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Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Amen.
Psalm 23
Sháam Thabeshin i
Sháam
Psalm
Thabeshin
#10 + #2 = #20
i
And
Boóya
#3 + TIME = Third
Twenty-Third Psalm
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Bíidu Lahila nayahá letham wa; them le rahóodaleth.
Bíidu
DECL + POETIC
Lahila
HolyOne
nayahá
CareFor + DOER
letham
I + POSSbirth + IDENT
wa;
MYPERC
them
Need
le
I
rahóodaleth.
NON+ FOCUS + Thing = Nothing + OBJ
The Holy One is my carer; I need absolutely nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
Dórúu Ba leth mewoliyen wodunesha.
Dórúu
CAUSEto + LieDown
Ba
XLove1
leth
I + OBJ
mewoliyen
PL + REL + BeGreen
wodunesha.
REL + Field + PLC
S/He causes me to lie down in green fields.
He leads me beside still waters;
He restores my soul.
Dódoth Ba leth mewowam wohilisha ib;
dónetháa Ba óotha lethath.
Dódoth
CAUSEto + Follow
Ba
XLove1
leth
I + OBJ
mewowam
PL + REL + BeStill
wohilisha
REL + Water + PLC
ib;
Against
dónetháa
CAUSEto + AGAIN + Thrive
Ba
XLove1
óotha
óotha
lethath.
I + POSSbirth + OBJ
S/He causes me to follow next to calm waters;
S/He causes my soul to thrive again.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Dódoth Ba leth weth shadethusha óobe zha Bathada.
Dódoth
CAUSEto + Follow
Ba
XLove1
leth
I + OBJ
weth
Path
shadethusha
BePerfect + PARTV + PLC
óobe
Along
zha
Name
Bathada.
XLove1 + POSSbirth + BENEF
S/He causes me to follow along path(s) of purity/perfection for Her/His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Íizha óomasháad le Yed Rawíthusha obe,
héeya le ramíilith raho úwáanú Na leden;
meshe dáan Natha i oyi Natha leth.
Íizha
Although
óomasháad
Foot + ComeGo = Walk
le
I
Yed
Valley
Rawíthusha
NON + Life = Death + PARTV + PLC
obe,
Through
héeya
BeAfraid
le
I
ramíilith
NON + Radiance = Evil + OBJ
raho
#0
úwáanú
CONJcoz
Na
YouLove1
leden;
I + ASSOC
meshe
meshe
dáan
Word
Natha
YouLove1 + POSSbirth
i
And
oyi
oyi
Natha
YouLove1 + POSSbirth
leth.
I + OBJ
Although I walk through the Valley of Non-Life,
I fear absolutely no evil because Thou art with me;
Thy word and Thine eye comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
Dóham Na anath i ranath leda ham lebethu letho rawáan.
Dóham
CAUSEto + BePresent
Na
YouLove1
anath
Food + OBJ
i
And
ranath
Beverage + OBJ
leda
I + BENEF
ham
BePresent
lebethu
Enemy + PARTV
letho
I + POSS
rawáan.
NON + COZ = Despite
Thou causest food and drink to be present for me despite the presence of my enemy(ies).
Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.
Boóbin Na delith lethath oma Nathanan; ume ni letho hadihad.
Boóbin
Braid
Na
YouLove1
delith
Hair
lethath
I + POSSbirth + OBJ
oma
Hand
Nathanan;
YouLove1 + POSSbirth + INSTR
ume
BeFull
ni
Cup
letho
I + POSS
hadihad.
Always
Thou braidest my hair with Thine Own Hand; my cup is always full.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Aril mesháad thal i yidan leden, hulehul, sháal wíthu lethaya woho;
i habelid le lod Lahila Bathasha ril i aril i rilrili.
Aril
FUT
mesháad
PL + ComeGo
thal
BeGood
i
And
yidan
Mercy
leden,
I + ASSOC
hulehul,
ForSure
sháal
Day
wíthu
Life + PARTV
lethaya
I + POSSbirth + TIME
woho;
#All
i
And
habelid
Dwell
le
I
lod
Household
Lahila
HolyOne
Bathasha
XLove1 + POSSbirth + PLC
ril
i
aril
i
rilrili.
PRES
And
FUT
And
HYPOTH
Forevermore
Goodness and mercy will go with me, for-sure, every day of my life,
and I shall dwell in the Holy One’s household forevermore.
Amen.
Othe.
Othe.
Amen
Amen.
Sháam Thabeshin i Boóya
Bíidi Lahila nayahá letham wa; them le rahóodaleth.
Dórúu Ba leth mewoliyen wodunesha.
Dódoth Ba leth mewowam wohilisha ib;
dónetháa Ba óotha lethath.
Dódoth Ba leth weth shadethusha óobe zha Bathada.
Íizha óomasháad le Yed Rawíthusha obe,
héeya le ramíilith raho úwáanú Na leden;
meshe dáan Natha i oyi Natha leth.
Dóham Na anath i ranath leda ham lebethu letho rawáan.
Boóbin Na delith lethath oma Nathanan; ume ni letho hadihad.
Aril mesháad thal i yidan leden, hulehul, sháal wíthu lethaya woho;
i habelid le lod Lahila Bathasha ril i aril i rilrili.
Othe.
There are two lines in Psalm 23 in which the Láadan differs quite dramatically from the initial English. In the first of these, the English refers to “Thy rod and Thy staff:” one a weapon and the second an instrument of corporal punishment. Neither of these would be appropriate to the Diety in Láadan culture.
In the second, the English is “Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Láadan began as a woman’s language; any woman being offered the “gift” of having her head anointed with oil is going to—more or less graciously—decline; it’s wasteful and messy and requires that her hair, body, and clothes will all need to be cleaned afterward. On the other hand, the Deity Herself braiding her hair is a loving, caring gesture that brings only positive associations. Likewise, an overflowing cup is just a mess that she’s going to have to clean up; the substitution of an always-full cup lends the sense of abundance without the negative aftermath.
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