1 ULT Translation Glossary

Joel D. Ruark edited this page 2020-11-23 15:56:01 +00:00

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Table of Contents

• Translation Glossary for the ULT
• Translation Glossary for the Old Testament
• Translation Glossary for the New Testament

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Translation Glossary for the ULT

A list of decisions as to how to translate some senses of the OrigL words and phrases into another language is called a Translation Glossary (TG). Such a device is especially useful when more than one person works on the same project, because it helps keep everyone using the same English terms. However, a TG cannot be foolproof, because the source will often use some words to signal more than one sense, depending on context. A TG is therefore a glossary of word senses, not a glossary of words. Check back often to this page, because this TG is likely to develop for the entire life of the unfoldingWord project.

NOTE: Occasionally, the TG’s specified translation will not be suitable. As always, the text editors must remain in control of the decision-making process. The TG is to guide you as much as is possible. If you must depart from the TG guidelines, do so and insert a Translation Note to explain the meaning.

Preferred English renderings for the ULT appear in bold type.

• brethren should be updated to brothers. When both genders are indicated by the context, a note from the Notes team should be expected to appear to that effect. Do not replace the ULT text with “brothers and sisters.”
• Call in the formula of the type, “he shall be called the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32): keep this formula in the ULT, but be aware of the metaphor that is operative here: in this verse, Jesus will not only be called the Son of the Most High, but he will be the Son of the Most High.
• Hand indicating power or possession: keep this metaphor in the ULT.
• Sentence-initial or preverbal and of the type, “And Joseph said,” “And it came about,” etc.: these should be rendered in English somehow, usually as the conjunction "and." However, a different word ("but", "so", etc.) may be selected in rare cases, where the discourse function of the conjunction is foregrounded and the specific conjunctive meaning is so strong as to be contextually undeniable.
• Shall vs. will : in English future expressions in general, use “will” instead of “shall,” e.g., “he is a prophet, and he shall will pray for you” (Gen 20:7). Note that some ASV future expressions are better updated into today’s English by using the present tense, e.g., “I shall not drink from…the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come” (Luke 22:18) can be updated to “I will not drink…until the kingdom of God comes.” This general preference for “will” probably conforms to the instincts of most English native speakers. However, in genres such as prophecies, blessings, curses, and in other passages focusing on the expression of the speaker’s intentionality, retain the use of “shall” in the ULT. For example: “Yahweh said, ’Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do…?’” (Gen 18:17); “A deliverer shall come to Zion;” “every mountain and hill shall be made low.”

Translation Glossary for the Old Testament

• adam (ASV: man, men) When referring to humanity in general, use “mankind.”
• 'af should be rendered "nose when it appears in the singular form and nostrils when it appears in the dual form.
• 'al (עַל) When used causatively, this preposition should be rendered "on account of" to differentiate it from the causative use of מִן. When used quatitatively, this preposition should be rendered "in accordance with" to differentiate it from the quantitative use of כְּ. However, these are only general principles. The specific translation gloss used should always be determined by the specific context.
• Ark of the Covenant –– The ULT will use the word "Box" ("Box of the Testimony" in Exodus, "Box of the Covenant of Yahweh" in Joshua, etc.), and the UST will use the term "sacred chest."
• be (בְּ) As a general rule, this preposition should usually be rendered as "in," "at," or "by." However, the specific translation gloss used should always be determined by the specific context.
• ben, beney as in "son of a night" or “sons of Israel” or “sons of God” should remain as "son" or “sons.”
• construct phrases –– It is preferable for Hebrew and Aramaic construct phrases to be rendered as "[construct noun] of [abstract noun]" as much as possible to be understandable in English. Some notable exceptions to this rule include phrases that use the construct form of כֹּל or כָּל, construct phrases that include numerals, and phrases where the absolute noun functions adjectivally. If using the standard "of" construction is not understandable in English, often the next best alternative is to render the absolute noun as an attributive adjective. For example, in Lev 2:2 the phrase קֹ֥דֶשׁ קָֽדָשִׁ֖ים is rendered as "holiest holy thing" in the ULT.
• 'ebed (עֶבֶד) This term can be rendered as "servant" or "slave" or whichever English term(s) best fits the specific context.
• Expressions of the type, “he knew his wife” or “he went into his wife” should be reproduced as is. The context makes their meaning clear.
• herem This concept should be translated according to what it appears to mean locally in its immediate context. This might include either the concept of a "ban" or the concept of "complete destruction", etc.
• hesed should be translated as "covenant faithfulness" except in cases where the context is clear that a different meaning is warranted.
• hinneh This term is normally rendered as “behold” unless the context indicates that a more colloquial meaning is appropriate, such as “look,” “see,” “see here,” or something else to indicate that what immediately follows in the text is prominent.
• Hiphil stem –– This form of the verb shouls be rendered explicitly as causative (“cause to…” or “made to…” if possible, unless a suitable English verb can be used that implies the causative action. For example, the English verbs “bring” or “take” are acceptable for the Hiphil of בּוֹא (“to cause to come” or “to cause to go”).
• horns –– The Hebrew terms for the various kinds of horns should be rendered as follows: qeren = "horn;" shofar = "horn" ("long horn" or "large horn" in UST); hatzotzerah = "trumpet." The term shofar should never be translated as "trumpet."
• kal/kol It is more preferable for this term to be rendered as "all" or "every" or "whole" than as "any" or "each".
• kapporeth (כַּפֹּרֶת) "atonement lid"
• ke (כְּ) When used quantitatively, this preposition should be rendered "according to" to differentiate it from the quantitative use of עַל. However, this is only a general principle. The specific translation gloss used should always be determined by the specific context.
• koh 'amar yhwh (כֹּה אָמַר יהוה) "Thus says Yahweh"
• lifney (לִפְנֵי) This should be rendered as a phrase and not as a single preposition, usually either "to the face of" or "before the face of," etc.
• Meshiach “Messiah” (almost always, “the Messiah,” since “Messiah” is a title)
• min (מִן) When used causatively, this preposition should be rendered "because of." However, this is only a general principle. The specific translation gloss used should always be determined by the specific context.
• mishpat (מִשְׁפָּט) should be rendered "judgments" wherever possible, because it is the derivative noun of שׁפט (to judge). However, in instances where it clearly does not mean "judgments", then the English term "ordinance" should be used when referring to a religious rule, and another word such as "regulation" when referring to a more civil or legal rule.
• na' This Hebrew particle (נָא) must be translated on a case-by-case basis and always with great sensitivity to the specific context of the speech in which it occurs. The term often means something like, "I know/fear that you don't want to do what I am about to tell/ask you to do, but I want you to do it anyway." There is no direct translational equivalent for this term in English, but some general guidelines are as follows. When the particle appears with a verb in the context of a request made by a person of inferior position to a person of superior position, it can be translated as "please." But the particle also occurs often in situations where a person of superior position gives a command to a person of inferior position, and in these cases the particle must be rendered in accordance with the interpretation of the specific context. Many instances of the particle occur in contexts where translating the particle as a separate word in English may import too much meaning into the English rendering. Because this particle is an emotive word in Hebrew, in cases like these one might use an exclamation point at the end of the specific clause in order to reflect in the English translation the emotion intended by the use of the particle. It is also acceptable to leave the particle untranslated if translating it would change the meaning from the Hebrew too much.
• ne'um yhwh (נְאֻם יהוה) "the declaration of Yahweh" or "This is the declaration of Yahweh"
• nephesh () It is preferable for this term to be rendered as "spirit" or "life" rather than "soul," except in cases where the specific context demands it.
• Niphal stem –– This form of the verb should be rendered according to the sense of each individual context, usually as a passive, reflexive, or stative.
• numerals –– Retain the Hebrew use of ordinal and cardinal numbers as much as possible, except in cases where it makes the English rendering unable to be understood. In these cases, use standard English convention for ordinal and cardinal numerals.
• participles –– Hebrew definite participles should be rendered as "the ones who…" if possible, unless it makes the English reading too awkward or unable to be understood. Retain the verbal sense of the participle ("those who live") rather than making it a noun ("inhabitants") wherever possible.
• pleonasms –– There are many instances where Hebrew convention repeats a referent (especially in relative phrases) that has already been stipulated earlier in the sentence. For example, a very literal rendering of the relative phrase in Ruth 2:19 would read, "…the man whom she had worked with him…". The term "him" is redundant in English and should be omitted in the ULT rendering. Instead, this phrase should read, "…the man with whom she had worked…" in accordance with standard English convention.
• tebah should remain as "ark"
• tzara'at (צָרַעַת) should be rendered as "skin disease" (not "leprosy")
• wayehi “[conjunction] it came about,” “[conjunction] it happened…”
• YHWH Yahweh (The ASV uses “Jehovah,” but it should be changed to "Yahweh" in the ULT.)

Translation Glossary for the New Testament

• nomikos “expert in the Jewish law”
• grammateus “scribe”
• egeneto de, kai egeneto “It came about” (See: “Sentence-initial or preverbal and” above).
• idou This term is normally rendered as “behold” unless the context indicates that a more colloquial meaning is appropriate, such as “look,” “see,” “see here,” or something else to indicate that what immediately follows in the text is prominent.
• anthropos (ASV: man, men) When referring to humanity in general, use “mankind.”
• Messiah This term sometimes appears in the NT in transliterated Greek. In this case, this term should be translated, “Messiah.”
• Xristos “Christ” or “the Christ” (the definite article is appropriate if the term is being clearly used as a title; Paul often seems to use Xristos as a second name for Jesus, but at times he clearly uses it as a title).
• euangelion gospel will be used in most cases in the ULT, while the UST will use “good news.”
• hagioi When referring to people, “saints.” When referring to heavenly beings, “holy ones.”