© 1992 by the United Bible Societies

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form without the written permission of the United Bible Societies.

The text of the Revised Standard Version used in this publication is copyrighted 1946, 1952 © 1971, 1973, 1980 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U. S. A., and used by permission.

Quotations from Today’s English Version, © 1966, 1971, 1976, are used by permission of the copyright owner, the American Bible Society.

The first illustration on page 139 is by Horace Knowles, Copyright © The British and Foreign Bible Society, London, England, 1954, 1967, 1972. Other illustrations are courtesy of the Art Department, American Bible Society.

Books in the series of UBS Helps for Translators may be ordered from a national Bible Society or from either of the following centers:

United Bible Societies

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L. C. Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Reyburn, William David.

A handbook on Lamentations / by William D. Reyburn.

p. cm.—(UBS helps for translators) (UBS handbook series)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-8267-0124-8.

1. Bible. O.T. Lamentations—Translating. 2. Bible. O.T. Lamentations—Criticism, interpretations, etc. I. Title. II. Series. III. Series: Helps for translators.

BS1535.2.R49 1992.

224′.3077—dc20.

92-22755.

CIP

ABS-1992-750-eb-1-104975.

Introductory Information

Preface

This Handbook, like others in the series, concentrates on exegetical information important for translators, and it attempts to indicate possible solutions for translational problems related to language or culture. The authors do not consciously attempt to provide help that other theologians and scholars may seek but which is not directly related to the translation task. Such information is normally sought elsewhere. However, many church leaders and interested Bible readers have found these Handbooks useful and informative, and we hope that this volume will be no exception.

In A Handbook on Lamentations, special attention has been given to the poetic structure so that the translator will be able to understand the movement and the logical progression of the sections of this book, and how they contribute to the message of the whole.

[A modified format had been adopted for the electronic version of this handbook, which eliminates the citing of tev and rsv at the beginning of each section. However the user of this electronic media is expected to be able to refer to these versions along with the discussion presented here.]

The Revised Standard Version (rsv) and Today’s English Version (tev) translations are to be carefully considered, so that the translator may see models of how the poetry may be presented in the receptor language, with added line spacing to show divisions in the discourse. rsv and ...