young men of Babylon.
    Completely destroy their army.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 51:3

Let not the archer bend his bow, and let him not stand up in his coat of mail: The first half of this verse is difficult and perhaps ungrammatical. As it is in the standard Hebrew text, we may render it “Against let bend the bowman his bow and against let him stand up in his armor.” One aspect of the problem is that the word translated “against” (ʾel in Hebrew) may be read with a different vowel to mean “not” (ʾal in Hebrew), which would yield the rendering “do not let the bowman bend his bow and do not let him stand up in his armor.” Other problems also exist, but this one is basic, and the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project Committee is divided in its decision. In either case, the command must be understood as given to the attacking army, something that Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch states directly: “I give his enemies this command:….” Both New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh (“Let the archer draw his bow, And let him stand ready in his coat of mail!”) and New American Bible (“Let the bowman draw his bow, and flaunt his coat of mail”) follow the Hebrew text, which has “against.” On the other hand, Good News Translation (“Don’t give its soldiers time to shoot their arrows or to put on their armor”) and New Jerusalem Bible (“Let no archer bend his bow! Let no man swagger in his breastplate!”) prefer the form of the text which uses the negative. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “Shoot down all of their archers and all of their proud warriors dressed in armor!”

Coat of mail may be rendered as “armor” or “clothing which protects in battle.” See 46.4.

Spare not her young men; utterly destroy all her host: Since the word host is a way of referring to an army, it seems probable that young men is best taken of soldiers, as in “Do not spare their young soldiers, exterminate their army!” (Bible en français courant).

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 .