The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Ephraim” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “palm tree” referring to the palm of Deborah in the land of Ephraim (see Judges 4:5. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 78:9:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“People from Ephraim, though they carried bows,
they still fled at the time of war;” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“The people of Ephraim ran away from battle
even though they had bows and arrows.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“The soldiers of Efraim, even-though they had weapons-of-war with bows-and-arrows, fled in time of battle.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Laarim:
“Even though the warrior of Ephraim has bows,
they came, turned and ran during the time of war,” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Wapigana vita katika Efraimu hawakuwa kama hivyo.
Hata kama walikuwa na silaha nyingi,
walikimbia kwa maadui zao, katika siku ya vita.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“The soldiers of the tribe of Ephraim had bows and arrows
but they ran away from their enemies on the day that they fought a battle with their enemies.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The reference to the Ephraimites is puzzling; there is no record in the Old Testament of their having been cowardly in battle. Many commentators take verse 9 to be a gloss, the origin and purpose of which are variously explained. It could be that Ephraim here stands for the whole northern kingdom of Israel (see Hos 6.4-7). In any case, it introduces an irrelevant bit of information, since the point of the whole passage, both before (verse 8) and after (verses 10-11), is about the generation that was faithless, that did not obey God, and not about a group of cowardly warriors. The Ephraimites refers, not to the people generally, but to their soldiers, and may be so represented; for example, “The Ephraimite soldiers.”
Armed with the bow translates what is an obscure phrase (see Revised Standard Version footnote), but on whose meaning there is general agreement. It is better to translate “bows and arrows,” since obviously the psalmist did not mean the Ephraimites had only bows to fight with.
Turned back or “ran away” may require rendering as “ran away from the enemy during the battle.”
As the text now stands, verses 10-11 refer to the Ephraimites of verse 9; in fact, the two verses carry on the theme of the “stubborn and rebellious generation” of verse 8. New Jerusalem Bible attempts to clarify the matter by starting verse 9 with “Like the Ephraimite bowmen…,” but the Hebrew text hardly allows for this. The translation must reflect the meaning of the text as it stands. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch places verse 10 within parentheses, and in a footnote indicates that this verse anticipates the theme of verses 67 and following.
What was of greater importance about the Ephraimites was their failure to keep God’s covenant and to obey his laws. For covenant see 25.10 and comments. They forgot the great deeds God had performed in bringing his people out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land. Here it seems that forgot implies a deliberate act of not recalling what God had done in the past; it is not a case of a poor memory. Verse 11b does not mean that God had shown them certain miracles, and it was these that they forgot; rather, it is that they had seen all the miracles he had performed on their behalf, yet still refused to keep their covenant with him, that is, always to obey him. Miracles is often rendered as “God’s mighty acts” or “the wonderful things God has done.”
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 .
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