So, here more or less beginneth God's message to Moses telling him in no uncertain terms what his people should leave on the side of their plates.... those translators are definitely going to have some trouble with this lot ! ....... let's see how they got on shall we .... English and Welsh juxtaposed ( with U)...
13-19 And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray. And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;Every raven after his kind; And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl. And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle.And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
Here's the Welsh version of that bit...
13-19 “‘Dyma restr o adar sydd i'w hystyried yn aflan, ac felly ddim i gael eu bwyta: gwahanol fathau o fwltur, barcud a boda, unrhyw fath o frân, gwahanol fathau o dylluan, pob math o hebog, y fulfran, gwalch y pysgod, y storc, unrhyw fath o grëyr, y copog, a'r ystlum hefyd.
( Well, they've fudged that a bit, and missed some out. Where's that blasted ossifrage gone ?V. poor... let's move on to verse 22 .... )
22 Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.
Right ..here's the Welsh version .....
22 O'r rhai hynny y rhai hyn a fwyttêwch: y locust yn ei ryw, a'r selam , yn ei ryw, a'r hargol yn ei ryw, a'r hagab yn ei ryw.
Well, selam = locust, hargol= edible locust and hagab is yet another edible locust ...what about that beetle, and the poor old grasshopper ... there's perfectly good Welsh words for those. Even I know them, thanks to Roald Dahl ....
Moving on the to key passage ... verse 29, containing the only biblical reference to the tortoise.
29 These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind.
Here's the vital Welsh version ...
29 A'r rhai hyn sydd aflan i chwi o'r ymlusgiaid a ymlusgo ar ddaear: y wengci, a'r llygoden, a'r llyfant yn ei ryw.
Well, gwenci is a weasel ( a smile-dog?) llygoden is obviously a mouse, but the tortoise seems to have been turned into a llyfant = frog/toad. Huh ! The only biblical tortoise has been spirited away and replaced by a toad. No way! Let's press on to verse 30 ....
30 And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole.
..and its Welsh equivalent ....
30 A'r draenog, a'r lysard, a'r y ystelio, a'r falwoden, a'r wadd.
I'll leave you to have a go at those .
But..but...but .... where's the blasted tortoise?
The Welsh Bible is devoid of tortoises.
Well, mine is at least.
Bah
Now here's a fine thing .. it,s a "bonus track" from Way Beyond Blue and it has a strange start .... it's Catatonia's beautiful song " Gyda Gwen" .... "with a smile from ear to ear" it starts ... brilliant. No tortoises though....
fe oedd y cyntaf i basio'r pyst
Mi roedd o'n hawdd.... yn hollol naturiol
Roedd rhai yn ei alw o'n ffol
Dud doedd ystyried byth yn dat o nol
Nid dn a gwyn, ond hollol lliwgar
Ond o mae'n ddrwg gen i
Wnest ti ddim ei weld o
Ag o mae'n chwith gen i
Wnath o ddim rhagweld o
I Deimlo'i hyn yn noeth ymlith llif o syniadao doeth
Roedd rhaid fo fod yn unigolyn
Diddanwch mewn pellder oer
Yn el fywyd di-ffrwyth ddi-glod
Mi awn fed hyn, heb unrhyw ystyried
Ond o mae'n ddrwg gen i
Wnest ti ddim ei weld o
Ag o mae'n chwith gen i
Wnath o ddim rhagweld o
Read more: Catatonia - Gyda Gwen Lyrics | MetroLyrics