birds of the air

The Greek and Hebrew phrases that are often translated as “birds of the air” in English “refer to the undomesticated song birds or wild birds, to be distinguished in a number of languages from domesticated fowl. In Tzeltal these former are ‘field birds’.” (source: Bratcher / Nida)

Q’anjob’al also uses an established term for non-domesticated birds. Newberry and Kittie Cox (in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 91ff. ) explain: “Qʼanjobʼal has two distinct terms, one to identify domesticated birds and the other non-domesticated birds. The additional descriptive phrase ‘of the air’ seemed entirely misleading, for Qʼanjobʼal speakers had never heard of such creatures. Actually, of course, all that was necessary was the term for non-domesticated birds, for that is precisely the meaning of the Biblical expression.”

In Elhomwe they are just translated as “birds” or “birds of the bush” (i.e., wild birds) to “not give the impression that these are special type of birds.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

See also birds of the air / fish of the sea and birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.

complete verse (Psalm 50:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 50:11:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “I know every bird in the mountains
    and also all the wild creatures are mine.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “I am acquainted with all the birds of the mountains
    and all the animals that live in the fields
    are mine.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “all birds in the mountains/hills,
    and the animals in the field.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “I know all birds which stay in mountains
    and all the animals which are in the bush are mine.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Ndege wote wa porini ni wangu,
    vitu vyote vyenye uhai katika mashamba vyangu.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “I own and know all the birds
    and all the creatures that move around in the fields.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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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 choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Psalm 50:10 - 50:11

In these verses God declares that he owns all animals, wild and domestic, and all birds. The Hebrew text of verse 10b is unusual, and the meaning may be “and thousands of cattle in the hills” (see New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible).

I know in verse 11a is used here in the sense of laying claim to; Anderson explains: “I have both knowledge of and mastery over.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “All the birds out there belong to me.”

Good News Translation “wild birds” in verse 11a translates the Masoretic text “birds of the hills” (see Revised Standard Version footnote; New Jerusalem Bible “every bird of the mountains”), which is an unusual phrase; the usual one is “birds of the air,” as in the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate. These two verses form a chiasmus in the Hebrew, and the poet undoubtedly used “of the mountains” to correspond to on a thousand hills in the previous line. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project also prefers the Masoretic text (“C” decision). The meaning, however, is the same, namely “wild birds.”

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 .