Psalm 99
Part 2/2: Verses 6-9 in Dyirbal
Psalm 99
You can find a full introduction to this language in Part 1 of this series. It comes from the Cape York Peninsula.
The full passage is at the end of this newsletter.
Psalm 99:6
KJV: Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.
Dyirbal. Yilwu Durmari balagara bayi gubi, Bayi Ŋuñaŋu balamaŋgan wandyaŋañu bagu dyiragu: wandyañu Wurbamuŋa, ŋuri wandyaŋañu bagumaŋgangu.
Yilwu Durmari balagara bayi gubi = Moses and Aaron, these two are his priests
Yilwu = Moses
Durmari = Aaron
balagara = these two (are)
bayi gubi = priests
Moses comes from Hebrew mawshaw (משה) to draw, to pull out.
Yilwu comes from Dyirbal yilwul to pull, to take out.
Exodus 2:10 BSB
When the child had grown older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses and explained, “I drew him out of the water.”
The origin of the name Aaron (אהרון) is shrouded in mystery.
In Hebrew, it is pronounced /a-har-own/. The second letter (from the right) is He ה, which is almost identical to English /h/.
A quick Google search gave me a number of possible origins. I chose just one:
A(h)aron comes from Haran, the place where Abraham began his journey. It seems likely that, with all the upheaval going on, many Hebrews were thinking about their origins.
Haran comes from Hebrew khaw-rahr (חרר) to burn, to be hot.
I build Durmari from two components:
1. durmal = to cook or burn something.
2. -ri = Reflexive.
Both names can carry a bayi before them.
I left them out because it would look too cluttered otherwise.
I reuse bayi gubi to mean priest as well as king.
Eating or drinking blood is banned in Leviticus 17:14.
There is actually no law explicitly forbidding cannibalism.
In Leviticus 26:27-30 (BSB), God says:
But if in spite of all this you do not obey Me, but continue to walk in hostility toward Me, then I will walk in fury against you, and I, even I, will punish you sevenfold for your sins. You will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters. I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and heap your lifeless bodies on the lifeless remains of your idols; and My soul will despise you.
The verbs yilwul to pull out and durmal to burn something both come the Dyalŋuy register.
Bayi Ŋuñaŋu balamaŋgan wandyaŋañu bagu dyiragu = Samuel is one of many who call his name
Bayi Ŋuñaŋu = Samuel
balamaŋgan = is one of many
wandyaŋañu = he calls
bagu dyira-gu = upon his name
Samuel comes from the Hebrew name Shemuel (שמואל), which has two components:
1. shem (שם) = name.
2. el (אל) = God.
Bayi Ŋuñaŋu comes from bala ŋuñaŋuy, a Dyalŋuy word meaning teeth, name, seed.
I remove the final /y/ because it looks too much like a verb for my liking.
Earlier, we have balagara the two of them (are), and here we have balamaŋgan is one of many.
These are the closest that Dyirbal has to having any 3rd Person Pronouns at all.
wandyañu Wurbamuŋa, ŋuri wandyaŋañu bagumaŋgangu = they call upon the Lord, and the Lord answers them
wandyañu = [they] call the name
Wurbamuŋa = upon the Lord
ŋuri = in return
wandyaŋañu = he calls the name
bagumaŋgan-gu = of them
What is the difference between wandyañu and wandyaŋañu?
Consider these examples:
Wurbamuŋa wandyañu = [You] call the Lord’s name.
Wurbamuŋa-ŋgu wandyañu = The Lord calls upon (your) name.
Dyirbal has Absolutive-Ergative Alignment. To put it simply:
The Absolutive Wurbamuŋa cannot call upon anyone.
The Ergative Wurbamuŋaŋgu can ONLY call upon someone else.
In order to make Wurbamuŋa capable of BOTH being called upon AND calling, you turn wandyay into wandyaŋay.
For example,
Wurbamuŋaŋgu bagumaŋgan wandyañu = The Lord calls upon their names
becomes
Wurbamuŋa bagumaŋgangu wandyaŋañu.
This is called the Anti-Passive, but it does have other names.
bala gibarr = fig tree / mark on message stick.
This word does double duty in this translation.
In Ancient understanding, the Tree of the Fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was a fig tree, not an apple tree.
This raises the question: Is there a piece of artwork wherein the command not to eat said fruit is written on the tree itself?
Psalm 99:7
KJV. He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them.
Dyirbal. Baŋgu garmbandu dyanaŋuru gibarrŋaru wurbañu; bala dyinaŋunu yalgay, bagu gibarrgu bayi bilaŋañu gañdyamalganiñu,
Baŋgu garmbandu dyanaŋuru gibarrŋaru wurbañu = he spoke to them in the cloudy pillar
Baŋgu garmbandu = with the smoke
dyanaŋuru = that stands
gibarrŋaru = like a fig tree
wurbañu = (he) spoke
Dixon’s dictionary did not include an explicit word for cloud.
Dyirbal bala garmban = English smoke, haze, mist, steam.
Tobacco, meanwhile, is balam garmban.
If you recall from last time, balam words refer only to edible plants.
Whilst tobacco is indeed consumed in the original sense of the word, some of my readers will probably take issue with the idea of it being “edible” in the strictest sense of the word.
dyanaŋuru has two components:
1. dyana = stand.
2. -ŋuru = that which.
In Dyirbal, you make a Relative Clause. The base form is –ŋu, but since baŋgu garmbandu is in the Instrumental Case, -ŋu becomes –ŋuru in order to make that clear.
gibarrŋaru also has two components:
1. gibarr = fig tree.
2. -ŋaru = like.
Of course, I am happy that –ŋuru and –ŋaru are very similar.
There is another way to translate this piece of Dyirbal:
Baŋgu garmbandu dyanaŋuru gibarrŋaru wurbañu = standing like a fig-tree, the smoke spoke
In later verses, the Word of the Lord comes down and speaks to someone. These do not tell us what physical body the Word took. In Moses’ time, it first took the form of a burning bush, and later, of the flames at night and cloud by day.
bala dyinaŋunu yalgay… gañdyamalganiñu = they kept his testimonies
bala yalgay = the path
dyina-ŋunu = feet-from
gañdyamalganiñu = they followed
testimony comes from Hebrew ood (עוד) to witness, to repeat, and to encompass, among others.
Looking at someone’s footprints gives you the most accurate record of where they have been.
Dyirbal bala yalgay road, track, is just one consonant away from to bayi yalŋgay single man beyond usual marrying age.
gañdyamalganiñu has two components:
1. gañdyamal = to follow.
2. -ganiñu = they did many times.
Dyirbal has two suffixes which indicate that an event is being repeated, with one key difference between them:
1. -dyay = within a short span of time.
2. -ganiy = within a long span of time.
For example, if you climb the same tree every morning: bilinganiy.
But it is bilindyay is you climb several different trees during the same afternoon.
The Hebrews followed the pillar of cloud & fire for forty years.
bagu gibarrgu bayi bilaŋañu = and the ordinance that he gave them
bagu gibarrgu = the marks on the message stick
bayi = he
bilaŋañu = gave [them]
ordinance comes from Hebrew chaqaq (חקק) to engrave or to carve, and then by extension to decree, to prescribe.
Why do I use the –ŋay form of bilal give/send (involving motion)?
Basically, because bagu gibarrgu has less agency than bala gibarr, even if their nominal content is the same.
The story of Isaac’s near-death experience in Genesis 22 is one that I think about relatively often. Partly because it is a stumbling block to many New Atheists, but more so because my Teach Yourself Hebrew covers the whole chapter across its exercise sections.
(This means that I have, indeed, hand-written this chapter in Hebrew.)
Why does God ask Abraham to sacrifice his own son?
Simply put, God wants to see if Abraham worships Him or is only following orders.
This is a direct challenge to the modern belief that Laws and Institutions are more important than people’s strength of character.
This is my first translation of the New Year of our Lord 2025.
I had a very relaxed St. Stephens Day with my family. For both Christmas and New Years’ I was working on both Eve and Day.
I completed both of the following on the 2nd of January 2025. On the same day I filled in the third deep raised bed on my allotment. I shall include pictures of all three at the end, so that you get some idea of what I do when not writing these.
(Edit: I forgot to do this, and intend to publish a note to the same effect. (06/04/2025)).
Psalm 99:8
KJV: Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God: thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions.
Dyirbal. Wurbamuŋa Yugubara, ŋinda ŋarrin; ŋinda walmbin, ŋurigabun mugu balbulumbali.
Wurbamuŋa Yugubara, ŋinda ŋarrin = Yahweh our God, you answered (them)
Wurbamuŋa = Yahweh
Yugubara = (our) God
ŋinda = you
ŋarrin = answered (them)
I toyed with the idea of including the Tit-for-Tat Particle ŋuri.
I chose to exclude it because God has this trick up your sleeve: He will answer the questions that you should be asking, rather than the questions you did.
Anyway, I must take steps to ensure that I maintain the whip hand over my preference for alliteration.
ŋinda walmbin, ŋurigabun mugu balbulumbali = you forgave them, but you took vengeance for their actions.
ŋinda = you
walmbin = forgave
ŋurigabun = their actions
mugu = [Unsatisfactory]
balbulumbali = you washed downstream
forgive comes from Hebrew nawsaw (נשא) to lift, to carry.
Dyribal walmbil = Hebrew נשא.
mugu is impossible to translate into a single English word.
Dyirbal defines it as “it was impossible to avoid doing something that is, in fact, quite unsatisfactory’.
Here is an example:
Ban buwaymariñu = She talked
becomes
Ban mugu buwaymariñu. = She had to talk because someone made her.
ban is a shortened form of balan.
Similarly, balam can shorten to bam.
Anyway, to whom is the Forgiveness unsatisfactory?
God wants us to come back to Him.
Other people are another question entirely.
Psalm 99:9
The Hebrew Yahweh elohenu (אלהינו יהוה) Yahweh our God appears twice. I didn’t want to do this, so I split it between both positions. Later that day I changed my mind.
walmbil lift up and bandubanariy bend yourself (i.e. bow) both make returns from previous verses, both in their Imperative forms.
KJV. Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.
Dyirbal. Wurbamuŋa Yugubara walmbi, bagulbaydyi bandubanari, ŋuri Wurbamuŋa Yugubara bayibaydyu.
Wurbamuŋa = Yahweh [x2]
walmbi = lift up!
bagulbaydyi = at his holy hill
bandubanari = bend yourself!
ŋuri = for
Yugubara = (our) God
bayibaydyu = is a long way uphill
holy comes from Hebrew qadash (קדש) to be set apart.
bagulbaydyi has two components:
1. bagul = to Him.
2. -baydyi = a short way uphill.
(It does not factor here, but Dyirbal has –baydya a medium distance uphill).
bayibaydyu has two components:
1. bayi = He.
2. -baydyu = a long way uphill.
God is the Whole Hill. You may ascend, but you must do so with humility. You bow before the bottom, because you should always make a good impression to a friend you’ll be seeing again.
The full passage in Dyirbal:
1. Giña daŋgil baŋgul Wurbamuŋagu baŋgan; muraynbila walawala; Bayi ñiyiŋga ñinañu; giña gambil nalŋi.
2. Bayi Wurbamuŋa Gabalngabarra gagirr; Bayidayu muraynbila muraynbilaŋunu.
3. Ŋinu dyugi dira marbamuŋawandya; ŋuri baladawulu.
4. Baŋgul gubiŋgu guliŋgu ŋurigabun daruban; ŋinda balan burrula balbulumban, ŋindaŋunu ŋurigabun Ŋurugu balbulubin
5. Bayi yugubara Wurbamuŋa walmbi, dyinaŋga bandubanari: ŋuri bayidawulu.
6. Yilwu Durmari balagara bayi gubi, Bayi Ŋuñaŋu balamaŋgan wandyaŋañu bagu dyiragu: wandyañu Wurbamuŋa, ŋuri wandyaŋañu bagumaŋgangu.
7. Baŋgu garmbandu dyanaŋuru gibarrŋaru wurbañu; bala dyinaŋunu yalgay, bagu gibarrgu bayi bilaŋañu gañdyamalganiñu,
8. Wurbamuŋa Yugubara, ŋinda ŋarrin; ŋinda walmbin, yama ŋurigabun mugu balbulumbali.
9. Wurbamuŋa Yugubara walmbi, bagulbaydyi bandubanari, ŋuri Wurbamuŋa Yugubara bayibaydyu.
Sources:
R.M.W. Dixon, The Dyirbal Language of North Queensland (Cambridge: University Press 1972)
The cheeky google search for everything else.