[Craig Peters]

Can anyone help me with the following translation?

Gefyl hie nu mid þære witnunga þe þu lange gehyd hæfdest, and þeah him gateohhod. Weorþen hi swa geðræste mid hungre, þæt hi eton swynen flæsc (þæet Iudeum unalyfedlic ys to etanne) and þæt þæt hi læfon, healdan heora bearnum and heora beara bearnum.

[David McElrea]

Hi Craig,

This is from Psalm 17:14. I can't translate it, I'm afraid, but you'll get the gist of it from any decent translation. The original passage (in Hebrew) also happens to be a particularly difficult one for translation, (which means there are different ways it could be translated). Which way they went for the Old English one, I don't know.

Here is the verse as found in the Douay-Rheims 1899 translation, which is likely as close as you will get to the Vulgate (don't have a Jerusalem Bible on hand): "their belly is filled from thy hidden stores. They are full of children: and they have left to their little ones the rest of their substance."

That is the portion you have quoted above. To understand what it means, it would help to see it in context (verses 8-15)

****

From them that resist thy right hand keep me, as the apple of thy eye. Protect me under the shadow of thy wings.

From the face of the wicked who have afflicted me. My enemies have surrounded my soul:
they have shut up their fat: their mouth hath spoken proudly. They have cast me forth and now they have surrounded me: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth. They have taken me, as a lion prepared for the prey; and as a young lion dwelling in secret places.

Arise, O Lord, disappoint him and supplant him; deliver my soul from the wicked one: thy sword from the enemies of thy hand. O Lord, divide them from the few of the earth in their life: their belly is filled from thy hidden stores. They are full of children: and they have left to their little ones the rest of their substance.

But as for me, I will appear before thy sight in justice: I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear."

[Craig Peters]

David,

I'm pretty sure the original has stuff able eating swine's flesh, which is prohibited for Jews. So I'm not sure how the text you've quoted applies.

[David McElrea]

Craig,

Thanks for pointing that out, I hadn't noticed it-- but it is Psalm 17 nonetheless.

The English passage translates a variant Latin reading "Saturati sunt porcina", rather than the earlier (and majority) reading "Saturati sunt filiis".

Which is to say it reads "they are full of swine's flesh", (signifying that they are full of uncleanness or sin) instead of "they are full of children". An odd error for a scribe to make... unless he really, really didn't like children.

It's a passage out of this Psalm, though. I promise.

Where did you find it?

[David McElrea]

Weorþen hi swa geðræste mid hungre, þæt hi eton swynen flæsc (þæet Iudeum unalyfedlic ys to etanne)

I've been doing my best to render this in modern English-- and it is going to be a really shoddy piece of work, but it will hopefully approximate the meaning. Interestingly, this seems to be a very badly paraphrased form of the Psalm with commentary in parenthesis.

"Weorþen he/they (?) are so famished with hunger that he/they have eaten swine's flesh (that Jews are forbidden to eat)."

Maybe someone else could have a crack at it. [/i]