Shaddai in Modern Translations
Here are a few modern translations of Psalm 91:1,
Other literary elements that seem rather obvious, but are nonetheless of varying difficulty to accomodate in translation, are: word order, alliteration, rhythm and meter, the use of figurative vs non-figurative language in translation, and as John raises here, the use of grammatical gender in metaphor.
Ultimately a translator has to account for the overall construction of the couplet in such a way that the second half relates to the first half in a way that imitates the original.
In this connection, I would like to mention a post by Ros Clarke who has translated Psalm 80.
- You who sit down in the High God's presence,
spend the night in Shaddai's shadow, Message
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. NLT
He who lives in the safe place of the Most High
will be in the shadow of the All-powerful. New Life Version
The one who lives under the protection of the Most High
dwells in the shadow of the Almighty. HCSB
Whoever goes to the LORD for safety,
whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty TEV
You who live in the secret place of Elyon,
spend your nights in the shelter of Shaddai, NJB
- He who dwells in the Most High's shelter,
in the shadow of Shaddai lies at night -- Alter
O you who dwell in the shelter of Most High
and abide in the protection of Shaddai -- NJPS
- The Israeli scholar Yair Hoffman, noting its eloquent expression of God's unflagging providential protection, has interestingly characterized the poem as an "amulet psalm" with the idea that its recitation might help a person attain or perhaps simply feel God's guarding power.
Other literary elements that seem rather obvious, but are nonetheless of varying difficulty to accomodate in translation, are: word order, alliteration, rhythm and meter, the use of figurative vs non-figurative language in translation, and as John raises here, the use of grammatical gender in metaphor.
Ultimately a translator has to account for the overall construction of the couplet in such a way that the second half relates to the first half in a way that imitates the original.
In this connection, I would like to mention a post by Ros Clarke who has translated Psalm 80.
1 Comments:
For a discussion of some of the other literary elements that you mention, feel free to see my series of posts on Psalm 91:1-2. I am partial to the translations by the REB and NRSV myself:
REB: "He who lives in the shelter of the Most High, who lodges under the shadow of the Almighty, says of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and fortress, my God in whom I put my trust.'"
NRSV: "You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.'"
I like how the who/who parallelism rendered in verse 1 of these versions makes the grammatical voice consistent in verse 2.
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