I am this day eighty years old: this does not mean that it was Barzillai’s birthday on the day he met King David! Rather the idea is that at that time he had already reached the age of eighty. Knox says “I am eighty years old now.” New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, New American Bible, and Revised English Bible likewise use the word “now” in place of this day.

A further series of questions is used by Barzillai to make several strong affirmations. Can I discern what is pleasant and what is not? (literally “… between good and evil”) is a way of saying “I cannot tell the difference between pleasure and pain” or “I no longer find pleasure in life.” Compare the description of old age in Eccl 12.1-7.

In the same way the question Can your servant taste what he eats or what he drinks? means “I can’t enjoy what I eat or drink!” And, of course, the words your servant are yet another indirect self-reference that should be translated in most languages by a personal pronoun.

When Barzillai asks Can I still listen to the voice of singing men and singing women? he is really saying that he cannot hear well when people are singing. In some languages it will be sound strange to speak of singing men and singing women rather than simply “people singing” or possibly “singers, whether they are men or women.”

Finally, the question Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king? is an indirect way of saying “I don’t want to be an added responsibility to you” or “There is no reason why I should add to your burdens.” In many languages all of these questions will be more naturally translated as statements. In others perhaps only the last will be stated in the form of a question. Translators should try to find the most natural way of communicating the meaning.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .