NJV. The high places of Isaac will be ruined and the sanctuaries of Israel laid waste, and, sword in hand, I will attack the House of Jeroboam.’
Wardaman. Milygbilygba yawurrjiŋiwe warraŋañinmulu Gololowu, lagba buwindaŋmulu wurrŋegbawa Yarradalgu, labajurr ŋanbuwa wujaban garlbaŋñi Gudmawujbaŋu.
the high places of Isaac will be ruined = Milygbilygba yawurrjiŋiwe warraŋañinmulu Gololowu
Milygbilygba = heart-cracked
yawurrjiŋiwe = they will sit
warraŋañinmulu = the precipices
Gololowu = of Isaac
milygbilygba also means beating of heart or have concern/apprehension for.
warraŋañin means high bank or precipice.
The term “high places” refer to places where people go to worship, whether that be the true God or various false gods. They could be natural (e.g. hills/mountains), or artificial.
The original Hebrew is bammaw’ (במה), and it receives at least once the translation wave.
I mention this because precipice highlights the fact that the things made by man are unstable – and that man’s loyalty to God is tested and can go either way.
In Hebrew, Isaac means he laughs.
Golo is the Wardaman word for laugh.
Gololo is my translation of the name Isaac. It contains the syllable /lol/.
LOL.
and the sanctuaries of Israel laid waste = lagba buwindaŋmulu wurrŋegbawa Yarradalgu
lagba = dry up
buwindaŋmulu = the sanctuaries
wurrŋegbawa = they will die
Yarradalgu = of Israel
By itself, lagba wurrŋegbawa means something like:
lagba = dry(ing) up.
wurrŋegbawa = they will die.
“laid waste” comes from the Hebrew khawrab’ (חרב), which means be dry/dried up.
“sanctuary” comes from the Hebrew ko’desh (קדש), which means sacredness and apartness.
My translation of buwindaŋ has two components:
1. wu- = Noun Class Prefix.
2. bindaŋma = take out/pull apart.
Wardaman has three Noun Classes – or four if you include the ones that don’t belong to the other three.
The Three are yi-, ma- and wu-.
To simplify, the WU-Class can refer to anything that is neither animal nor vegetable. WU-Class Objects can, like high places, be natural or man-made.
Why have I made it buwindaŋ rather than wubindaŋ?
Simple.
buwi is a slipperier set of syllables than wubi. (Say that sentence out loud – I dare you.)
Both consonants are Bilabial – meaning you use both lips to say them.
/b/ is a stop, while /w/ is a semi-vowel. The former anchors the tongue to the back of the throat – the latter has a split identity.
You enter a sanctuary to flee from danger and enter safety.
Between these two hard states is a slippiness that is neither t’one nor t’other.
sword in hand, I will attack the House of Jeroboam = labajurr ŋanbuwa wujaban garlbaŋñi Gudmawujbaŋu
labajurr = strike on the shoulder
ŋanbuwa = I will hit
wujaban = house
garlbaŋñi = with the axe
Gudmawujbaŋu = of Jeroboam
The Hebrew name yawrobawm’ (ירבם) means the people increase. Two kings of Israel had this name.
Gudmawujban has two components:
1. guduma = copulate
2. -wujban = Person who does X.
I admit, this is a very crude translation.
I removed the second /u/ in guduma because I liked the sound of it better.
Ironically, however, I found only one example of a naked word containing /dm/. This is madmad, which means stop.
(In this context, “naked” simply means without a Suffix or Prefix….
…you dirty bugger.)
In addition, I like how labajurr strike on the shoulder evokes the image of a beheading.
KJV. And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
Wardaman. Milygbilygba yawurrjiŋiwe warraŋañinmulu Gololowu, lagba buwindaŋmulu wurrŋegbawa Yarradalgu, labajurr ŋanbuwa wujaban garlbaŋñi Gudmawujbaŋu.