complete verse (Psalm 114:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 114:3:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “The lake saw and ran away,
    the river of Jordan moved backwards;” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “Seeing them, the Red Sea took flight,
    The Jordan River flowed backwards.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “The Red Sea split like/as-if a man/person who was-fleeing.
    The water of the River of Jordan like a man/person who took-a-step-back.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “The Red Sea came to see and it ran,
    River Jordan stopped flowing.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Bahari nyekundu wakati imewatazama, ikakimbia,
    mto Yordani ukarudi nyuma.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “When they came to the Red Sea,
    it was as though the water saw them and ran away!
    When they came to the Jordan River,
    that water in the river stopped flowing so that the Israelis could cross it.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Psalm 114:3 - 114:4

At the mere presence of Yahweh The sea (see 106.7) fled, a poetic description of the parting of the waters of the Sea of Reeds, or Red Sea (Exo 14.10-22). For the crossing of the Jordan River, see Joshua 3.7-17; the water “stopped flowing” and the people crossed on dry land. The psalmist speaks poetically of the Jordan flowing upstream (turned back).

In verse 3a the verb “to see” has no direct object in Hebrew; New Jerusalem Bible supplies “them,” that is, the Israelites (also Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “Israel”). In 77.16 the direct object is God, and this can be the implied object here. The sea looked, while possible in many languages, may provoke laughter when read. Where the personification of inanimate objects is not natural in the language, it is better to shift to another kind of expression. For example, it is often possible to say “God appeared before the sea” or “God came to where the sea was.” In the same way in some languages The sea … fled must be shifted to say “and disappeared” or “and the sea dried up.”

Verse 4 refers perhaps to Mount Sinai (see Exo 19.18; Judges 5.5; Psa 68.8); the emotion described is that of fear, not of joy (see 29.6, where the same figure is used).

For English readers the verb skip, used in both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation in verses 4 and 6, indicates movements of the legs and feet used in dancing and play, and suggests anything but fear. Translators may have to make the element of fright explicit.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .