The Hebrew and Greek that is mostly translated as “virgin” in English can be translated as “woman that is untouched” in Batak Toba or “a woman with a whole (i.e. unopened) body” in Uab Meto.
“Similar words for ‘girl,’unmarried young woman,’ suggesting virginity without explicitly stating it, are found in Marathi, Apache, or Kituba. Cultural features naturally influence connotations of possible renderings, for instance, the child marriage customs in some Tboli areas, where the boy and girl are made to sleep together at the initial marriage, but after that do not live together and may not see each other again for years. Hence, the closest attainable equivalent, ‘female adolescent,’ does not imply that a young girl is not living with her husband, and that she never had a child, but leaves uncertain whether she has ever slept with a male person or not. Accordingly, in Luke one has to depend on Luke 1:34 to make clear that Mary and Joseph had not had sexual intercourse. A different problem is encountered in Pampanga, where birhen (an adaptation of Spanish virgen — ‘virgin’), when standing alone, is a name of the ‘Virgin Mary.’ To exclude this meaning the version uses “marriageable birhen,” thus at the same time indicating that Mary was relatively young.” (Source: Reiling / Swellengrebel, see here)
In Navajo (Dinė), the term that is used is “no husband yet” (Source: Wallis, p. 106) and in Gola the expression “trouser girl.” “In the distant past young women who were virgins wore trousers. Those who were not virgins wore dresses. That doesn’t hold true anymore, but the expression is still there in the language.” (Source: Don Slager)
The term in Djimini Senoufo is katogo jo — “village-dance-woman” (women who have been promised but who are still allowed to go to dances with unmarried women). (Source: Übersetzung heute 3/1995)
In Igbo translations, typically a newly-created, multi-word phrase is used that very explicitly states that there has not been any sexual relations and that translates as “a woman (or: maiden) who does not know a man.” This is in spite of the fact that there is a term (agb͕ọghọ) that means “young woman” and has the connotation of her not having had sexual relations (this is for instance used by the Standard Igbo Bible of the Bible Society of Nigeria for Isaiah 7:14). Incidentally, the euphemistic expression “know” (ma in Igbo) for “having sex” has become a well-known euphemism outside of Bible translation. (Source: Uchenna Oyali in Sociolinguistic Studies Vol. 17 No. 1-3 (2023): Special Issue: Gender and sexuality in African discourses )
In Chichewa, it is translated as namwali which is used to refer to a girl who has reached puberty stage and is ready to get married. Apart from the physical aspect, the word also has social implications in the sense that it is used to recognize the fact that the girl has become responsible enough to make informed decisions and take care of herself and others. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
The Hebrew text of Lamentations 1-4 uses acrostics, a literary form in which each verse is started with one of the successive 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. According to Brenda Boerger (in Open Theology 2016, p. 179ff. ) there are three different reasons for acrostics in the Hebrew text: “for ease of memorization,” the representation “of the full breadth and depth of a topic, all the way from aleph to taw (tav),” and the perception of “the acrostic form as aesthetically attractive.” (p. 191)
While most translations mention the existence of an acrostic in a note or a comment, few implement it in their translation. One such exception is the DanishBibelen på Hverdagsdansk (publ. 1985, rev. 2015 et al.).
Click or tap here for Lamentations 1 in Danish
1 Ak ja, den travle by er nu folketom.
Den storslåede by sidder tilbage som en fattig enke.
Dronningen blandt byer blev degraderet til tjenestepige.
2 Byen jamrer og græder natten lang.
Ingen kommer for at trøste hende i sorgen.
Alle de gamle venner har svigtet hende.
3 Det judæiske folk blev mishandlet og ført bort som slaver.
De vansmægter nu i det fremmede uden at finde hvile.
De kunne ikke undslippe, da fjenden oversvømmede byen.
4 Efter at templet blev ødelagt, er det forbi med højtid og fest.
Vejene op til Jerusalem er øde, og byens gader tomme.
Præsterne sørger, pigerne græder, hele byen er fortvivlet.
5 Fjenderne gik af med sejren og plyndrede byen.
Det var Herrens straf for al folkets ulydighed.
Alle byens indbyggere blev ført bort som slaver.
6 Glansen er fuldstændig gået af den før så herlige by.
Byens ledere var udhungrede som hjorte, der forgæves leder efter føde.
De var for udmattede til at undslippe deres forfølgere.
7 Hjemløs og fattig sidder Jerusalem og mindes de skatte, hun har mistet.
Ingen af hendes venner kom hende til hjælp mod fjendens angreb.
Hun blev hånet og spottet af den overlegne fjende.
8 Ingen vil længere se op til Jerusalem, som de gjorde engang.
Hun blev ydmyget og plyndret på grund af sine mange synder.
Nu sidder hun og jamrer, afklædt og skamfuld.
9 Jerusalem var utro mod Herren uden at tænke på følgerne.
Hun fik en frygtelig straf, og der er ingen, der trøster hende.
„Se min elendighed!” råber hun til Herren. „Min fjende foragter mig!”
10 Katastrofen er ikke til at bære, for alt er tabt.
Ikke alene blev alle byens værdier plyndret,
men fremmede folkeslag brød ind i templet og vanhelligede det.
11 Lidelsen ramte alle, som boede i byen.
Hungersnøden tvang dem til at sælge deres sidste ejendele for lidt mad.
Byen råber i sin nød: „Ak, Herre, se dog, hvor foragtet jeg er!
12 Mon der findes en større smerte end min?
Hvad mener I, der står og ser på min ulykke?
Det er jo Herren selv, der har sendt sin straf.
13 Nettet blev kastet ud over mig, og han fangede mig i fælden.
Dommen kom ned fra himlen som en fortærende ild.
Ensom og forladt sidder jeg her i min stadige pine.
14 Om halsen på mig ligger en byrde, som tynger mig til jorden.
Alle mine synder har han lagt som et åg på mine skuldre.
Jeg kunne intet gøre mod de mægtige fjender, han sendte.
15 På slagmarken ligger mine døde, tapre krigere.
Han sendte en mægtig hær mod mine unge soldater.
Han trampede på os, som man tramper druer i vinpersen.
16 Resultatet er en stadig strøm af tårer.
Der er ingen til at trøste og hjælpe mig.
Alt er håbløst, for fjenden har besejret os totalt.”
17 Selv om byen beder om nåde, er der ingen trøst at hente.
Det var Herren, der befalede nabofolkene at gå imod Israel.
De ser nu på Jerusalem som det værste skidt.
18 „Trods mine lidelser,” siger Jerusalem, „ved jeg, at Herrens dom var retfærdig,
for vi gjorde oprør imod alle hans befalinger.
Forstå min smerte, alle I folkeslag: Mine indbyggere er ført bort som slaver.
19 Uanset mit råb om hjælp blev jeg svigtet af mine nærmeste venner.
Mine præster og ledere bukkede under for hungersnøden,
forgæves søgte de efter mad nok til at overleve.
20 Vær mig nådig, Herre, for jeg erkender min synd.
De, der vovede sig ud på gaden, blev dræbt af sværdet,
men de, der blev inde i husene, bukkede under for sulten.
21 Ynkelige suk er alt, hvad jeg kan ytre, og der kommer ingen for at trøste mig.
Mine fjender fryder sig over den dom, du har afsagt over mig.
Gid du snart vil fælde dom over dem, ligesom du dømte mig.
22 Åh, Herre, glem ikke al deres ondskab!
Straf dem, som du har straffet mig!
Mit hjerte er fuldt af sorg, og jeg sukker konstant.”
The English Bible translation by Ronald Knox (publ. 1950) maintains most Hebrew acrostics (even though Knox’s translation itself is based on the Latin text of the Vulgate rather than the Hebrew):
1 Alone she dwells, the city erewhile so populous; a widow now, once a queen among the nations; tributary now, that once had provinces at her command.
2 Be sure she weeps; there in the darkness her cheeks are wet with tears; of all that courted her, none left to console her, all those lovers grown weary of her, and turned into enemies.
3 Cruel the suffering and the bondage of Juda’s exile; that she must needs dwell among the heathen! Nor respite can she find; close at her heels the pursuit, and peril on either hand.
4 Desolate, the streets of Sion; no flocking, now, to the assembly; the gateways lie deserted. Sighs priest, and the maidens go in mourning, so bitter the grief that hangs over all.
5 Exultant, now, her invaders; with her enemies nothing goes amiss. For her many sins, the Lord has brought doom on her, and all her children have gone into exile, driven before the oppressor.
6 Fled is her beauty, the Sion that was once so fair; her chieftains have yielded their ground before the pursuer, strengthless as rams that can find no pasture.
7 Grievous the memories she holds, of the hour when all her ancient glories passed from her, when her people fell defenceless before the invader, unresisting before an enemy that derided them.
8 Heinously Jerusalem sinned; what wonder if she became an outlaw? How they fell to despising her when they saw her shame, that once flattered her! Deeply she sighed, and turned away her head.
9 Ill might skirts of her robe the defilement conceal; alas, so reckless of her doom, alas, fallen so low, with none to comfort her! Mark it well, Lord; see how humbled I, how exultant my adversary!
10 Jealous hands were laid on all she treasured; so it was that she must see Gentiles profane her sanctuary, Gentiles, by thy ordinance from the assembly debarred.
11 Kindred was none but went sighing for lack of bread, offered its precious heirlooms for food to revive men’s hearts. Mark it well, Lord, and see my pride abased!
12 Look well, you that pass by, and say if there was ever grief like this grief of mine; never a grape on the vineyard left to glean, when the Lord’s threat of vengeance is fulfilled.
13 Must fire from heaven waste my whole being, ere I can learn my lesson? Must he catch me in a net, to drag me back from my course? Desolate he leaves me, to pine away all the day long with grief.
14 No respite it gives me, the yoke of guilt I bear, by his hand fastened down upon my neck; see, I faint under it! The Lord has given me up a prisoner to duress there is no escaping.
15 Of all I had, the Lord has taken away the noblest; lost to me, all the flower of my chivalry, under his strict audit; Sion, poor maid, here was a wine-press well trodden down!
16 Pray you, should I not weep? Fountains these eyes are, that needs must flow; comforter is none at hand, that should revive my spirits. Lost to me, all those sons of mine, outmatched by their enemy.
17 Quest for consolation is vain, let her plead where she will; neighbours of Jacob, so the Lord decrees, are Jacob’s enemies, and all around they shrink from her, as from a thing unclean.
18 Right the Lord has in his quarrel; I have set his commands at defiance. O world, take warning; see what pangs I suffer, all my folk gone into exile, both man and maid.
19 So false the friends that were once my suitors! And now the city lacks priests and elders both, that went begging their bread, to revive the heart in them.
20 Take note, Lord, of my anguish, how my bosom burns, and my heart melts within me, in bitter ruth. And all the while, sword threatens without, and death not less cruel within.
21 Uncomforted my sorrow, but not unheard; my enemies hear it, and rejoice that my miseries are of thy contriving. Ah, but when thy promise comes true, they shall feel my pangs!
22 Vintager who didst leave my boughs so bare, for my much offending, mark well their cruelty, and strip these too in their turn; here be sighs a many, and a sad heart to claim it. (Source )
Spanish has a different tradition of acrostics. It uses non-alphabetic acrostics where the first letters of each line (or verse) together form a word or phrase. In the Traducción en lenguaje actual (publ. 2002, 2004), the translators used the first letters of this chapter of Lamentation to spell out “POBRECITA DE TI, JERUSALEN” (“Poor you, little Jerusalem”) which also is the first line of this chapter of Lamentations (for more on the translation process of this, see Alfredo Tepox in The Bible Translator 2004, p. 233ff. ).
Click or tap here for Lamentations 1 in the Traducción en lenguaje actual
1 ¡Pobrecita de ti, Jerusalén!
Antes eras la más famosa
de todas las ciudades.
¡Antes estabas llena de gente,
pero te has quedado muy sola,
te has quedado viuda!
¡Fuiste la reina de las naciones,
pero hoy eres esclava de ellas!
2 Olvidada y bañada en lágrimas
pasas todas las noches.
Muchos decían que te amaban,
pero hoy nadie te consuela.
Los que se decían tus amigos
hoy son tus enemigos.
3 Bajo el peso de las cadenas,
la gente de Judá salió prisionera.
Sus enemigos los atraparon
y los maltrataron con crueldad.
Ahora son esclavos en países lejanos,
y no han dejado de sufrir.
4 Ruido ya no se escucha
en tus portones, Jerusalén.
¡Qué triste es ver
tus calles desiertas!
Los sacerdotes lloran
y las jóvenes se afligen.
Todo en ti es amargura;
ya nadie viene a tus fiestas.
5 Es tanto tu pecado,
que Dios te castigó.
El enemigo se llevó prisioneros
a todos tus habitantes.
Ahora el enemigo te domina
y vive feliz y contento.
6 ¡Cómo has perdido, Jerusalén,
la belleza que tuviste!
Tus jefes, ya sin fuerzas,
huyen de quienes los persiguen.
¡Hasta parecen venados hambrientos
en busca de pastos frescos!
7 Insistes en recordar
que alguna vez fuiste rica.
Ahora vives en la tristeza
y no tienes a dónde ir.
Cuando el enemigo te conquistó,
no hubo nadie que te ayudara.
Cuando el enemigo te vio vencida,
se burló de verte en desgracia.
8 Tanto has pecado, Jerusalén,
que todos te desprecian.
Los que antes te admiraban
hoy se burlan al verte en desgracia.
¡Ahora derramas lágrimas,
y avergonzada escondes la cara!
9 ¡Asombrosa ha sido tu caída!
¡No hay nadie que te consuele!
Jamás pensaste en llegar a ser
tan despreciada,
y ahora exclamas:
«Mis enemigos me vencieron.
¡Mira, Dios mío, mi aflicción!»
10 Dueño de todas tus riquezas
es ahora tu enemigo.
Tú misma viste entrar en el templo
gente de otros pueblos,
aunque Dios había ordenado
que no debían entrar allí.
11 El pueblo entero llora
y anda en busca de pan.
Con tal de seguir con vida,
cambian sus riquezas por comida.
Llorando le dicen a Dios:
«¡Mira cómo nos humillan!»
12 Todos ustedes, que pasan y me ven,
¿por qué gozan al verme sufrir?
¿Dónde han visto a alguien
que sufra tanto como yo?
Cuando Dios se enojó conmigo,
me mandó este sufrimiento.
13 Intensa lluvia de fuego
ha enviado Dios sobre mí.
Mis huesos se han quemado,
y siento que me muero.
Dios me cerró el paso,
y me hizo retroceder.
Me dejó en el abandono;
mi sufrimiento no tiene fin.
14 Juntó Dios todos mis pecados
y me los ató al cuello.
Ya no me quedan fuerzas;
ya no los soporto más.
Dios me entregó al enemigo,
y no puedo defenderme.
15 En mis calles hay muchos muertos.
¡Dios rechazó a mis valientes!
Juntó un ejército para atacarme,
y acabó con todos mis jóvenes.
Dios me aplastó por completo;
¡me exprimió como a las uvas!
16 Ruedan por mis mejillas
lágrimas que no puedo contener.
Cerca de mí no hay nadie
que me consuele y me reanime.
Mi gente no puede creer
que el enemigo nos haya vencido.
El profeta
17 Un montón de escombros
es ahora Jerusalén.
Suplicante pide ayuda,
pero nadie la consuela.
Dios mismo ordenó
que sus vecinos la atacaran.
Jerusalén
18 Siempre Dios hace lo justo,
pero yo soy muy rebelde.
¡Escuchen, naciones todas!
¡Miren cómo sufro!
¡El enemigo se llevó prisioneros
a todos mis habitantes!
19 Ayuda pedí a mis amigos,
pero me dieron la espalda.
Los jefes y sacerdotes
acabaron perdiendo la vida.
Andaban buscando comida,
y no pudieron sobrevivir.
20 ¡La muerte me quitó a mis hijos
dentro y fuera de la ciudad!
¡Mira mi angustia, Dios mío!
¡Siento que me muero!
¡Tan rebelde he sido contigo
que estoy totalmente confundida!
21 El enemigo no esconde su alegría
porque tú, Dios mío, me haces sufrir.
Todo el mundo escucha mi llanto,
pero nadie me consuela.
¡Ya es tiempo de que los castigues
como me castigaste a mí!
22 No hay un solo pecado
que ellos no hayan cometido;
¡castiga entonces su rebeldía,
como me castigaste a mí!
¡Ya es mucho lo que he llorado,
y siento que me muero!
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Lamentations 1:15:
Kupsabiny: “God turned his back on all my warriors whom I had put my hopes on. Enemies raided and came to smash my soldiers. God smashed them like grapes are squashed, where they are being pressed.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “‘The Lord has treated with contempt all strongest warriors who defended me. He has sent soldiers to destroy my young men. The Lord trampled me, the virgin daughter of Judah, in his winepress like grapes.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The Lord rejected all my soldiers. He gathered soldiers to destroy my young men. The residents of Juda (are) as-if-like just grapes which were-trampled by the Lord.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Yahweh looked at our mighty soldiers and laughed at them. He has summoned a great army to come and crush our young soldiers. It is as though Yahweh has trampled on us people of Judah like people trample on grapes in a pit to make wine.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.
In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.
In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:
referring to “God,” especially in Old Testament quotations,
meaning “master” or “owner,” especially in parables, etc.,
as a form of address (see for instance John 4:11: “Sir, you have no bucket”),
or, most often, referring to Jesus
In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.
Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”
When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight
Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):
Iyansi: Mwol. Mwol is traditionally used for the “chief of a group of communities and villages” with legal, temporal, and spiritual authority (versus the “mfum [the term used in other Bantu languages] which is used for the chief of one community of people in one village”). Mwol is also used for twins who are “treated as special children, highly honored, and taken care of like kings and queens.” (Source: Kividi Kikama in Greed / Kruger, p. 396ff.)
Binumarien: Karaambaia: “fight-leader” (Source: Oates 1995, p. 255)
Warlpiri: Warlaljamarri (owner or possessor of something — for more information tap or click here)
We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.
New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.
Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )
Mairasi: Onggoao Nem (“Throated One” — “Leader,” “Elder”) or Enggavot Nan (“Above-One”) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Obolo: Okaan̄-ene (“Owner of person(s)”) (source: Enene Enene)
Lotha Naga: Opvui (“owner of house / field / cattle”) — since both “Lord” and YHWH are translated as Opvui there is an understanding that “Opvui Jesus is the same as the Opvui of the Old Testament”
Seediq: Tholang, loan word from Min Nan Chinese (the majority language in Taiwan) thâu-lâng (頭儂): “Master” (source: Covell 1998, p. 248)
Thai: phra’ phu pen cao (พระผู้เป็นเจ้า) (divine person who is lord) or ong(kh) cao nay (องค์เจ้านาย) (<divine classifier>-lord-boss) (source: Stephen Pattemore)
Arabic often uses different terms for adonai or kurios referring to God (al-rabb الرب) and kurios referring to Jesus (al-sayyid الـسـيـد). Al-rabb is also the term traditionally used in Arabic Christian-idiom translations for YHWH, and al-sayyid is an honorary term, similar to English “lord” or “sir” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
Tamil also uses different terms for adonai/kurios when referring to God and kurios when referring to Jesus. The former is Karttar கர்த்தர், a Sanskrit-derived term with the original meaning of “creator,” and the latter in Āṇṭavar ஆண்டவர், a Tamil term originally meaning “govern” or “reign” (source: Natarajan Subramani).
Burunge: Looimoo: “owner who owns everything” (in the Burunge Bible translation, this term is only used as a reference to Jesus and was originally used to refer to the traditional highest deity — source: Michael Endl in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 48)
Yagaria: Souve, originally “war lord” (source: Renck, p. 94)
Aguacateco: Ajcaw ske’j: “the one to whom we belong and who is above us” (source: Rita Peterson in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 49)
Konkomba: Tidindaan: “He who is the owner of the land and reigns over the people” (source: Lidorio 2007, p. 66)
Chichewa: AmbuyeAmbuye comes from the singular form Mbuye which is used to refer to: (1) someone who is a guardian or protector of someone or group of people — a grandparent who has founded a community or village; (2) someone who is a boss or master over a group of people or servants and has absolute control over them; (3) owner of something, be it a property, animals and people who are bound under his/her rule — for people this was mostly commonly used in the context of slaves and their owner. In short, Mbuye is someone who has some authorities over those who call him/her their “Mbuye.” Now, when the form Ambuye is used it will either be for honorific when used for singular or plural when referring to more than one person. When this term is used in reference to God, it is for respect to God as he is acknowledged as a guardian, protector, and ruler of everything. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation).
Hdi uses rveri (“lion”) as a title of respect and as such it regularly translates adon in the Old Testament. As an address, it’s most often with a possessive pronoun as in rvera ɗa (“my lion” = “my lord” or “sir”). So, for example, Genesis 15:2 (“O Lord God”) is Rvera ɗa Yawe (“My lion Yahweh”) or Ruth to Boaz in Ruth 2:13: “May I find your grace [lit. good-stomach] my lion.” This ties in nicely with the imagery of the Lord roaring like a lion (Hosea 11:10; Amos 3:8; Joel 3:16). Better still, this makes passages like Revelation 5:5 even richer when we read about rveri ma taba məndəra la Yuda, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”. In Revelation 19:16, Jesus is rveri ta ghəŋa rveriha “the lion above lions” (“lord of lords”). (Source: Drew Maust)
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient GreekSeptuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”
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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on verbs as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, fumitsubus-are-ru (踏みつぶされる) or “crush,” horobos-are-ru (滅ぼされる) or “destroy,” and oiharaw-are-ru (追い払われる) or “drive out” are used.
Jerusalem is here still speaking in the first person about the fate of its inhabitants.
The Lord flouted all my mighty men: The Lord is the Hebrew ʾadonai, as in verse 14. Flouted translates a verb whose meaning is not immediately clear. It is used in Psalm 119.118 with the sense of to spurn or reject. The idea is to treat someone or something as worthless. Accordingly many translators use words signifying rejection, expulsion, discarding. AB finds this sense unsuitable, due to in themidst of me, which follows. It changes the Hebrew word slightly to give a form that means “to heap up,” which is a term used of preparation for threshing out grain—an image of God’s judgment. This change of the Hebrew text has not found much acceptance. It seems best to understand this verb as meaning God’s rejection of Jerusalem’s mighty men, namely her “soldiers” (Good News Translation).
In the midst of me or “in my midst” means “in Jerusalem.” Bible en français courant translates “The LORD has despised and rejected all the brave soldiers I had,” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “The Lord has thrown far from me all the brave ones who defended me.” In both these translations in the midst of me is translated not by reference to a position or place, but rather by possession, “that I had (with me),” or by action, “who defended me,” and these are recommended to translators.
He summoned an assembly against me is literally “he called a meeting against me.” The sense is clearly given by Bible en français courant “He mobilized an army against me,” and Good News Translation “He sent an army to destroy….”
To crush my young men: crush translates the verb used, for example, in Isaiah 63.3. Here, as in Isaiah, the Lord is pictured as crushing or trampling upon people as though they were grapes in a wine press. In Isaiah it is the enemy nations that are crushed. Here in verse 15 it is the people of Judah.
The Lord has trodden as in a wine press: as in the first line, the Lord translates the Hebrew title ʾadonai. Trodden is not the same Hebrew verb which translates “crush” in the previous verse. However, the sense is the same. Both refer to trampling with the feet. Wine press refers to a tank or hollowed rock with a hole at the bottom through which the juice from the crushed grapes flows out. Grapes were placed in the wine press, and workers stamped on them with their bare feet to squeeze out the juice. See Amos 9.13.
The expression trodden as in a wine press will require adjustments in many languages, even in areas where grapes are grown. Basically the translator has three options: (1) Keep the figure, if it is known, and express the idea as a simile, as in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. (2) Substitute an equivalent figure, if one exists. For instance, we may say “God crushed my people as with a pestle in a mortar.” The important thing is that the expression should be known and used in the language, and not simply be a fanciful image that will puzzle the reader. (3) Replace the figure by a nonmetaphor. In this case the translator may simply say “God completely destroyed my people.”
The virgin daughter of Judah refers to Jerusalem and its inhabitants, translated “my people” in the illustrations in the paragraph before. In verse 6 Jerusalem was referred to as a female figure, “daughter of Zion.” The word for virgin is the same as that translated “maidens” in verse 4. See there for comments. Readers should not be led to think that virgin daughter of Judah refers to a particular daughter whose father is called Judah. Therefore it will most often be best to translate “my people,” as in Good News Translation.
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on Lamentations. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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