plague

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “plague” in English is translated in Bariai as “killing-off” (source: Bariai Back Translation).

In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as Katastrophe or Katastrophenschlag, i.e. “disaster” or “disastrous strike.”

complete verse (Numbers 16:48)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 16:48:

  • Kupsabiny: “Aaron stopped/stood in the middle between the people who had died and those who were alive, and then the plague subsided.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He stood between those who had [already] died and those who were [still] living, and the plague stopped.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He stood between the people who were-dead already and the ones who are- still -alive, and the afflictions/evil/disasters stopped.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “He stood between the people who had already died and those who were still alive, and then the plague stopped.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Numbers 16:48

And he stood between the dead and the living: The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And may be translated “Thus” (Chewa) or “In this way” to introduce the summary statement of this verse. Good News Translation places this clause at the end of the verse, saying “and he was left standing between the living and the dead,” which wrongly suggests that there was nothing left for Aaron to do. On the contrary, Aaron with his burning incense stood as a buffer, even a mediator, between those people who had already died and those who were still alive. Compare 1.53, which says the camp of the Levites formed a buffer or protective barrier around the Tabernacle against the LORD’s wrath. This clause may be rendered “He went to stand between the dead and those who were still alive” (De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling; similarly Nije Fryske Bibeloersetting, Contemporary Russian Version) or “He placed himself between the dead bodies and the people who were still alive.”

And the plague was stopped: The actions of Aaron halted the disaster. Good News Translation moves this clause to the beginning of the verse, which confuses the meaning.

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 .