Sunday, September 24, 2023

Jeremiah 7:20

A few months ago, I watched the Daily Dose of Hebrew video on Jeremiah 7:20:


I was sort of disappointed to find that in the ESV, this verse is translated as:
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:  behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.
In the Hebrew text, the preposition עַל ("upon") is repeated a number of times, but some of these are dropped out of the ESV, resulting in the above instead of "upon man and upon beast, upon the trees of the field and upon the fruit of the ground."  This anaphora (reiterating the preposition) provides a greater effect, and the ESV seems a bit lacking in comparison.

For what it's worth, all these prepositions are retained in the Latin Vulgate, and the "אֶל" of "on this place" (אֶל־הַמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה) is translated as the same preposition ("super"), so there are five total:  "ideo haec dicit Dominus Deus ecce furor meus et indignatio mea conflatur super locum istum super viros et super iumenta et super lignum regionis et super fruges terrae et succendetur et non extinguetur."

I also noticed the construction "it will burn and not be quenched."  A verb is paired with its negated opposite, and this combination also provides emphasis.  I've noted similar constructions elsewhere, and I feel that there must be a term for this device, but I've been unable to find it.