complete verse (Numbers 21:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 21:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then they left again and went to set up their tents in the valley of Zered.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “From there they moved on and set up tents in the Zered valley.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “From there they set-out and camped at Zered which is the passageway of water.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “From there they traveled to the valley where the Zered riverbed is, and camped there.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Numbers 21:12

From there they set out, and encamped in the Valley of Zered: From Iye-abarim the Israelites went to the valley of Zered. The Hebrew word for valley (nachal) refers to a “wadi” (see the comments on 13.23), so New Revised Standard Version and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh render this phrase as “the Wadi Zered.” This wadi emptied into the southern part of the Dead Sea and marked the border between Edom and Moab.

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 .