Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Zechariah 9:4:
Kupsabiny: “But God will take all the wealth of that city. He will scatter/destroy in the ocean its ships and everything in them and then he will set fire to that city.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “But the Lord will snatch away their possessions. and destroy their power on the sea. They will be consumed by fire.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “But the LORD will-take-away their belongings and he will-throw their wealth into the sea. And their cities will-be-consumed by fire.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “But I, Yahweh, will cause their precious possessions to be taken away and all their ships to be destroyed, and their city will be destroyed by a fire.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.
In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.
In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:
referring to “God,” especially in Old Testament quotations,
meaning “master” or “owner,” especially in parables, etc.,
as a form of address (see for instance John 4:11: “Sir, you have no bucket”),
or, most often, referring to Jesus
In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.
Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”
When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight
Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):
Iyansi: Mwol. Mwol is traditionally used for the “chief of a group of communities and villages” with legal, temporal, and spiritual authority (versus the “mfum [the term used in other Bantu languages] which is used for the chief of one community of people in one village”). Mwol is also used for twins who are “treated as special children, highly honored, and taken care of like kings and queens.” (Source: Kividi Kikama in Greed / Kruger, p. 396ff.)
Binumarien: Karaambaia: “fight-leader” (Source: Oates 1995, p. 255)
Warlpiri: Warlaljamarri (owner or possessor of something — for more information tap or click here)
We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.
New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.
Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )
Mairasi: Onggoao Nem (“Throated One” — “Leader,” “Elder”) or Enggavot Nan (“Above-One”) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Obolo: Okaan̄-ene (“Owner of person(s)”) (source: Enene Enene)
Lotha Naga: Opvui (“owner of house / field / cattle”) — since both “Lord” and YHWH are translated as Opvui there is an understanding that “Opvui Jesus is the same as the Opvui of the Old Testament”
Seediq: Tholang, loan word from Min Nan Chinese (the majority language in Taiwan) thâu-lâng (頭儂): “Master” (source: Covell 1998, p. 248)
Thai: phra’ phu pen cao (พระผู้เป็นเจ้า) (divine person who is lord) or ong(kh) cao nay (องค์เจ้านาย) (<divine classifier>-lord-boss) (source: Stephen Pattemore)
Arabic often uses different terms for adonai or kurios referring to God (al-rabb الرب) and kurios referring to Jesus (al-sayyid الـسـيـد). Al-rabb is also the term traditionally used in Arabic Christian-idiom translations for YHWH, and al-sayyid is an honorary term, similar to English “lord” or “sir” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
Tamil also uses different terms for adonai/kurios when referring to God and kurios when referring to Jesus. The former is Karttar கர்த்தர், a Sanskrit-derived term with the original meaning of “creator,” and the latter in Āṇṭavar ஆண்டவர், a Tamil term originally meaning “govern” or “reign” (source: Natarajan Subramani).
Burunge: Looimoo: “owner who owns everything” (in the Burunge Bible translation, this term is only used as a reference to Jesus and was originally used to refer to the traditional highest deity — source: Michael Endl in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 48)
Yagaria: Souve, originally “war lord” (source: Renck, p. 94)
Aguacateco: Ajcaw ske’j: “the one to whom we belong and who is above us” (source: Rita Peterson in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 49)
Konkomba: Tidindaan: “He who is the owner of the land and reigns over the people” (source: Lidorio 2007, p. 66)
Chichewa: AmbuyeAmbuye comes from the singular form Mbuye which is used to refer to: (1) someone who is a guardian or protector of someone or group of people — a grandparent who has founded a community or village; (2) someone who is a boss or master over a group of people or servants and has absolute control over them; (3) owner of something, be it a property, animals and people who are bound under his/her rule — for people this was mostly commonly used in the context of slaves and their owner. In short, Mbuye is someone who has some authorities over those who call him/her their “Mbuye.” Now, when the form Ambuye is used it will either be for honorific when used for singular or plural when referring to more than one person. When this term is used in reference to God, it is for respect to God as he is acknowledged as a guardian, protector, and ruler of everything. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation).
Hdi uses rveri (“lion”) as a title of respect and as such it regularly translates adon in the Old Testament. As an address, it’s most often with a possessive pronoun as in rvera ɗa (“my lion” = “my lord” or “sir”). So, for example, Genesis 15:2 (“O Lord God”) is Rvera ɗa Yawe (“My lion Yahweh”) or Ruth to Boaz in Ruth 2:13: “May I find your grace [lit. good-stomach] my lion.” This ties in nicely with the imagery of the Lord roaring like a lion (Hosea 11:10; Amos 3:8; Joel 3:16). Better still, this makes passages like Revelation 5:5 even richer when we read about rveri ma taba məndəra la Yuda, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”. In Revelation 19:16, Jesus is rveri ta ghəŋa rveriha “the lion above lions” (“lord of lords”). (Source: Drew Maust)
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient GreekSeptuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”
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)
But lo translates a single word in Hebrew (hinneh). This word is used quite often to mark the beginning of a new unit, and in this instance it seems to mark the change from the description of Tyre to its condemnation. Lo is rarely used in modern English, and New Revised Standard Version and New Living Translation change to “But now” (similarly Contemporary English Version). Many recent versions use only “But” (Moffatt, Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Revised English Bible, Beck), and this is sufficient to establish the contrast with what has gone before. Another possibility is “Surely….”
The Lord will strip her of her possessions is expressed in simpler language in Good News Translation as “The Lord will take away everything she has.” Lord here represents the Hebrew ʾadonay (not YHWH), and should be written as in Revised Standard Version with only the L capitalized. Some modern versions follow the interpretation of the ancient Greek and Latin in saying “the Lord is going to take possession of her” (Jerusalem Bible; compare Bible de Jérusalem, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). This is possible, but the interpretation of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation seems to fit the context better.
And hurl her wealth into the sea: The word translated wealth is open to more than one interpretation. It can indeed mean wealth in the economic sense as spoken of in the previous verse. But it can also mean strength in the military sense, or more strictly, in the naval sense. King James Version and Revised Version have “he will smite her power in the sea,” which could refer to a defeat of Tyre’s navy (so New American Bible, New English Bible, New International Version, Delcor). This view is clearly stated in Revised English Bible “he will break her power at sea” (compare New Jerusalem Bible) and Contemporary English Version “he will sink its ships.” Again, the Hebrew word could mean “wall” or “rampart,” giving the sense “knock down its ramparts into the sea” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible; similarly New Living Translation, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). The first and third of these possibilities link well with the previous verse, and the second with the historical basis of Tyre’s power. The first option, as found in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, seems a little improbable, since when a city falls to attackers, they steal its wealth rather than throw it into the sea. On the whole, the second option (that wealth means naval power) is slightly preferable as it gives the preposition here its more common meaning of “in” rather than into. Another way to express this clause is “he will cause all its/her ships to sink.”
And she shall be devoured by fire: A captured city was often burnt in ancient times (compare Amos 1.10). The words and she are emphatic and contrastive. This may support the view that the city is being contrasted with its navy rather than with its wealth or its walls, which would be parts of the city rather than a separate entity. Devoured by fire is of course a figure of speech which may be used in many languages. If translators cannot keep the figure, they may say something like “the city itself will be destroyed by fire” (New English Bible/ Revised English Bible). Some versions restructure this clause as “a fire will destroy the city” (Bible en français courant) or “[the Lord] will destroy the city by fire” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch boldly uses a different figure “the city will become an offering to the flames,” but few translators will need to be so radical. Some commentators link the description in this verse with the capture of Tyre by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. (Even if this verse is seen as fulfilled in that event, nothing is proved about the date of the prophecy.)
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Zechariah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.