Down in my.... Kidney?

jIH DichDaq ghurmoH joH'a', 'Iv ghajtaH nobpu' jIH qeS. HIja', wIj tIq instructs jIH Daq the ram seasons.

I will bless the LORD, who has given me counsel. Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons. Psalm 16:7

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The problem with translating for aliens is - well, they are just so ALIEN. Imagine people who see the seat of affections and desires as the ... KIDNEY. This isn't an imaginary problem - there is such a people. Those aliens are not some far off race of little green men, but the ancient Hebrews.

The word translated tIq or heart in this verse is really kilyah (kil-yaw') and means a kidney and appears nearly 30 times in the Hebrew scriptures. It is naturally referenced in the legislation for animal sacrifice, but it also appears in a number of places, including this Psalm, as a way of describing "the most secret workings and affections of the heart." (Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible).

In modern English we see this almost exclusively translated as "heart." That is no less medically inaccurate than kidney, but today it is the common way we express the seat of our emotional life (if you don't believe me, take a stroll in any greeting card section right now as we approach Valentine's Day). Honestly, I'm glad that is the prevailing image - I just can't see leading a Sunday School class with "I've got the joy, joy, joy down in my *kidney*.

You'll be happy to know this is also the case for Klingons - that is, that they use the term "heart" to describe the home of their feelings. They express this in expressions like:

tIqlIj Da'angnIS. "You must show your heart."

and

tIqDaq HoSna' tu'lu'. "Real power is in the heart."

Curious idioms about "the body" are often a problem for language learners as well as tranlators. You can even find a book by May Pare, a Southern California waitress who earned a master's degree from UCLA specializing in English as a second language. The book, Body Idioms and More, deals exclusively with body-part idioms.

One news report mentions that

after all those years of slinging hash and refilling coffee mugs, May Pare found herself "up to her eyeballs" with a collection of sayings that would "blow the mind" of someone trying to learn English.

They were the likes of "pay through the nose," "using elbow grease," "having a hollow leg" and "being lower than a snake's belly." There was "heads will roll," "press the flesh" and "keeping your eyes peeled."

Imagine translating THOSE into Klingon!

jIH DichDaq ghurmoH joH'a', 'Iv ghajtaH nobpu' jIH qeS. HIja', wIj tIq instructs jIH Daq the ram seasons.

I will bless the LORD, who has given me counsel. Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons. Psalm 16:7

The Life Application Bible notes:

It is human nature to make our own plans and then ask God to bless them. Instead, we should seek God's will first. By constantly thinking about the Lord and his way of living, we will gain insights that will help us make right decisions and live the way God desires. Communicating with God allows him to counsel us and give us wisdom.

Like David, we need to take God's Word deep inside - down in our heart, our kidneys, liver and more. For when we let His thoughts guide every fiber of our being, then like David we can joyfully say

jIH DichDaq ghurmoH joH'a' , 'Iv ghajtaH nobpu' jIH qeS

I will bless the LORD, who has given me counsel!