1Now when the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, the Lord heard it, and his anger was kindled. Then the fire of the Lord burned against them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated into English as “the wrath of God” or “God’s anger” has to be referred to in Bengali as judgment, punishment or whatever fits the context. In Bengali culture, anger is by definition bad and can never be predicated of God. (Source: David Clark)
Translations in other languages:
Quetzaltepec Mixe: “translated with a term that not only expresses anger, but also punishment” (source: Robert Bascom)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “the coming punishment of God on mankind” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “God’s fearful/terrible future punishing of people” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “the coming anger/hatred of God” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “the punishment which will come” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Bariai: “God’s action of anger comes forth in the open” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
Mairasi: “His anger keeps increasing (until it will definitely arrive)” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御) is used as in mi-ikari (御怒り) or “wrath (of God)” in the referenced verses. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated as “anger” or similar in English in this verse is translated with a variety of solutions (Bratcher / Nida says: “Since anger has so many manifestations and seems to affect so many aspects of personality, it is not strange that expressions used to describe this emotional response are so varied”).
Chichewa: “have a burning heart” (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation) (see also anger burned in him)
Citak: two different terms, one meaning “angry” and one meaning “offended,” both are actually descriptions of facial expressions. The former can be represented by an angry stretching of the eyes or by an angry frown. The latter is similarly expressed by an offended type of frown with one’s head lowered. (Source: Graham Ogden)
In Akan, a number of metaphors are used, most importantly abufuo, lit. “weedy chest” (the chest is seen as a container that contains the heart but can also metaphorically be filled with other fluids etc.), but also abufuhyeε lit. “hot/burning weedy chest” and anibereε, lit. “reddened eyes.” (Source: Gladys Nyarko Ansah in Kövecses / Benczes / Szelid 2024, p. 21ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 11:1:
Kupsabiny: “The people began to murmur on account of the hardship they were getting. When God heard that, he became angry and sent fire against the people. That fire burned one end of the camp.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The people started complaining in the hearing of the LORD about the suffering they were experiencing [lit.: happening to them] the LORD became angry. So in anger He sent fire to their place. The fire consumed some of the outskirts camp.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The Israelinhon complained because of their hardships. When- the LORD -heard this, he became-angry and he sent fire that burned the border of the camp.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “One day the people complained to Yahweh about their troubles. When Yahweh heard what they were saying, he became angry. So he sent a fire which burned among the people at the edge of their camp.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes: And renders the Hebrew word wayehi (literally “And it happened”), which marks the beginning of a new discourse here. Good News Translation indicates this by leaving wayehi untranslated. If a transitional marker is needed, “One day” (Contemporary English Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) or “A little later” (Nueva Traducción Viviente) may be a helpful model. It is uncertain whether the Hebrew verbal construction rendered complained means “were complaining,” “continued to complain” (similarly Levine), or “began to complain” (Good News Translation, New Living Translation, New Jerusalem Bible). Whichever sounds more natural in translation may be used in this case. In the hearing of the LORD is literally “in the ears of the LORD.” Misfortunes (similarly Good News Translation with “troubles,” and New International Version with “hardships”) renders the Hebrew word raʿ. However, it is unlikely that raʿ has this sense in connection with the Hebrew verb for complained. Other translations interpret raʿ similarly but connect it with what follows; for example, NET Bible renders this clause as “When the people complained, it displeased the LORD” (similarly King James Version), New Jerusalem Bible has “Now the people began to complain, which was offensive to Yahweh’s ears,” and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible says “One day the people indulged in lamentations, which the LORD heard with displeasure.” But the phrase “evil in the ears of the LORD” occurs nowhere else in biblical Hebrew. It seems more likely that raʿ functions here as an adverb meaning “badly, bitterly.” This sense is found in many translations; for example, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “The people took to complaining bitterly before the LORD.” However, there is still one other problem in this clause. Both Good News Translation and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh give the wrong suggestion that the people complained and prayed directly to the LORD. The people were not trying to communicate with him. The Hebrew construction for in the hearing of the LORD seems to imply that the LORD overheard them, so this phrase may be rendered “within earshot of the LORD.” A good model for this whole clause is “The people complained [or, were complaining] bitterly, in the hearing of the LORD.”
And when the LORD heard it makes it clear that the LORD heard the Israelites’ bitter complaining.
His anger was kindled is literally “and his nose/anger burned,” which is a figurative expression for intense anger. Many languages use figurative language involving fire or heat when speaking of anger, and translators can use such expressions here. If such idiomatic expressions do not exist, they may say “he became very angry” (similarly New Century Version).
And the fire of the LORD burned among them: Some scholars think the fire of the LORD refers to lightning, but other places where this expression is used in the Bible (for example, Lev 10.2) suggest that this was a supernatural, not a natural phenomenon. There was an actual fire that burned things, leading to the name that was given to that place.
And consumed some outlying parts of the camp: Good News Translation says “and destroyed one end of the camp.” The renderings in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation suggest that the Hebrew specifies how many outlying parts of the Israelite camp were touched by the fire. However, the Hebrew merely has “ravaging the outskirts of the camp” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), without specifying how many outlying parts of it were affected. The Hebrew implies that an unspecified number of people died during this divine act. The outskirts of the camp were seen as a boundary area where danger and impurity lurked and threatened the community (see Lev 14.8; Num 5.1-4). For camp see 1.50.
Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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