Joel 2:9
The Invasion of Locusts
NJV. They hurl themselves at the city, they leap onto the walls, swarm up the houses, getting in through the windows like thieves.
Ik. Ɓunumiyie sea ɲaratataƙok, otsetatie hoikaƙee, ɓuƙetati howelikwee ɗita dzuama.
in the city, they run around on the walls = ɓunumiyie sea ɲaratataƙok
ɓunumiyie = it runs hot and it runs cold
sea = blood
ɲaratataƙok = inside the walls
Here, the Hebrew is especially strange to a modern reader.
“in the city” comes from eer (עיר). This means city, but it also means excitement.
For this, I use the phrase ɓunumiyie sea.
By itself, it means blood runs both hot and cold.
It runs hot out of excitement or embarrassment, and can also mean blush.
It also runs cold out of terror.
By itself, ɓunum simply means disperse or scatter.
they climb into houses = otsetati hoikaƙee
otsetati = they climb
hoikaƙee = into the houses
If people are the life-blood of a country or empire, then the cities are its arteries. When an artery bleeds it is fatal for the body - the same for a nation and its cities.
and enter the windows like thieves = ɓuƙetati howelikwee ɗita dzuama
ɓuƙetati = they enter
howelikwee = the windows
ɗita = like
dzuama = a thief
howelikw is the Plural of howela (window), which has two components:
1. ho = house
2. wela = small opening.
By itself, wela can mean the path that an animal leaves in the grass, or the footpath between two houses.
Likewise, dzuama (thief) has two components:
1. dzu = burglary/thievery.
2. ama = person.
This is a very productive process Ik – it forms many human-based nouns.
KJV. They storm the city; they run along the wall; they climb into houses, entering through windows like thieves.
Ik. Ɓunumiyie sea ɲaratataƙok, otsetatie hoikaƙee, ɓuƙetati howelikwee ɗita dzuama.